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| 11104 W Cook Rd, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Photo courtesy of Ashley Thorpe and Nick Karn. |
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| Sears Modern Home No. 118 (later known as the Clyde) from the 1914 catalog. |
Felix F. Ladig likely built this house in 1914 or 1915. (In 1915 the property tax amount jumped dramatically.) Felix lived in the house with his wife Frances and their four children.
The catalog text reads: "One is immediately impressed on approaching this house by its quiet dignity and air of comfort. The large, roomy porch seems to invite one to its cool shade."
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The Ladigs in 1916. Left to right: Mildred, Frances, Milo, Felix, and Cletus. Frances was pregnant with little Homer. Photo courtesy of Ashley Thorpe and Nick Karn.
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| The Ladigs in 1916 with their two big purchases. Does anyone know what model car this is? Photo courtesy of Ashley Thorpe and Nick Karn. |
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| An undated photo, no sign of the car. Is that Milo in the background? Photo courtesy of Ashley Thorpe and Nick Karn. |
The Ladigs did not live in the house very long. In November 1919, Felix ran an advertisement in the Fort Wayne News and Sentinel that he was leaving the farm and selling his livestock and equipment.
The 1920 census shows the Ladigs in the Sears house; by 1922 they had moved to another house in Fort Wayne.
11 comments:
Great photos!!
Model T
Thanks, Brett. That car must have been a nice chunk of change back in 1916.
This home has been a fav of mine for many years. I looked at it when it was for sale in, I want to say, the 1980's and asked the owner at that time if he was aware whether it might be a Sears or Wards Catalog home as I felt the style,while classically beautiful, to be a bit older than the build date. At the time he was unaware of kit houses. So happy someone did the research and found out about this home's history. You have a treasure for sure!
Jipsee you are right in that Sears, when they started the Modern Homes business, tended to sell styles that were older and a little outdated. The No. 118 does not look like a house built in 1914.
We are the new owners of this house and would love to get copies of these pictures!!! Please contact me if you still have them!!!
They are not my photos, but if you click on the link at the top of the article, you will go to Nick's Flickr account and you can message him there.
Is the only way to message him by getting a flicker account?? I am not the most technically savvy person!!
That's the only contact information I have.
We own this same model Sears home in Walla Walla, WA. Although the photos are not of my exact home, I would also love a copy of them.
We owned the house until 2005. We redecorated and remodeled the home at that time. The people after destroyed the inside. They had the wood burner put in the front room and connected it to the old chimney, which probably caused a fire in the attic. I hope you return the house to its proper former glory. We also decorated the entire house with Christmas lights. It is a beautiful home!
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