Historic Morris Sommer House

Many of you have heard how we (Lynda and Dennis) ended up in Weiser but humor us.

In about 1997 Lynda informed me it was time for a change. My corporate life appeared to be waning so I was finally ready to listen. Lynda said she wanted to have a Bed and Breakfast. Location was yet to be decided. She attended a siminar on owning and running a B&B and we took a vacation staying in a different B&B every night.

During a trip to Stibnite and Thunder Mountain, Idaho for the company I worked for, I came through Weiser and thought it was a nice friendly town and told Lynda about it on my return to Colorado. A short time later Lynda saw a big brick house listed for sale in her B&B magazine and found out it was in Weiser. Sandy Wilson was happy to send glossy photo’s and Lynda was sold. On a trip back from Alaska in September, 1997, we drove through Weiser and toured the Galloway House. Having only been through North Idaho, Lynda was a little shocked. Where’s all the trees? Did that stop us? No, on New Year eve day’ we had sold our house in Colorado and were on our way to Weiser with a Uhaul truck and trailer full of our belongings.

Cold, rainy, inverted, welcome to Weiser! Two weeks later, after snow that didn’t melt until March, Dennis spent time commuting back to Denver as his job was winding down, and going to auctions. We got the Galloway House B & B opened in April and spent the next nearly 7 years welcoming guests, cooking breakfasts, swabbing toilets and doing constant maintenance on that wonderful 100 year old house. Finally in 2004 with Lynda’s continuing back and knee issues and frankly just wanting more time to visit family (we went from 0 grandchildren to 5 in those years) we decided it was time to sell. Contract in hand we looked at each other and said “what now?”

Just couldn’t think of anywhere we would rather spend our “Golden Years” so Weiser it was. Luckily Steve and Cheri had a spare house and with a little coaxing they agreed to sell. So in early 2005 we were the proud owners of the Morris Sommer House, located at 548 W. 2nd St., a 1898-99 victorian designed by Tourtellote & Company. Problem was it wasn’t exactly move in ready.

Steve had started the restoration with a new roof and paint job on the exterior. He started the demo on the lower level. We continued the demo while renting the small Victorian Billy Elwell House at the corner of West 1st and Court St. Five years later after much sweat equity and a thousand trips (approximately) to the dump and Home Depot we were ready to move in. We still find projects that need done and of course although the house is new from the studs out on the inside, the outside is still 123 years old. In the last couple of years the house has gotten a new paint job on the outside as well as getting the front porch and railing replaced, just in time for our 50th wedding anniversary celebration. So now 17 years later I think our home is finished but it may be time to go back and redo a few things if the old body will allow it.

We still ask ourselves if there is somewhere we would rather be and so far the answer still is NO.

From Steve & Linda Lance