Brusky family in 1975. Clockwise from left
— Ron (16), Jim (41), Jan (39), Sue (14), Tom (5), and John (7).
In 1969, Jim and Jan Brusky and their children (ages one through ten)
were
living in Clinton, WI when Jim landed a school administration job in
the New Berlin School District. Needing a large house in the suburban
area for a family of six, they bought the Kerler House from the
Kearneys.
The Brusky family consisted of Jim (1934-2005), Jan, Ron, Sue, and
John. Tom was born later in the year.
By 1970, almost all of the houses currently existing along 104th St.,
103rd
St.,
101st
St.,
Norwich Ave., and Plainfield Ave. had been built.
1970
aerial view of the neighborhood.
This
1971 photo shows the windowed sunroom on the right. These windows
were
soon taken out and the sunroom walled in for a very specific reason,
which is mentioned further down. The wire connecting to the house is
the phone line. It was later buried underground.
1971.
The car in the photo is a mid-1960's Buick Skylark
station wagon.
1973.
Shown are three of
the five outdoor lights installed by Jim Brusky.
1974. By
this time,
the windowed porch had been walled in.
Two
photographs were combined to create this 1974 panoramic view of the
backyard as seen looking west-northwest from the second story of the
house. The vegetable garden is on the left, and
Jan's flower garden is on the right. The
newly-planted trees in the center background are a
fledgling orchard. The dirt trench on the right is where the phone line
was buried underground.
Even though the Bruskys bought the
house three years after the Moes sold it in 1966, Jan Brusky
recalled how Louise Moe, who was now remarried as Louise Bender, would
occasionally stop by to "check up" on the status of the house. It was
extremely important to Louise that the house's newest owners would also
be conscientious caretakers. After several visits, she seemed
satisfied that the Bruskys were going to be good stewards of
her former homestead.
The Bruskys completed many major home remodeling and building projects
in
the first few years of owning the house.
A large vegetable
garden, multiple flower gardens, and an orchard were planted
Outdoor lighting was
installed
The entire house
received trim painting and was partially resided
A concrete driveway and
patio were poured
A shed and playhouse
were constructed
A rec-room with
a fireplace and a kitchen area were built into the basement
But the most challenging project of
all came around 1974, after Jim noticed an auction for a pipe organ.
A church in
the little town of Scandinavia, Wisconsin was auctioning off a ten-rank
pipe organ. Jan used to play the organ and was a fan of the
instrument, and somewhere along the way, the idea came about to put a
pipe organ
in
the house. Jim placed a low bid on the organ. A ridiculously low
bid. And he won. The back porch where the Kerlers used to relax with
their cigars after
a long day in the field was soon a porch no more. It's windows were
removed and the exterior walls sided over. The floor was knocked out to
create a two-story-high room for the organ pipes. The gigantic air
compressor was installed in the basement. The installation of the organ
took an entire year to complete.
The pipe organ
cir. 1986
In 1975,
Jim built this shed (still under construction in this photo) to
store his roto-tiller and other gardening supplies. The second story
was designed to be a playhouse for John and Tom, but it was
never used as such. The south-facing, roof-mounted windows trapped too
much heat from the sun, sending temperatures inside the playhouse
soaring even with the windows open. The only occupants of the playhouse
were nests of hornets and an occasional, very hot raccoon. The
playhouse was
quickly repurposed for storage.
1975.
The attic window and roof trim are now painted black. Although there
are fuel tanks next to the house, the house was being heated by a huge
oil drum located in the basement. Within a couple years, the oil drum
would be dismantled and the house converted to natural gas heating. The
fuel tanks were soon removed as well.
Another
panoramic view of the backyard, 1975, made from two photographs. Ron
(16) is mowing the lawn with Tom (5) in tow.
Later in the 1970's, lightning rods
were installed on the roof, Jim planted grape vines and started making
wine, and a new subdivision was added to the
neighborhood. Norwich Avenue was extended west from 104th Street toward
the Root River,
terminating at a new 106th Street cul-de-sac.
1980's
1982.
The dirt patch in front of the porch steps was "home
plate". This front yard was where all the neighborhood kids got
together to play baseball, football, and Frisbee.
In 1984, Jim and Jan went on
a five-week trip through Europe, but, before they left, Jim had
arranged for the rest of the family (Sue and her then-boyfriend Brian,
John, and Tom) to remodel the kitchen, back hallway, and downstairs
bathroom while they were gone. It was to be a surprise for Jan. Jim
purchased all of the materials ahead of time. The family spent the
summer
ripping out and replacing flooring, wall tiles and countertops,
painting, and wallpapering. It was a brutally hot and
humid summer, and
the paint took a long time to dry. But, they got the job done in the
nick
of time, and Jan was pleasantly surprised.
1990's
In 1990, after Jim retired from New Berlin Public Schools, he
went right to work building a two-car garage and matching shed,
pouring a new concrete patio, building a stone water
fountain, and converting part of the basement rec-room into a recording
studio. The heated fountain became home to three very large goldfish.
The shed
was built against the back of the house where the sunroom used to be.
The
garage was built at the front of the driveway.
In the mid 1990's, the far half of
the driveway, which had always been gravel, became concrete.
In the late 1990's, the house had a
new roof installed. The old, red roof was replaced by a black one.
Also, John installed fluorescent lighting fixtures throughout the
attic. Before they were installed, the attic was always a dimly lit,
spooky place. Everyone who has lived in the house has vivid memories of
the attic.
In the spring of
1998, a late night storm rolled in with heavy winds,
but there was one sustained, straight-line wind that hit the
neighborhood particularly hard. About a third of the trees were lost on
the property, which made the local news.
2000's
In 2003,
John, a handyman by trade, pressure washed and repainted
the entire
house.
