“The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and freedom.” ~ Sharon Ralls Lemon

During the early 70s my grandfather, H. Jack Brown, and my grandmother, Roberta, purchased the 12 acre plot. They moved from West Virginia to retire in Michigan. My grandfather raised quarter horses (along with my Aunt Larri) and brought three with him from West Virginia. The horses wer Blair Cody Miss – “Missy”, Daylight Dancing – “Joey”, and Golden Gain – “GG”. Therefore, the first structure he built on the property was a barn with four horse stalls that could withstand a hurricane. While the barn building took place, he and my grandmother lived in a camper. On the side of the barn, opposite of the stalls, he built an apartment. It was a one bedroom apartment with a loft and an open floor plan for the kitchen and living room. It was tiny but functional. Later he added a sunroom which added light and space to the apartment.

After the apartment was complete, he built the main house. It was completed in 1983. It was a ranch style home. He did the stonework for the fireplace and the front entrance by himself using rocks from the property. There are a few rock with “fool’s gold” embedded in them. If you look carefully, you can find them. I remember when the walls were set for the basement, my siblings would climb up and move along the perimeter of the top of the concrete block walls. I couldn’t, even though I tried, because I was terribly afraid of heights.

For the horses, he erected a large paddock that had a fresh water stream running through it. Large willow trees lined the roadside of it. Nestled in a valley, it was the perfect home for the horses.

In 1998, my husband and I had the opportunity to purchase the property. We jumped at the chance. We sold our home that we had recently built in Leland and the vacant lot we owned adjacent to the home. My grandfather’s property was perfect for raising a family – it had a creek, lots of land, fruit trees, and plenty of space for play. Eventually, I would fill the stalls again with horses. I had two Egyptian Arabian horses – Razine and Tairza. I also had two quarter horses – Jack and Norman. I miss raising horses and the smell of a horse barn brings a flood of sweet memories and a deep longing for horses.

Eventually, we moved due to my husband’s job. During that time, we had many renters stay in the home. But we are finally returning home. Returning to the home my Grandpa Jack built – the house that Jack built.