Families connected to century-old home gather, share memories.
Homeowner Helene Babbitt, who, with her husband, the late Jim Babbitt, bought the house at 12 N. Hillside in 1995, donated the home to Townsite CLT. The local non-profit organization will preserve the 103-year-old, two-bedroom, one-bath bungalow and make it available as affordable housing in Flagstaff.
“Jim and I talked about moving the house years ago,” said Helene. “I live across the street from it. I wanted a smaller house, a house that wouldn’t need repairs for the next 20 years.”
Helene called up Townsite CLT Executive Director Duffie Westheimer to see if the organization was interested in the house. “She didn’t skip a beat. She said, ‘Yes!’ and everything fell right into place.
“This is one more piece of history that will be maintained,” said Helene, noting that Jim had a deep love for Flagstaff and was a major force in the town’s historic preservation. “It came to my attention how housing prices are really difficult for many people. It makes me happy to know that this home will be cared for and lived in for years to come.”
Among the small gathering were three generations of Babbitts: Helene, her son, Charles, along with his wife, Traleigh, and their four daughters, Britania, 7, Isla, 8, Kalista, 14, and Stella, 17, who was born in the house.
“This meant so much to my grandma [Helene],” said Stella Babbitt, who will be attending Arizona State University in the fall, working toward her goal of becoming a high school history teacher. “I’m really close to her and I wanted to support her and watch it go. Every time we had family gatherings at their house across the street someone would say, ‘Stella was born in that house!’ Seeing it go felt so unnatural but it’s really good that it will be preserved.”
Westheimer says the home was built around 1920 by Will and Ann Marlar. “Will was a pharmacist, an undertaker and a state senator. He had a funeral parlor, a dance hall and built an auto garage. He built 20 homes in Flagstaff.”
She says the Marlars sold it to Frank and Louise Wolf in 1924 or 1925. Louise’s grandchildren, Martha Wolf Jacobson and her brother, Tom, were visiting Flagstaff from Mesa, while the home was being prepared for the move.
“It was really emotional for me,” said Martha. “My brother and I would spend two weeks every summer there for 15 years while we were growing up. I was having flashbacks. We used to climb up on the hill – there were no houses up there then – we found the pond and played pirates. Grandmother had a chicken coop in the back of the house. We used to gather eggs. And she had a rock garden and a beautiful catalpa tree that we thought was a bush. I almost cried when the house was being taken off the lot. I know my grandmother just loved being in Flagstaff.”
In 1974, the home was sold to Eleanor Raudebaugh. “I’ll be honest. When I first saw it being lifted up, it was really, really emotional for me. I have so many wonderful childhood memories spending time there with my grandmother. I lived with her in the summers as she got older,” said Terry Gochanour, Eleanor’s granddaughter.
Gochanour and her mother, Mary Lou Raudebaugh Morrow, happened to drive by the house when it was being prepared for relocation. “It looked like a bomb went off! said Gochanour. “It was incredibly heart-warming to learn that it was going to be preserved and brought to the neighborhood where my mother grew up. To see that it’s going to be around forever made my heart very, very happy.”
Gochanour recalls her grandmother’s powerful voice that filled the entire house when she sang. “She could harmonize to anything. I will forever remember waking up in the morning and hearing her sing church hymns. I can remember standing on the counter putting dishes away when lightning struck across the street and it shook the whole house. She was so matter of fact about it. Nothing fazed her. She was my hero. My mother is so much like her. We have a legacy of strong women and I hope I’m carrying that on with my daughters.”
In the early 2000s, Helene and Jim Babbitt’s son, Charles, lived there as a young man and then with his wife, Traleigh, and their first daughter, Stella.
Moving the house was the responsibility of Garrett Denny, owner of Prescott-based Vibrant Building Solutions, and his team members Vince Fornara, Anthony Collum and Sean Timlick.
The move began at 6 p.m., Wednesday, June 28. “The size of the house wasn’t very big, but the route was very challenging because of how tight the homes were on Hillside and the trees,” said Denny. “The logistics were a bit challenging. At times we had only six or seven inches of space on either side of the house.”
“I’m just so impressed with what Duffie Westheimer and Charlie Silver [of Townsite CLT] did. They just kept after it.” said Helene. “And, the movers were just incredible, these people are so talented. The house was stalled for about an hour in front of my house and they had to move the wheels underneath by hand in order to change direction of the rig. They did that twice. They were never worried. It was an incredible feat.”
The historic house was delivered safely to 615 W. Birch St., nearly 10 hours after the move began, where it will become part of the neighborhood. “Louise Wolf’s grandchildren, Tom and Martha, stayed until 3:45 a.m.,” said Westheimer. “The house is sitting a little higher than the other houses right now. When the foundation is built, it will look like it’s always been there. Will Marlar built at least one house on West Birch.”
Townsite Community Land Trust was established in Flagstaff in 2014. The bungalow is the non-profit’s sixth property. Plans include replacing the roof, adding a small laundry room and making it available for the organization’s affordable housing program. A qualified homebuyer will be able to purchase the house below market value. The new homeowner will be required to maintain the property and when the home is sold again, they will earn the compounded interest and Townsite CLT will be able to sell the home again.
“This is a community investment and it makes me feel good that we can provide housing to our teachers, park employees, researchers – people who used to be able to afford a home in Flagstaff but can’t anymore. Then they become caretakers of Flagstaff’s history,” said Westheimer. “There’s a value to historic preservation and respecting the people who built this place. History explains the town’s character and why it is where it is. When a nonprofit controls the disposition of these historic houses, they will always be preserved.”
“It was such a cool night to see all those people coming together and sharing history and memories,” said Gochanour. “The Babbitt girls brought out coffee cake and it was such a positive evening with family and friends in support of preserving all that history. We’re a bit of a throw-away society these days. Whatever we can do to make sure that history is remembered and preserved, I’m all for it.” FBN
By Bonnie Stevens, FBN
For more information about Townsite CLT, visit www.townsiteclt.org.
Courtesy Photo: Stella, Helene, Britania, Isla, Traleigh, Charles and Kalista Babbitt gathered with Martha Wolf Jacobson, Tom Wolf, Mary Lou Raudebaugh Morrow and Terry Gochanour to pay tribute to the home that was important to their families.