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| Our First House 710 Fourth St. Monongahela |
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Our story begins with our first Victorian home bought in the fall of 1996. It was a two story brick dating back to the late 1800's-possibly 1890's- originally built by the Hannah's. At the time we bought it, the home was a duplex. The minute we stepped inside it, we knew this would be our home. We saw the true character of the house with its double decker mantel in the living room and pocket doors. Soon, we started making this house into one home. This first labor of love made us appreciate the craftsmanship of our home and fall in love with the Victorian style, customs, and traditions.
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| Henry & Victorene Cole |
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Our present home was bought during the late summer of 2001 from Victorene Cole, grandmother to my husband and whose name we honor for our business. The house at 500 Mound Street sat empty for almost two years as it was much too much for Gran to maintain. As Ken and I used to walk the Mounds area, the house called to us. It was dark, empty, and sad. We begged Ken's family to sell us the house and soon dug right into another fixer-upper. Almost a year later, we completed the renovations on the inside of the house. Soon after, we were contacted by the Monongahela Women's Club to be apart of a Christmas Victorian House tour in December of 2002. As 80 or more toured the house, many ladies said our home would indeed be the perfect place for tea parties.
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Just for fun, I started doing research on tea parties. I bought books, joined tea party groups, & went to tea houses with my mom and sister. I simply fell in love with the art of taking tea. I then started researching tea from a business point-of-view and I continued perfecting this art form. In April of 2004, I hosted a surprise baby shower tea party for my sister which led into a bridal tea for a friend. These teas showed me how ladies will travel a distance to come to Monongahela and spend the day enjoying our antique shops and picture-taking spots such as the gazebo in Chess Park. I then realized the benefits of my tea parties for the City of Monongahela and set my sights on being able to extend the invitation to people outside of my family and friends. Little did I know, this would be an almost impossible task.
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| Dressed for Tea Jamie & Mom |
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