Emmett Howard and his wife, Ida Smith Howard, were married in 1907 and purchased a home in Goshen, near the Zeisberger Memorial Cemetery, on April 25, 1908. The couple paid $875. for the home that they purchased from Ted Golder.
Shortly after they moved in, they rented the upstairs of the home to George Turnbolis and his wife for $3.50 per month. Children born in the home to Emmett and Ida were Mildred Howard Rausch, Evelyn Howard Moore, Donald Howard and Kathryn Howard Krocker. Emmett, a mining engineer, died in 1919 after contracting malaria while working in Charleston, S.C.
Ida raised their children in the home while serving as the first custodian at the Goshen School, which opened in 1923. Kathryn married Eddie Krocker, of Wainwright and the couple lived with Ida in the house where their oldest child, Eddie Jr., was born. They also had a son, Tom.
In 1955, the house was sold to Louis Krocker, Eddie’s brother, and the family, including Ida, moved to a home off Rt. 416 in what was then considered the Beidler area. Louis renovated the home, putting a basement under it and adding running water and a bathroom.
After Louis and his wife Betty died, Betty’s mother, Mayme Cookson Swihart, came to live with and care for Louis and Betty’s children, Helen, Dan, Becky and Nadine (Dene). Later, the children married and after Mayme’s death in 1988, the house was sold to James Cookson, who rented it to several different families.
Stay tuned for additional recent history of this home.