Host Kendra Gaylord explores the South Berwick, Maine home of author Sarah Orne Jewett, discussing her independent life and literary inspiration drawn from the region's women with Alyssa Sweet, Southern Maine Site Manager for Historic New England, in this interview.
22 May 2024TRANSCRIPT
The Hulda Klager House and Lilac Gardens
In this episode of Someone Lived Here, Kendra brings you to the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens in Woodland, Washington. The home was built by Hulda's family, The Thiel's in 1889. Hulda Klager would purchase the home and move in in her 40s.
She became interested in the work of Luther Burbank, a horticulturist and hybridized. She had been inspired by the book New Creations in Plant Life by William Sumner Harwood, which detailed Luther Burbanks process. Hulda Klager began her own experiments with hybridization: first with apples, then lilacs. Behind the house is a large garden filled with lilacs, many of which were Hulda's creations.
*Audio levels fixed May 28th, 2024*
This episode wouldn't be possible without the Hulda Klager Lilac Garden. Mari Ripp, the executive director, made this whole recording possible. Judy Card, Debbie Elliott, Barbara Harlan, and Mari Ripp guided us through the home and property. The historic talk was put on by the Hulda Klager Lilac Garden, the Woodland Historical Museum, and the Lelooska Foundation. It was moderated by Erin Thoeny and recorded by Keith Bellisle. Thank you to Mary Jo Kellar, Fran and Kirk Northcut, and Jon Drury for their stories.
Images from the day of the interview were taken by Ada Horne. Tim Cahill created our music. You can find a full transcript of this episode below the photos.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kendragaylord
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kendragaylord
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kendragaylord
13 Mar 2023
The Hori Bathhouse and Neely Mansion: 5 families stories of farming in Washington
In the sixth episode of season 3, Kendra brings you to Neely Mansion in Auburn, Washington. The property was built by the Neely's: a pioneer family, but it was home to tenant farming families from the early 1900s to the 1980s. Behind the house is a Japanese Bath House built by the Hori Family and further back a tool shed used by the Acosta family. We had the pleasure of talking with Julie Acosta who grew up on this farm and worked with her parents here.
This story wouldn't be possible without the work of the volunteers who saved this house from an uncertain future in 1983. We speak to some of the many women who saved it throughout our visit at Neely Mansion. Thank you to Linda, Carol, Karen, and Julie for talking with us.
A bonus episode will soon be available on this episode on Someone Lived Here's Patreon:
patreon.com/someonelivedhere (https://patreon.com/someonelivedhere)
Check out Kendra's YouTube: www.youtube.com/@kendragaylord (https://www.youtube.com/@kendragaylord)
Inside a recent episode
The Sarah Orne Jewett House
Published 1 Jul 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] And beautiful like bookcases with glass. So those are the original bookcases from the Jew at home. And I believe the majority of the books that we have here are from her and her family's original collection, which is really special. While she's writing and kind of discovering herself, she's mainly writing short stories. And eventually she kind of gets her short short stories written and published in the Atlantic. And that's when she meets any fields in James' take tea fields. When it comes to Sarah's writing career, she had a long road of rejections that almost stopped her. She had a short story published locally when she was 14. […]
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