One house at a time for Danforth remodelers

By Karen Donato
Staff Writer
    You could call it ‘Extreme Makeover’ on a smaller scale. Five ambitious women were tired of seeing homes in Danforth that were beautiful in their day becoming victims of neglect.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Karen Donato
DANFORTH DECORATORS — These three women and two of their friends are beautifying Danforth. Pictured from left are, Kristin Wittine, Cindy Lee, and Sue Shain. Not pictured are Lorraine Springer and Julie Grass.
Sue Shain, Cindy Lee, Kristin Wittine, Lorraine Springer and Julie Grass have been friends for several years and always talked about wanting to remodel a variety of places in the little town of Danforth. They decided that if they ever won the Megabucks “they would buy Danforth!” They had heard the stories from their fathers telling them how Danforth was once a booming town with beautiful homes, shops, a drugstore and a theater.
    This group wants Danforth to be that kind of place today.
    Finally they decided to put words to action. They formed a legal partnership with the support of their husbands, but with apprehension from their attorney. How could five women agree to agree especially when it comes to decorating? They were determined and they stayed true to their course. The partners invested $10,000 of their own money and secured a loan of a bit more than $20,000 from Machias Savings Bank in Houlton to help make their dream come true.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Mark Putnam
FIREPLACE — A carved fireplace frame and mantel adds to this historic Danforth residence saved by a small group of passionate women.
    They had a house already in mind. Richard Bartlett had owned the Curtis house since the 1930s, but he had passed away and the house was on the market. Due to Bartlett having been confined to a nursing home for several years the property had gone into disrepair and was most recently labeled the Plywood Palace by local residents. The once beautiful home at the corner of Rt. 1 and the Springfield Road was now going to be salvaged by five industrious ladies.
     This house had a history.  It had belonged to Dr. Curtis, a well-known doctor of that area. In fact, Dr. Curtis had the house built back in the early 1900s. When removing some of the woodwork the Curtis name was found on the back of some of the pieces. It had also been owned by a church prior to Bartlett’s purchase.
    “This has truly been a labor of love,” said Shain, Lee and Wittine in unison. “Stripping wallpaper, paint, ripping up rugs (to discover beautiful hardwood floors) and anything unsightly that needed an update,” they added, “We did it.”
    To keep decisions to a minimum, each partner took the responsibility of doing one room of their choice. Each one chose the paint, paper, fixtures and the accessories they wanted because it was ‘their’ space. This worked perfectly.
    Luckily the house was structurally sound, but they did have to hire professionals to update wiring, plumbing and a heating system. The women’s goal was to do as much of the work themselves as they could. They wanted to show by example, that with hard work and determination anyone can succeed. They are also doing this for their town.
    Just like many small towns that have been the victims of shops closing and business moving on to more populated areas, Danforth has suffered the same effects. The residents love their quiet town, but miss the hustle and bustle of days gone by.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Mark Putnam
BEAUTIFUL CEILINGS — This is one of the original tin ceilings in the former Dr. Curtis home in Danforth.
    The women have worked on the house since summer and have been rewarded by the fruits of their labor especially inside. They discovered that a blackened chandelier was stunning after using some cleaning solution and lots of elbow grease. They also painted the detailed woodwork of that early era. The workmanship of the mantel over the beautiful fireplace has become a showpiece of the house.  The original tin ceilings that are very intricate in design were also saved in the updating process.
     The women hoped to finish the outside before cold weather, but the winter season moved in too soon, so the new clapboards on the outside will wait until spring.
    As they worked on the house, there were lots of curious onlookers. Many gave them words of encouragement and the thumbs up, indicating they liked what they saw. Sometimes the curiosity seekers stopped in to share one of their own stories about being a patient of Dr. Curtis. Apparently the house was not only his home, it was also used as a clinic. Some visitors told about having their tonsils out and staying in a certain room, others had been born there.
    The group said they have received comments everywhere they went including the gas station and the grocery store. Those words have kept them going, as has the support of their husbands.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Mark Putnam
NEEDS WORK — The outside of the Curtis home is awaiting spring weather to get its updated look. Old clapboards will be replaced with new and the house will be painted complimentary greens and trimmed in white. Sherwin-Williams of Houlton has assisted with color selections.
    The women plan to sell the house once it is completed, but in the meantime they have had an opportunity to rent it out for the winter. The only catch was that it needed to be furnished, as the renters were going to be some of the employees for the nearby wind farm operation. That could have been somewhat of a problem, but they had the good fortune of receiving an offer they couldn’t refuse. A local summer resident had an entire camp full of furniture, including everything else needed to set up house keeping. Linens, dishes, small appliances, everything.
    Their hammers may be silent now, but once the snow melts these partners will be out with their tools to complete the outside.
    So will this quench their thirst for another ‘do over’? Nope! They already have their sights set on another home that needs a little TLC.