Unlocking the History of a Home: 1439 S Gary Avenue

 

The owners of 1439 S Gary Avenue were contacted out of the blue by a man who collected keys.  Somehow, he cam into possession of three very old keys clearly labeled 1439 S. Gary Ave and decided to return them to the home.  Although the locks that originally fit the keys have been upgraded (One does still exist but is no longer an exterior door) the return of the original keys unlocked a curiosity for this home’s history. 

The charming petite brick Tudor cottage was built in about 1929 and the first owners of the home were the Sell family.  The 1930 US Census listed the family as follows:

Merle and Loraine Sell were both 35 with three young children, John (8), Helen (4) and June (2).  The  2 bedroom/1 bath home  was valued at $6,000.  Mr. Sell seems to been in sales.  Seriously.  😊  From cigars to cars.   He was also a Veteran of the first World War had been hospitalized at at the VA Hospital in Muskogee due to injuries sustained in the war.

In 1932 Sell was named County Field Commissioner of Boy Scouts and was involved in a number of philanthropic activities including charity clothing drives.

Perhaps they struggled during the depression, because by 1932 the Sell family had moved and were living in a  ~900 sq foot home at 1707 S Gary Place.

It seems the family moved to Washington state later in the 30’s where Merle and Loraine divorced.  Merle remarried a woman named Lorine and lived until 1948.  Merle and Lorine are both listed on his World War I grave maker in Seattle, Washington. 

The next family to live in the home, and perhaps the longest owners, were Harold and Vita Hartzell.  They married in September 1948 but seems this was a second marriage for both of them.  They were 53  and 45 respectively.  The 1950 US Census lists the couple with 15 year-old “B. J. Tatum” as a stepson and Cora Wheeler, a 19 year old niece living with them.  Harold’s occupation is listed as Bus Driver, employed by the City of Tulsa.

The couple divorced in 1958 remarried in March 1959.  I am not sure the story there but the public record shows two separate applications for marriage just over 10 years apart.  Harold passed away in 1975. 

Meanwhile, another family lived at 1307 S. Florence Avenue.  Moses and Anna Laura Whittington who were married for over 50 years.  Moses Whittington was a Reverend for the Methodist church, working as an associate pastor at St. Paul’s for years after he retired.  His wife, Anna Laura died in 1975.  

Somehow Vita Hartzell and Moses Whittington, who both lost their long time partners in 1975 came together.  They married in 1977 and lives at 1439 S. Gary Avenue.  Moses lived until 1986 and Vita died at age 94 in 1999.  From there Vita's son, B. J., who was more formally listed as Benjamin and his wife, Sue, took ownership of the home through 1989.

Back to the keys: 

The three keys are beautiful.  An elegant shape with decorative metalwork on the hilt.  One key is stamped Reading Knob Works, Reading, PA U.S.A.  Two others read Independence Lock Co (ILCO, Fitchburg, Mass. 

Reading Knob Works was a manufacturer of glass knobs and builders' hardware located in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was associated with the Reading Hardware Company, which was an industrial leader from the 1880s to the late 1920s, and the company's products, such as glass knobs, are still available through antique and vintage dealers.

The Independence Lock Co. (ILCO) was a lock and key manufacturer in Fitchburg, MA, operating from the 1920s to the 1970s. The company produced various products, including vintage padlocks, keys, and key machines, and was located in a three-story factory on Daniels Street. Today, the Kaba Ilco Corp. brand continues to be a major key blank manufacturer, though it is now located in Rocky Mount, NC, not Fitchburg.