The Second Empire House Described by Mary Calhoun Still Sits at the Top
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“Click” on any of the articles listed below to go directly to them. When a Voter from Keokuk…....7 Grave Robbing in Keokuk…….11 “It was nothing but an ugly old red brick house squatting in the sunlight, square as Farewell to Howard Carter…...13 a box, flat roof, not even a bit of ivy on the walls to soften the sharp corners. It was Band Fest Sights & Sounds…15 three stories high, and little hooded windows rimmed the top of the house, like Conrad Nagel Film Festival…..16 beady eyes.” Keokuk Rocks the Arts………..18 Mary Calhoun, Katie John Keokuk Veterinary…………….21 McNamara’s Band……………..22 The Second Empire House described by Mary Calhoun still sits at the top KCED Puzzles………………….28 Creative Expressions…………..29 of the hill at Second and Blondeau Streets, overlooking the Mississippi Riv- Calendar of Events…………….32 er, here in Keokuk. KCED Map……………………..34 The “old house,” as author Mary Calhoun always lovingly called it, was the setting for her “Katie John” book series about a ten year old girl who comes to live in the house for the summer. Like many children uprooted for the summer, Katie John hates being away from friends. However, she soon makes new friends and has many AAUW..………………………...14 exciting adventures. At the end of the Conn Communications…………8 summer she finds out that she will be Connection Bank………………31 Keokuk Union Depot………….17 staying on in the “the old house,” which Main Street Keokuk ………….9 sets the scene for subsequent books in Nancy Seabold, Realtor……….12 the Katie John series. Pilot Grove Savings Bank.……...6 Mary went on to put her pen to some River Hills Village…………..…23 fifty books, her much beloved “Henry Sutlive Real Estate……………..18 The Cat” series being among the most Vigen Memorial Home…………4 widely read. Her last book was published in 202 Blondeau Street 2001. Sadly, Mary Huiskamp Calhoun Wilkins passed away October 27, 2015. My husband Mike and I feel blessed to have gotten to know her through correspondence and her vis- its to our home, “the old house.” There is more to tell about the friend- ship that grew between us, but first let us consider the house itself and the members of her family who lived there. The “old house” is so very rich with history that one hardly knows where to begin but I will go back before its beginning and the man who had it built. His name was Henry Halsey Clark. He was born in New Jersey in 1825. Continued on Page 2 Continued from Page 1 Joyce Glasscock, Ex-Officio Chuck Pietscher, President When he arrived in Keokuk I do not know. What I do know is that Ed Kiedaisch, Past President he was partners in the D. H. Kerr Company which sold Carole Betts, Vice President Dev Kiedaisch, Treasurer pharmaceutical supplies to the hospitals in Keokuk during the Civil Tom Gardner, Secretary War. I also know from researching old Daily Gate City articles that Kotch Belmonti he was involved in many civic activities. He acquired the property at Noel Brown 202 Blondeau Street in 1871. According to an elaborate cursive Rose Marie Karre Alka Khanolkar signature above the doorway to the living room, “Joyce & Son, Mike O’Connor Painters and Framers” completed their work “October 14th 1872.” Sandy Seabold Mr. Clark and his wife Harriett Plummer Clark had two Nancy Tweedy Seabold daughters, Emily and Mary. Mary was Mary Calhoun's great grand- Dianne Stanley mother. Sadly, Harriet passed away when Mary was only ten. Nathalie Dal As was a common practice in those days, Mary and her sister The Keokuk Confluence is a quarterly Emily were sent to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to the Moravian publication of the Keokuk Cultural & Entertainment District. Advertising and Boarding School for Young Women, which was the first boarding news may be submitted by calling or school for young women in the United States. It was the custom of e-mailing the contacts listed below. that time to teach young women to be proficient in skills such as All opinions expressed in this music, art, fancy work, etc. Mary became expert in needlework and publication are those of the advertisers, writers, or other news sources, and do not sketching. In her book, John M. Huiskamp, Artist, Mary Calhoun reflect the opinions of the magazine, the says of her great grandmother “Mary made a career of the skills she publisher, or the editor. The Keokuk learned at the school. When she was an adult she sketched Confluence is not responsible for any errors. whimsical pictures and verses on linens… the linens range from Contents are copyrighted. doilies to napkins to cake covers.