Photo and blog post by John HoffThe house I own on Bryant Ave. N. was once the home of a family named "DeFoe." I know this because of the step leading to the detached garage. I think another garage used to stand on the property, because once saw it on an old platte map, but my garage is clearly of more recent construction.
Not only is the name "DeFoe" on the step, but...
...one of the DeFoe's wrote his name on an exposed stud inside the garage, along with a number I assume was the year he graduated from high school or college. (Ted DeFoe, '85)
Recently, a friend of mine said I should replace the name "DeFoe" with "Hoff," but I said I would NEVER do that. This is the name of the man who built my excellent garage, the father who poured his life and love into that house and kept it up well enough. At some point, the house fell into the hands of some wheeler-dealer named Kevin Freeman who turned it into a flophouse.
Not only will I not get rid of the name on the step, but I've thought about filling in the letters with pewter, so they really show up well. (The melting point of pewter is so low, you can melt it with a match. I learned this in high school shop class)
I love my home in NoMi, and the little pieces of history I discover in my adventure of home ownership.
What if you find that Mr Defoe was a L3SO would you then remove it?
ReplyDeleteI don't feel like I need to put much thought and worry into that particular "what if." I have enough "what's" to worry about without borrowing trouble by tackling ultra-hypothetical "what ifs."
ReplyDeleteI will.Anonymous 5:29s remark has me baffled because John even posted it.John, your neighborhood has a rich history.It was not that long ago that yours was one of the most amazing parts of North Minneapolis.Diversity, people getting along and being the type of neighbors that watched each others kids and did favors for each other.I miss those times and i miss the North Minneapolis that i grew up in.I am seeing certain types of behavior from our 21st century activists that is definitely telling me that we are on the rebound. Comments from anonameass 5:29(a no name ass)probably originate from a frustrated pervert sitting in a dark room wishing that the staff at St.Peters would give him his teddy bear back.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of diversity, DeFoe is a surname that is very common and has a long history with Native American communities in Minnesota.
ReplyDelete- M Clinton
Checkout the airtime K.S.T.P. gave pevert rickmyer-stephensen on their newscast at 11:00 this morning.He was asked his opinion on the murder on 26th and Penn.It aired at the top of the show.KSTP is officially the perverts news station and a big fucking joke.
ReplyDeleteI am a member of the DeFoe family. I am not sure if this is a relative or not but, I appreciate that you plan to keep the step in it's place!
ReplyDelete