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4:50 pm Wed May 18, From The South West Lawn, A View Of Front Entrance Door & Porch, Of Our Sarah’s Childhood Farm Home. ….The /\ Above /\ Photo, showing a covered porch, has the appearance of the Front of the House, facing directly West. However this entrance must not be much used, since there is no evidence of a path or regular walking on the grass. The garage and gravel driveway, access the opposite (East) side of the house, evidence that this is the most used entrance to this home. Henry Gurr’s Closing Thoughts About His Visit To Dallas Center IA, As Part of His Sarah Vinke Biography Field Research Trip: ….And it was great to hear from Larry Reed, that the beams and very wide boards, for Sarah Jennings’ Farm House, constructed in ~1860, was of walnut wood, that had been harvested on the farm land owned by Sarah’s Paternal Grandfather. Also, the facts that Sarah’s father Jacob Jennings, fearing tornados, filled all walls with chicken wire mesh reinforced concrete (for extra strength), and for extra 2nd floor insulation. This effectively, made a second lath & plaster inner wall. Larry saw these, when as a boy helped his father remove all this, in order to add more modern wall-cavity insulation. He said “Those old walnut beams were so dense and hard, you would smoke your drill trying to penetrate them.” … Later, Lorna Grow, in email writes: “[I talked to] Jim Ball (Dallas Center windmill guy, who said that), the Jennings farm house was made with walnut trees from the farm. The studs went from the foundation clear up to the roof. Some of the boards were really wide.” So we get different stories, but that is a possibility. Just think of [those pioneering] men who had to handle it. And they did.” (( A NOTE by HSG =>: Of course these walnut double story vertical beams, were local sawmill, rough cut, full size, true 2 X 4’s, unlike the weak pine 1.5 x 3.5 inch beanie pine sticks used today. )) Photo File = DSC_0067.JPG … Posted 21 Aug 2020.