1911-1956 Hardy A. and Madge (nee: Perkins) Esterdahl

1956-1977 John and Beatrice Fielstra

1977- October 1986 Ann C. Rudholm (nee: Chris Ann Lipka)

October 1986-September 1991 Michael E. (Mike) and Ruth Benovic

Built by Hardy A. and Madge Esterdahl circa 1912.

Our research of ancestry records (Access Genealogy) indicates that they had one child, a daughter born in 1913. In discussions with Edna K. Blomdahl, she remembered the Esterdahls as having two children. A daughter, Elaine who was the same age as Edna's sister, was born in 1913. Edna also remembered a son. Other comments were made implying that no one understood why they built "such a big house for such a small family". 

In 2002 we discovered that Hardy and Madge did have a son, Maxon. Max, as he was known to friends, graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Chemistry. Unfortunately, after a long an exhaustive search for Max, we were told that Max passed away in 2002, just months after we discovered he was retired in Florida.

1956 Hardy and Madge Esterdahl moved to Florida after selling to John and Beatrice Fielstra.

1958 Hardy A. Esterdahl died in Florida.

We speculate that at this time Madge left Florida and went to live with one of their children in Fairfax, VA, which is where a death certificate was issued in October1990. We have not been able to locate the daughter, Elaine. We assume she was married and took her husbands name, and thus fell out of public records. 

The Fielstra's lived in the home with their 6 children (Jack, Mary Lou, Lois, and ?) until 1977. John Fielstra owned the local tavern, which is now Corsi¹s Pub.

We have had the honor of showing our home to Jack Fielstra two times during our renovations. Once, at the very beginning and again just last year, Mary Lou and her daughter have also stopped by for a tour and shared several stories of Mom and grandma, especially of her garden and Lisa's similar gardening insights.

November 28, 1977 John and Beatrice Fielstra sold to Ann C. Rudholm, a single woman. Ann (Chris Ann as she was called) had "The Homestead Gallery" a gift shop in the front half of the house that featured many hand made items, including macramé plant hangers, clocks and tables made from tree slices and photography by Brad J. Bogart. Many thanks to Bob Bartlett who, in August of 2003, provided us an original copy of Chris's brochure that hung in his hardware store formerly at 103 E. Colby in Whitehall, where she also worked.

August 1991 Michael E. (Mike) and Ruth Benovic sold to Larry Robertson and Lisa Tallarico-Robertson, of Kansas City Missouri.

The restoration process begins...

July1993 Larry and Lisa took residence in Whitehall and began the 10-year restoration of the Esterdahl property.

We did (and are still doing) extensive research on the design, architecture and philosophies of the Arts and Crafts movement. Since no original plans were available, and the house had been "modified" several times, many of the original details were gone. The house has been remodeled and redecorated more than once, with the interior spaces suffering more than the exterior. With the exception of non-period décor and neglect, the principle rooms, living, dining, parlor and front porch appear to be original to when the house was built. Most of the stained and leaded glass is still intact and the fireplace has been fully restored.

Our goal was to bring the house back to its original splendor, to restore it.

Since we have no original plans or even photographs, all we had to work with was our extensive research of the Arts and Crafts period. The corrections we made to the house were done to honor the Arts and Crafts era.

The original molding and trim that had been lost or damaged beyond restoration was replaced with new trim, made of the same material, milled to the same dimensions, and finished as close to the same manner as current materials allowed.

In the process of our restoration, we discovered parts of shipping crates and a shipping label from the Chicago Milworks Company of Chicago, Illinois.

Addressed to H. A. Esterdahl, Whitehall, Mich. There are order and invoice numbers, but unfortunately no date.

The push button light switches and brass cover plates throughout the house are the same as when originally built.

The new kitchen cupboards were made using materials salvaged from the restoration, including the interesting old glass in the cabinet fronts.

The antique Arts and Crafts main entry doors came from an antique shop in Muskegon.

The bathrooms were restored in the ³sanitary bathroom² style, popular during this era. All white, with subway tile on the walls and 2' hexagon tile floors.

The lighting is a combination of antique fixtures and reproductions.

The colors chosen are all colors naturally found in nature, and true to the Arts and Crafts palette.

The blending of nature, indoors and out, is a cornerstone of the Arts and Crafts philosophy. The landscape restoration included saving the foundation plantings, many bulbs and the transformation of a gravel parking area into a pergola enclosed garden room; which is very typical of this era.

We have done about 70-80% of the work ourselves, from demolition to design and finish work to fund-raising. We hired local professional contractors to replace all the electrical, plumbing and heating systems.

While restoring our home, issues such as originality and the quality of materials used became much more important to us than the time schedule. Besides, we were doing our civic duty by providing free entertainment to our small town for 10 years!

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