Page 9 - Discover Fall 2020

Tiny Renovation
It’s not every day that you find an
abandoned house filled with fine furniture... one
that is free for the taking.
However, that’s exactly what happened
while Peter Cadotte and his friend, John, were on
an errand in Newport News, VA. Their business
took them through a neighborhood and past a
home that was in foreclosure.
There beyond the front lawn of the empty
house, resting against the curb amid the remnants
of a hasty move, was a large dollhouse waiting
to be hauled away with the garbage. Its roof was
badly damaged, and its paint faded and worn,
but clearly it had been a beauty in its day. Peter
stopped to examine the house more closely, and
found several interesting pieces of dollhouse
furniture and accessories. Some were scattered
throughout the rooms of the dollhouse; others
heaped together in a large plastic container. He
knew that the furniture alone would be worth
hundreds of dollars to collectors.
He also thought of the child whom his
brother and sister-in-law were expecting. On
impulse, he bundled up the house and all the
pieces of furniture and parts that he could find,
and took them home. His intention was to
restore the house for his unborn niece. Instead of
a niece, however, he was blessed with a nephew,
now 9 months old, named Francois. The priority
of making repairs to the little house suddenly
shrank.
Then, while visiting her son one day last
summer, Peter’s mother, Frances Cadotte, spotted
the dollhouse in a corner of his garage. It was
still in pieces, but its potential was obvious to
her. There is some debate about the style of the
house: some of its features are Victorian; others,
By Kate Hofstetter
such as the roof line and front porch, appear
to be American Farmhouse. The white trim
over the exterior window-tops has a Colonial
look. Perhaps the style should be described as
“an American two-story”. In other words: no
particular style, just a combination of some
popular architectural features that add up to
charming.
It is believed that the house is over 30 years
old. Based on the amount of detail in furnishings
and decorations, it was likely the hobby of its
original owner. In later years, it probably became
the toy of a child or children, which would explain
the broken furniture. In one room, there is a
framed “pinkie-nail” photo of a young girl who
could probably shed some light on the house’s
history. The portrait will remain fixed to the wall
and become the property of the next owner.
“Wednesday Women could use that
dollhouse for our annual sale,” Frances told her
son, who by this time regretted the amount of
space that the ramshackle house was eating up in
his garage.
Wednesday Women is a social and
philanthropic club made up of members of
Resurrection Catholic Church. As the name
implies, the women meet each Wednesday at the
Church in Moneta. Their biggest event each year
is a sale of homemade crafts and baked goods.
During this sale, there is a drawing for one special
item. This year, it would be the dollhouse that was
rescued from certain death in some landfill on
Virginia’s eastern shore.
“As soon as I saw it, I knew just the
person who could bring that dollhouse back to
life,” Frances declares, “and that person is Gerri
Williams. She has worked magic on two or three
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