The Neighbors Who Came to Call Too Often, Bunkie and His Mother
During the Great Depression , landowners and real estate speculators in Pittsburgh , as well as the rest of the country, lost everything. As a result, investors were able to find great deals. A few miles south of Carrick, a bankruptcy-acquired estate was renamed Baldwin Manor and divided into huge lots by the new owner. One gave the exact environment that Mother had envisioned for her ideal home. My parents paid for the lot over several years, remitting a little amount of the sum each month. We used to drive out to the lot before the road upgrades so Mother could stand in the tall weeds, the breeze whipping her skirt, conjuring up architectural plans fit for the plot. My parents engaged a contractor once it was theirs, free and clear. Mother was overjoyed with the house he made for them. It was a red brick, center-hall colonial with a porch, a sun deck, two baths, an attic, and a clothes chute, which was my best part. Mother began catching up on her social commitments shor...