… At first they were in demand by Reproduction of any material in this friends; then Mary Clark sold her linens through Marshall Field's in publication without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. © 2018 Keokuk Chicago and similar stores in St. Louis. She had many orders for her Cultural & Entertainment District. work and earned a modest income.” The deadline for copy and advertising I can testify to their beauty because we are fortunate to own is one month prior to publishing. Email some of the fancywork generously given to us by her great grand- stories and articles to Sandy Seabold. daughter Mary Calhoun. We also had a “This Old House” moment Publisher: Sandy Seabold when in the process of redoing the house, we actually found ledger [email protected] pages for the fancywork in the ceiling. Incidentally, Henry H. Clark Calendar: Carole Betts [email protected] married again and had other children. He continued to live at 202 Advertising: Dianne Stanley Blondeau Street until his death. [email protected] At this point I need to tie in the Huiskamp branch of Mary Editor: Tom Gardner [email protected] Calhoun's family. The Huiskamp family history is truly an American Editorial Advisors: success story. The story begins in Holland as the Huiskamps are of Carole Betts Dutch decent. Mary's great-great grandfather, Hendrick Huiskamp, Joyce Glasscock Janet Fife-LaFrenz was wholesaler in a factory near Amsterdam. Alka Khanolkar Dev Keidaisch Ed Keidaisch Dianne Stanley Designer: Kira Kruszynski Technical Advisor: Adam Zetterlund Continued on Page 3 Continued from Page 2 Her great-great grandmother, Lucretia Landaal, married Hendrick despite the objections of her family. The Huiskamps had eight children, seven boys and one girl. Hendrick died in 1843. Shortly thereafter, Lucretia, along with seven of her children, sailed for America. The eighth child had already made the journey. Along the way she lost her oldest son. Finally, the family was united with her son Albert, already in St. Louis. In time, all of the Huiskamp men were successful in their pursuits. Two of the brothers bought a shoe store in Keokuk and eventually built a shoe factory here as well. This is where the mother and most of the family 202 Blondeau in the 1870’s settled. Mary's great grandfather, John M. Huiskamp, chose to work at the shoe store and at the same time pursue his career as an artist. His Dutch tradition of still life paintings was well known, and some can still be viewed at the Miller House Museum and the Keokuk Public Library. His still life Oriental Vase hangs in our parlor. There are so many fascinating stories about this family, too many to include in this short sketch! John M. Huiskamp and his brother Henry both courted Miss Ma- ria Werth, John M. winning her hand. Henry subsequently fell in love with and married Maria's sister. John M. and Maria were married in 1856. Their son was born a year later while John M. continued to paint and to help run the family shoe store. The son was named John William but was always called Will, and he was Mary Calhoun's grandfather. John M. became a U.S. citizen in 1860. This same year he moved his growing family to Pella, Iowa, and started a shoe store there, selling, of course, shoes from the Husikamp Shoe Factory in Keokuk. The business was successful, and he was given the honor of being the postmaster of Pella. One of John M. and Maria's daughters became ill from The cover of Mary’s first consumption (i.e., tuberculosis) which caused the family to spend Katie John book time in Colorado where the air was thought to be beneficial. Unfortunately, this daughter, Lucia, died in 1875 at the age of 14, when her brother Will was 16. The family moved back to Keokuk to take over ownership of the boot and shoe business, at 516 Main Street, naming it the “Red Shoe House.” John M. was able to showcase his artwork in the shoe store, thus furthering his art career. Continued on Page 4 Continued from Page 3 Will was able to travel with his father on some of his art excursions as well as on many of his hunting and fishing trips. As he grew older, however, Will was left to manage the shoe store while his father focused on becoming the artist he always aspired to be. As a young man Will had his eye on Miss Mary Clark, then living at 202 Blondeau Street—yes, “the old house.” A courtship ensued and in November of 1889 they were married. Their son Clark (Mary Calhoun's father) was born in 1892. In 1903 a fire at second and Morgan Streets destroyed John M's home. Will, Mary and their son Clark, who were living there at the time, had to move in with Grand- pa Clark, in “the old house,” at 202 Blondeau Street.