730 Miami Pass, Madison, Wisconsin - Dad's Boyhood Home (Steussy Blog)

On Sunday afternoon, November 18 before Thanksgiving, Winna Steussy gave Gabi and me a tour of Madison. The coup of our entire trip happened when we were passing by Dad's boyhood home at 730 Miami Pass in Madison. We stopped on the side of the street to look at the house and saw the owner fixing her screen door. I jumped out and said, "My father grew up in your house."

She invited Winna and me into her house, and let us take photos.

First of all, a bit of history.

Edwin Emil Steussy (1895-1981) and Helen Freitag Steussy (1897-1966) built the house in 1928. The current house has had a number on renovations and additions, particularly in the back, so it is quite different from its original appearance. The original cost to build - $25,000.

They raised their three children in the house - Robin (born 1921), Calvin (my father, 1923) and Mary (1936). I've shown these photos to Dad and Mary already. Both got an enormous kick out of them.

Photos are arranged based on which ones jogged Dad and Mary's memories the most, so are probably closest to the original house.

The front door to the house.

The stairs are just the same.

Top of the stairs.

This is the room that Robin and Dad grew up in - from age 5 to their early twenties. Originally, the left side of this photo was an unheated porch located over the garage that they would sleep in during the summer - the right side belongs to the enclosed front bedroom. The front bedroom was quite small, with just enough room for two twin beds. In later renovations, the porch was enclosed and heated, as you see it now. Both Mary and Dad remembered clearly the step down from the bedroom to the porch, which is still visible in these photos.

Another angle of Dad and Robin's room.

Porch over the garage as seen from the back of the house.

The front room has clearly been worked on, perhaps several times. Dad thinks that the stonework around the fireplace is original.

Closer look.

Front of the house, a bit closer than before.

Neighbors, all very much like the 1930's.

More neighbors.

Edwin Emil Steussy sold the house in 1944, during a real estate crash, and received only $10,000 in the sale. The family lived in a small house before moving to Nakoma Road, the house that I remember from visits in the 1960's when I was a very small boy.

Nakoma Road house.

A great deal of thanks to the new owner of Miami Pass who let us tour the house and take these photos! I didn't write down your name (sorry!), but it was very kind of you to let us in. If you read this, do please pass me an email (ed at steussy.com).