Newborn House Restoration

Report #2 from the annual Newborn School Reunion:

We were very pleased
today to have Mary (Pitts) Formo as one of our special visitors during the tour
of homes that was part of the annual Newborn School Reunion. Mary Formo lived
here for several years with her grandmother, Mary Pitts (aka "Aunt Mamie"). Mary
knew that we are interested in the history of the house and shared some old
pictures with us.

Above,
the Newborn House as it appeared during Christmas-time in 1929 (notice the
garland strung between the front porch columns. The basic shape of the house has
been maintained through the years. One key feature we noticed is the railing
around the top of the front porch and above the bay window in the dining room.

At left, Mary (Pitts) Formo is shown in the late ’40s or
early ’50s riding on a wheel barrow being pushed by
her father, Garland Pitts, the youngest son of Dr. J.T. (Julius Thomas) Pitts and Mary Pitts. In this photo, you can see that the stairs went all the way cross
the porch and there is a shed roof sticking out over the well. We replaced a
later, smaller (and more rickety) version of the wooden back steps with a set of
brick steps. Otherwise, the back porch back then seems very similar to the back
porch now.

Below, the picture shows one of the Pitts boys (J.T., we think) being held by
one of the tenants who worked for the family. The photo shows a good view of the
flower pit that was used to store plants through the winter and to start the
seeds for the early garden. The basic structure is still standing, but all of
the woodwork, roof and windows are missing. This photo will be very helpful when
we get around to restoring the flower pit.