NIAGARA, Wis. — I am sure you have heard the statement, “They don’t make them like they used to.” You may have even said it yourself as you grumbled about the cheaply built items that seem to be a staple of our disposable lifestyles today. Or perhaps it was a wistful reflection on how many parts of daily life have changed since you were a kid.

Old houses in particular can be full of reminders of how life once looked. My husband and I are both fans of older homes. We both grew up in them as kids. His parents bought the family dairy after it was no longer a dairy. And I lived in many different rental houses through my growing up years. My hometown was filled with many stately homes, and my best girlfriend lived in a couple of them with “butler stairs” that went up from the kitchen, large pa

See Full Page