Last issue, a rumor of several local homes being “Sears Catalog Homes” was discussed in this article. An eyewitness stepped forward, one Randal G. “Randy” Towner, who was able to recall physically being present in these old homes when they still had that “fresh from the catalog” appearance. With Randy’s information the following history could be noted:

a) the current Cigars and More building was originally Walter Gosswiller’s home

b) the current State Farm building was occupied early on by the Weidner family

c) the current Scout and Forge building was occupied early on by the Opsal family

As was previously noted, these homes have been drastically altered over the years. Here’s a couple of old pictures of Walter Gosswiller’s home and what it looks like now as the Cigars and More shop:

 

If you’d like to take a look at the variety of homes sold by Sears, check out the antiquehome.org website.