Did Harry and Glikeria build our mudroom?

In addition to several of the will specifics, the Winnipeg newspaper article contained quotes from a Chula Vista woman who was identified as Glikeria’s friend. ‘She always had a hammer or a saw or paintbrush in her hands. She was the hardest working woman I ever saw.’ As for Harry’s role, the friend said, ‘He did most of the paperwork; she did much of the manual labor.’

From earlier documents, I found that Harry retired from the Navy in 1941, when he was 62. I didn’t find any evidence of their house flipping until 1944, and my guess is that because they were listed as owning the Upas St. house in the ’44 directory, they probably sold our house in either 1943 or 1944 to buy that one, and that house would become their first flip.

The Winnipeg newspaper article got me thinking about an addition made to our house, long before we arrived. A previous owner had slapped what we would call a mudroom onto the back of it, and we know the room wasn’t original because it doesn’t really match the rest of the house, and where a window from a back closet once looked out into our backyard, it then provided a close-up view of lathe.

I also know the mudroom was added before 1957 because I acquired an aerial photo of our Hillcrest neighborhood from the San Diego History Center archives, and I can clearly see our roofline in the photo extending to that extra room. So, is it possible that Harry and Glikeria built our mudroom (or had it built), and if so, was that their first “home improvement”? I guess I’d like to think so, but I’d also like to think their later improvements to other properties were more professional-looking than the one they might have performed on our house.

Lynne and I still find it unusual that Harry and Glikeria Rogers were buying what they considered to be fixers in our neighborhood. Did many 25-year-old houses really need fixing up? Were the Rogers’ going mostly for added curb appeal and really quick turnarounds, or did they engage in big add-on projects and bring in contractors to do some of the work? Was Harry anywhere nearly as engaged in Glikeria, or had she always been the driving force when he was still alive?

I’m relieved that I was able to answer a lot of my early questions (mostly from Ancestry.com), but I knew the answers would inevitably lead to more questions. I’m still trying to put together a more complete list of the couple’s real estate conquests, and I realize that will require more trips to the San Diego History Center.

In the meantime, I’m also rethinking the potential bronze plaque for the front of our house, but maybe something along lines of “1928 HOME OF GLIKERIA AND HARRY ROGERS, FIRST NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE FLIPPERS”. Or should we be so bold as to go with “…FIRST SAN DIEGO HOUSE FLIPPERS”? Either way, we’ve decided Glikeria’s name deserves top billing.

The is the last in a six-part story.

To read Part 1: Who owned our house on Richmond Street? click here.

To read Part 2: Hillcrest house falls from $12,000 to $5,000 in ten years click here.

To read Part 3: Buried at Ft. Rosecrans with Russian bride click here.

To read Part 4: Bought houses on Brookes, Upas, 8th Avenue, Georgia Street click here.

To read part 5: San Diego woman leaves $3,000 apiece to Russian cosmonauts click here