Period replica iron strap hinges were chosen to mimic the original style of the house.
To The Irish, The Land They Live On Is Like Their Mother “I never get tired of hearing about old Saugerties and Ed’s family,” says Walsh. “Every weekend we go driving around, it seems like I learn something new. Ed’s heritage is Irish-German, and mine is mostly Irish—see the red hair—but we did some research and it turns out our ancestors came from practically the same ‘patch of sod’ back in the old country.” “We just had a family reunion. I think we have ties, past or present, to at least 20 houses still standing along Fish Creek and its side roads,” says Himberger. “In recent years, Fish Creek’s become the principal artist’s row, too, I think five homes here were on the annual Saugerties Artists’ Studio Tour,” says Himberger. “But my brother and I and our area relatives descend from stonemasons originally from Kilkenny, Ireland, who settled right here, along the creek, in the 1850s. My Uncle Henry, my mother’s brother, lives in a stone house on nearby Echo Hill that one of them built. It used to be part of a 64acre tract they owned. Henry knows everything there is to know about our family and its various real estate holdings over the years around here.” According to Gerald O’Hara in Gone With the Wind, to anyone with a drop of Irish blood in them, “the land they live on is like their mother.” Certainly the deep affection the Himberger-Furboter-Lanigan (Uncle Henry’s mother’s maiden name) clan has for Fish Creek Road proves the adage. They Live in a Bigger House, Directly on theWater, a Few Houses Away Himberger and Walsh live in a larger and more contemporary home on the same street. Their residence is “farmhouse style,” built in the `40s, and sits directly on the creek. Walsh says she and her husband don’t like to have a lot of stuff around. “No clutter,” she says. “Hate it.That’s probably part of the reason I’m so in love with the way Ed’s rental house looks right now.” Himberger’s extremely handy, and Walsh is resourceful, thrifty, and good with color. They’re also plugged into a network of reliable building-trade professionals and trusted materials suppliers. “We’re all about buying and hiring locally,” says Himberger. “I’m an ice skater and I still play community hockey over at the Kiwanis Ice Arena. I didn’t have a lot of money growing up, I worked lots of odd jobs. I know what it means to people to spend our money right here in Saugerties.”
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10/13 chronogram home 31