How I Got the Idea, Part 1

Not long ago, I was trying to find a music store in an unfamiliar part of town. In the process, I made an unscheduled detour into the Fifties.

Actually, I was looking for a place to turn around. What I found was a house that seemed frozen in the Eisenhower Administration. The same was true of the car parked in the carport.

Instantly, my mind was racing with questions. Did the inside of the house evoke the same historical feeling as the outside? What had this neighborhood looked like when Ike was in office? Who owned the house now? The same family?

This isn't the first time I've felt such curiosity about these kinds of places. But I've never pursued this interest. After all, I'm busy with my private music studio and weekend performances. Plus my husband and I have a house that cries out for decluttering and a good paint job. So I usually let the curiosity fade and go on to other things.

Not this time.

When I returned home, I decided to post my experience on Barbara Sher's bulletin boards. It's a community of incredibly supportive people, and I knew someone would have some ideas on how I could expand my interest.

As expected, I received several terrific suggestions. The first one was to simply look at newspaper articles and ads from the 1950's. I already knew that I could access historical issues of the Washington Post through the public library website. I could do that between lessons ... from the comfort of my own home! Who knew it could be so easy?

So that's where the journey began.