The Haggerty’s First House (January 20, 2006)

First Christmas in the new house with Kelly (1965)

Mr. Muggs (December 1969)

At the front door with William (1967)

Mr. Muggs and Kelly

 

     In the summer of 1965, David, baby Kelly and I left our one-bedroom apartment on Clayton St. in San Francisco to move to our first house at 311 Willard North.  We borrowed five thousand dollars as a down payment.  The house cost twenty-five thousand dollars.  It seemed like a lot at the time; but when our youngest son Tom and his wife Alayne bought their first home in San Francisco for four hundred thousand dollars, ours looked like a steal!

     We didn’t have far to move.  The University of San Francisco (USF), our alma mater, rose one block uphill from our apartment.  Its church steeples glistened in the sun one block east of our new home.  Having no car, we rented a small truck. My brother and some great friends helped us move, making the activity more fun.

     The original owner built the house as a cottage about 1886 according to city records, thus pre-existing the 1906 Earthquake. It was unique by San Francisco standards, having only one step up from the sidewalk to the front door.  A fourteen-unit apartment sat to our left on the corner and a three-story flat to our right.  All of our neighbors had long flights of stairs to their front doors.  We had long stairs at the back of our house, which descended to our beautiful yard.  Emerald green grass flourished in the moist climate, surrounded by pink and purple fuchsia bushes.  We had a wonderful basement off the back yard, which we used primarily for storage.  An interior stairway would have made it more inviting for daily use.

     A previous owner converted the garage to a room, which became my husband’s study and the guest room.  Over the next two years, two of our dearest friends came to share our home for several months while they looked for their own places to live in the city.

     Our new home came with a fresh coat of white paint, both inside and out.  When we bought it, it seemed enormous.  The addition of furniture shrunk the rooms remarkably, but it was still warm and cozy.  Hardwood floors glistened in all the rooms except the dining room and the kitchen.  Dark brown linoleum with multicolored flecks covered them.  I loved those floors, because the dirt just seemed to disappear!    A large window at the back of the kitchen looked over our back yard.  I could wave hello to the neighbors in the apartment house next door.  What a great way to make friends

     A small, enclosed porch off the kitchen at the top of the stairs had a glass-paned door and a large window, very sunny and inviting.   Uncle Cliff helped us put in electrical outlets and plumbing for a washer and dryer on that porch.  He also added a cabinet on the wall, which held all our cleaning supplies.

     We had room in our kitchen for our small yellow Virtue Brothers Formica table and four chairs. The dining room became our family room.  Because the house had no fireplace, I ordered an imitation brick cardboard one, with a flickering light behind the cardboard logs, just in time for our first Christmas.  It looked very authentic and provided a place to hang the stockings with care.   The house had only one bedroom, located off the family room; it became our nursery

     A semi-divided living room provided ample space for our master bedroom.  Across the hall from our room, an old fashioned bathroom, with pedestal sink and a claw-footed bathtub, provided hours of fun for the baby. 

     The second year in our new home, we welcomed our first son, William.  He joined Kelly in the nursery.  Shortly after William’s arrival, a bulldog named Muggs joined the family; he was just two weeks younger than our son.  At the time our daughter was two, and I thought every two-year old should have a dog.  Little did I realize what a challenge raising a new baby, a toddler and a puppy would be in the big city, especially because the dog ran out the door every opportunity it had and would never come when called.

     Year four, we welcomed Tom into the family and started a new nursery in the front half of the living room.  With a growing family, the house shrank even more, but we still felt comfortable and happy in our snug, loving home.  Visits for meals and conversation from neighbors, former college classmates and even a Muni bus driver and his girlfriend, made life stimulating and enjoyable.   

      We all managed to travel easily about the city on buses.  It seems a challenge when I think back; but, at the time, hopping onto a bus with three children under age five and a stroller seemed easy.  There were grocery stores within two blocks--an easy walk--and we lived one block from Golden Gate Park.  What a great location! 

 

     After David finished a master’s degree at San Francisco State, he accepted a graduate student position at UC Davis in the fall of 1969.  We rented a larger truck for this move and, again, dear friends helped us pack up. We said goodbye to our friends and to our beautiful little white house, one step up from the sidewalk.