This is my idea of heaven! And there are even a few houses in the valley!

The Houses That Sears Built was first published in 2002. This is the 2nd edition (which was completed in 2004). This current reprint (limited edition) was done in 2022. Each copy will be signed by the author (that’d be me).

One of the happiest days of my professional life was seeing my name “in lights” at a restored theater in Lorain, Ohio!

This was a talk that I gave in Jefferson City. My second husband had this promotional poster framed because it was the night of that event that we had our first phone call (after meeting online). We talked for three hours that night, and made arrangements to meet when I was in town. For many years, he’d always say, “I don’t like talking on the phone but I didn’t want that phone call to end. I knew that you were very special.” We were engaged eight weeks after that first date. It’s been six years since his death and I’m finally able to think about the good that was in our relationship. I always thought that he was the love of my life. I suppose that will always be the case. Hard to top that one.

“The beginning is near.” I love this image and all it represents. It sums up my own visit into heaven beautifully. I have glimpsed heaven.

This is the Sterling “Vernon” and it was their fanciest kit home. Sterling was a company that (like Sears) sold kit homes through their mail-order catalog.

Recently, I visited sunny Florida and discovered this Sterling “Vernon” sitting right across the street from the Gulf of Mexico. It’s located in Dunedin, Florida. While I am focused on my new book, it seems that I will always turn my head to look at a pretty house. BTW, I miss Florida. What a beautiful place to be.

This is Modern Home #179, the house that turned my attention to Jacksonville, Florida. In all my travels, I’ve only see ONE and that’s in Jacksonville.

Here’s the Lugeanbeal’s beautiful home in Jacksonville. Photo is copyright 2021 George Lugeanbeal and may not be reproduced without permission.

This is the picture that I took! And that’s the porch where I got to “sit a spell” and admire the beautiful sunset. This house has been beautifully restored and it is a true “restoration.” George and Tami have put their heart and soul into saving this old house. As I told them, it’s one of the finest restorations that I have ever seen.

One of the best finds was this Sears “Argyle.” It’s in beautifully original condition, and has its original siding (which makes it easier to identify).

The subject house in Jacksonville is a spot-on match to its original catalog image. Check out the details around the front porch. They’re perfect!

According to newspaper articles, local historians had identified three known Sears Homes in Jacksonville, and this Crescent was one of them. The interesting thing is, the roof on this is “lifted” or much more steeply pitched than the original Crescent. Most likely, this modification was done when the house was built and it was a common “upgrade.” and created more room on the 2nd floor. The higher pitch of the primary roof is reflected in the porch roof, which is also lifted. There’s a Sears Crescent in Alton, IL (near my home in SW Illinois) that is the identical twin to this house with its super-steep roof line.

The Crescent (1928 catalog) as offered had a much shallower roof.

Is this a Sears Conway? I spent so much time sitting in front of this house, I was concerned that someone would call the cops. It was recently offered for sale, so I’ve also studied the online listing. Bear in mind, this is a “windshield survey” so I can’t be 100% certain, but I’d say that I am 83.47% certain that this is a Sears Conway but as with the “Crescent,” it has that lifted roof. That doesn’t concern me too much (as far as identification) because this was a common modification.

The Sears Conway was a very popular house. The model in Jacksonville had been subjected to multiple “improvements” through the years. Of all the houses I saw in Jacksonville, this is the “lone wolf” that I am just not certain about.

This sweet little Rodessa (Sears House) was one of my favorite finds. As with the other houses, it also features the lifted roof. The porch on that Rodessa makes it easy to identify.

This darling little house has a low roof, but if you “lift” the roof, the house in Jacksonville is a perfect match, right down to the off-center front door.

If a mother is allowed to have favorites, this was my favorite find of the day. It’s a Sear Paloma and I had never seen one “in real life.” After we got back to the Lugeanbeal’s home, we found that this was one of the three Sears Homes identified in that article from 2013.

Although not easily discerned from the original line drawing, the small window on the 2nd floor is off center in the Paloma. The only Paloma that I ever came across was one that Donna Bakker found many years ago (in Ohio).

Now, let’s talk about Aladdin. Like Sears, Aladdin sold their kit homes through a mail-order catalog. Sears started offering kit homes in 1908, but Aladdin actually began two years earlier in 1906. Sears was gone by 1940, but Aladdin continued offering their houses until 1981. Here’s an Aladdin Marsden, in very nice original condition. We also found a Marsden in another section of town, but it had been turned into a four-unit apartment building.

The house in Jacksonville still has the buffet window tucked under the eave. That’s a nice feature that it makes this house easier to identify. It also has those small windows on either side of the shed dormer.

The Aladdin “Winthrop” has four windows across the front. This house has five, but the piece on the side was an add-on, so I am comfortable with identifying this as a Winthrop. It also has the windows on the sides of the dining room bay.

The Winthrop was a popular house for Aladdin. Note those side windows on the dining room bay.

Is this an Aladdin “Cape Cod”? There was also a “pattern book” version of the Cape Cod that is similar, but absent an interior inspection, it’s tough to know for sure. I’d lean toward Aladdin because of its proximity to other Aladdin homes in the area.

Not a great picture but you can see how close it is to the subject house shown above! And keep in mind, these houses are now 100+ years old. Lots of things can change in 100 years.

This is just about one of the prettiest Aladdin “Georgias” that I have ever laid eyes on, and it’s within 200 yards of George and Tami’s house.

The house in Jacksonville is a perfect match.

Within minutes of arriving in Jacksonville, I fell in love. It’s a beautiful community filled with waterways and parks and small businesses and bustling restaurants. I’d love to return at some point and do a proper street-by-street survey.

The Aladdin Magnolia is a darling little house and I love that second floor porch. I believe that this image is from a 1930s catalog. Unfortunately, I’m not 100% sure of the date. Perhaps Dale will chime in and give me a precise date!

The subject house does NOT have a fireplace but that would have been a minor customization. Not everyone is keen on fireplaces. My father-in-law was a firefighter for 30+ years and had a personal contempt for fireplaces. He was a man of strong opinions and always said that fireplaces “should be bricked in and forgotten about.”

The upstairs is cantilevered with an additional one foot of depth. If you compare this to the subject house, you’ll see that one foot of depth is about the correct spacing on its second-floor projection.

The house in Kirkwood checks ALMOST all the boxes. It’s an awfully good match to the old catalog image. Is it possible that I am dead wrong about this little house in Kirkwood? Yes. LOL. But I have a good feeling about this one.

I’ve flipped the image to match the house in Kirkwood. In doing so, you can see what a good match it is! Even the vertical boards on the front gable are correct, as is the decorative scalloped edging on the bottom. It’s a very nice match.

Pretty sweet match! And a good angle, considering that I didn’t have the catalog image when I snapped the photo! If you have comments, send them to Rose (that’s me) at Magnolia2047@gmail.com.

Horses grazing peacefully in Southwestern Illinois.

Publication date – one day – but hopefully, it will happen soon.