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The Mendenhall family used this room as their Sitting Room. It contained a stand alone fireplace and a couch. The Kendrick family used the room in a similar manner, and we are sure so did previous families. It is believed that the Sierras opened up the wall and built the pass through going into the next room. This made it a logical Dining Room, and we use it as such, as did the Cain family before us. The artwork on the wall is an original piece created by David. The subject is the Holy Cross Abbey located in Canon City, Colorado, and was inspired by the wine bottle label for their Vineyard Sunset wine. A large print of the bottle label could not be obtained, so David decided to create his own version of it.
When we bought the house, the fireplace came with the insert. However, it was not connected, nor was there any gas lines running to it, so it appears to be strictly an ornamental piece. The fireplace itself could be a working unit with a little bit of work. Sadly, some of the bricks are starting to fall in. It is our goal to correct this in the next few years and return it to a working unit.
The light fixture was found and purchased at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore store. During the HPI Historic Home Tour, we had the opportunity to meet the gentleman who donated them. They came out of a house in Colorado Springs.
Yet another buffet. This and the dining set were the first pieces of furniture we bought for house after moving in. It sits where the Mendenhalls had their couch. The house also had carpeting on the main level. The oak flooring you see in this picture was added some time after 1986.
Off from the Dining Room is a pantry. From all indications, this Pantry is original to the house. These cabinets and drawers were in the house in the same configuration when the Kendricks moved into the house in 1932. During her visit, Olwen Kendrick said that her mother, Rachel, did not like things laying around, so each person in the household was assigned a drawer. James Sr. and Rachel had the top two drawers, Olwen and Joan had the two drawers in the middle row, and James Jr. had a bottom drawer. That left one drawer that was used for other things. Olwen said that she kept her books and school supplies in her drawer.
Note the mirror with the gold frame. This belonged to Rachel Kendrick. After Rachel's death in 1965, Olwen (being the Administratrix) sold the house. After the sale, several items were left in the house, including this mirror. Terry Mendenhall laid claim to this mirror and took it with him when he moved out. Terry kept this mirror and the other items since that time, and very graciously returned several of those things to the house. This mirror is Nicole's most prized item in the house.
Below are some images of what the Dining Room looked like prior to us moving in. As with the Parlor, we removed the 15-pane doors. They are also in storage in the attic. We felt they took up too much room and restricted the flow of the house. The wallpaper shown was in the Pantry. This was the wallpaper that the Mendenhall family had. It was also the paper that was in the entire Dining Room, but had been removed some time after 1986. We chose to update the Pantry with a new wallpaper. Nicole did a great job on painting the fireplace. This color of brown was not to either of our tastes.
