Three centuries, two families | Northern Hills

This is the first in a series about buildings that have spanned three centuries as homes to Sturgis residents.

Bud Beug stripped paint off and then stained the bedroom doorframe which surrounds this decorative hinge. (Photo by Ken Steinken)

Wandering around Sturgis one day on the lookout for ideas of stories to write, I noticed a couple old homes on Sherman St. I wanted to know more about them.

After talking with a couple people and making a few calls, I learned in the 1980s the Sturgis Centennial Committee put together a calendar of pre-1900 homes that still graced the streets of the Sturgis.

Since I like historic buildings I decided to do some more poking around to see if I could get some of these buildings to reveal their stories to me.

With five of the calendar?s twelve homes on Junction Avenue, that was the place to start. I was headed for 1439 when I saw someone in the yard of the 1340 Junction. I introduced myself to a man wearing a baseball cap that identified him as a veteran.

It was Marty Beug. His parents, Bud and Doris had bought the house in 1975 after Marty had grown and moved away.

Doris Beug?s antiques and handcrafted projects still adorn the living room and dining room of 1340 Junction Ave. (Photo by Ken Steinken)

?There were holes in the roof. It was wet and had black mold,? Marty said about the sandstone house, which in 1896 was ?built clear on the edge of town.? Marty?s father and a friend worked four years to get the house ready to live in.

Even after they moved in they worked to get the house back to its former glory.

?Dad took down all the woodwork trim because it had been painted,? said Marty. He then stripped and stained the trim. ?Mom collected lots of antiques.? She also made her own yarn, which she used to make clothing and crafts.

Marty asked if I would like to see inside. It was a generous offer, I thought, especially for a man living on his own in a big, old house. But Marty was excited to share the ?stone house? with someone who was interested in it.

A photo from around 1900 shows original owner John G. Wenke with his wife Nellie on the front porch of the house. Their daughter sits in a buggy. (Photo by Ken Steinken)

The place was in great shape. Marty?s dad had lived in the house by himself until the end of 2011 when he became ill. He died earlier this year at age 96. Marty?s mom had been gone since 2000.

Marty pulled out a photo of the house from around the time it was built. A couple and their child sat on the front porch. Marty pointed to the buggy.

?My parents bought the house from the daughter of the baby in the picture,? he explained. So in the 116 years since the home was built, it?s been owned by only two families.

The house, which is on the National Historic Register, was built by businessman John G. Wenke. He lived there with his wife Nellie, whose mother was Sturgis? first school teacher.

The remodeled porch extends across the entire front of the house. (Photo by Ken Steinken)

Over the years some major changes were made to the home. Originally a grand staircase to the second floor was located just inside the front door. It had been moved by the time Marty?s parents bought the place because it took up so much room.

At some point someone expanded the front porch so that it extends across the whole front of the house. One thing that hasn?t changed is the combination stone wall and wrought iron fence that separates the yard from the road on two sides of the corner lot.

?After my parents bought the house there were plans to make Junction a four-lane street,? said Marty. ?But they needed to move the rock wall to do it.?

The home?s National Historic Register status prevented the stone and wrought iron fence from being moved when plans called for Junction Avenue to be widened to four lanes. (Photo by Ken Steinken)

Marty?s parents fought the plan based on the home?s historic status. The wall stayed and today Junction Avenue is three lanes wide instead of four.

Even though Marty says, ?I prefer to live in the country,? he?s been living in the Wenke house instead of the ranch he grew up on 16 miles east of town on Alkali Road.

Marty plans to join with his daughters as partners to buy out his sister?s share of the house. ?That will make it easier when the time comes for them to take over the house,? said Marty.

It looks like it will be quite some time before a third family owns the Wenke home.

Source: http://mytown.kotatv.com/northern-hills/2012/08/17/three-centuries-two-families/

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