Banister

    I should have something to say here, since I have given the unique stairway a section of it's own.  Oh, I wish I could tell you more about the original configuration of 421 Oak Street.  We know the dining room side was an add-on.  Look at the difference in the brick.  The bookcase in the boy's room was once an outside window facing east. Therefore the Staircase was one of the first features encountered when entering the house through what I believe to have been the main, west entrance.  The bathroom didn't exist and the passage continued straight through a doorway to where the kitchen is now as we know it.
    Nothing special about the staircase, you say?  Guess again!  Take a look at that banister, which was a stunning piece of hand carved art.  The bathroom wall was extended over in the 50's during that reconstruction.  Prior to that time the banister had clearance on both sides all the way from the second floor.  A determined lad could jump on at the top and slide down around the curve, lifting the left foot over the brace, to continue all the way to the first floor in one fell swoop.  Once that stunt became old hat, one could stand on the upper floor, and with proper placement of the stretched out hands could pull off a one step hop over the banister to land on the cold air grating on the lower floor.  There was no end to the records set.  When the slinky was introduced, the staircase was one of the original testing grounds for it's abilities.
    I don't have any remembrances of any major injuries attributed to the stairs or the banister.  The staircase was the family meeting point prior to being allowed into the living room on Christmas morning.
 

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