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Preserving a solid piece of history Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Joan Middendorff, president of the Rogue Valley Community Development Corp., walks from the kitchen to the dining room of the house on Fir Street in Medford that Caroline Hacker wants to move in order to preserve a piece of her family�s history. Old house, once doomed, could become new home By Jessica Smith When Caroline Hacker learned the house her grandfather and father built would be torn down for a city street, she immediately wanted to do something about it. "To me, it was important," the 65-year-old Medford native said. "With my mom just passing away, I really wanted to keep something from the family." It was during a trip to Medford after her mother�s death in September that Hacker, who lives in Port Angeles, Wash., discovered the city was planning to build a road where the brown craftsman-style house sat for most of the past century. Four months later, Hacker is prepared to pay the cost of moving her family�s home and to sign the deed over to the Rogue Valley Community Development Corp., a nonprofit group that works with high school students to rehabilitate older houses in west Medford and sell them to low-income families. Before all that happens, however, Hacker needs the Medford City Council�s consent. The council is expected to consider Hacker�s request at its meeting at noon Thursday. The city earlier this year bought the property at 540 S. Fir St. from Naumes Inc., as well as three other vacant parcels on an alley near the company�s fruit packing house. Together, the parcels will provide a corridor for 13th Street between Grape and Fir streets to make up for the future closure of Grape at Monroe Avenue. Sabroso Co. plans to take over Grape when it eventually expands. Hacker said she wanted to preserve the house not only for sentimental reasons but also because it�s a good example of turn-of-the-century workmanship. "My mom said anything my dad ever built, it would stand forever." Constructed in the early 1900s, the milk-chocolate-colored house was built as a kind of showpiece for Hacker�s grandfather, William Schmidt, and her father, Walter, who were both contractors. The wide porch, large windows, sturdy wood floors, and hand-made moldings are just a few of the original touches that give the house a historical feel. Yet age hasn�t been kind to parts of the house � the roof needs repairs, the kitchen needs to be gutted and the whole interior needs a coat of paint. Joan Middendorff, president of the Rogue Valley Community Development Corp., said the cosmetic touch-ups will lead to a big payoff. "I sold homes for 25 years, and you get to know the feel of a place. This is just solid," she said. "It�ll be beautiful." RVCDC has already found a place to put Hacker�s home, a corner lot at Third and Grape streets. With the council�s approval, the organization hopes to move the house this month and begin renovations in early February. Homes renovated through the RVCDC program are sold to families with incomes of no more than 80 percent of the median income in Medford. Students from South Medford High School would do the renovation work on the Hacker�s house as part of a training program offered by the school. Hacker, whose family sold the home in the late 1930s after her grandfather�s death, said she was tempted to purchase the lot and take control of the residence herself to preserve her family�s piece of history in Medford. "But this way, I�m helping the school and people who need a home," she said. "Hopefully, they�ll take good care of it." Reach reporter Jessica Smith at 776-4481, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.