Buckingham Palace, 1953 - More Child Labor

Loose plaster sometimes hid behind the old wallpaper. Sagging sections often telegraphed their intent. This was especially characteristic of ceilings where large portions came down with the paper. The building was erected long before anyone thought of drywall, so the newly cleaned rooms possessed a “haunted house” aura with wood slats exposed.

Nearly every room needed some plastering, and since Don and I lacked experience in that particular craft the task defaulted to Dad. He was a jack-of-all-trades, and did the plumbing, electrical, and rewiring in the building. The only thing we didn’t do was to lay the carpets.

So Dad troweled plaster over the slats, and the putty-like material oozed into the spaces, anchoring the hardened end-product. He did a good job but the edges of the mended sections were still apparent. Painting helped. A professional might have crafted a perfect mend, but I expect plastering was becoming a lost art even then.

I cannot remember the paint colors, or if we used one throughout. A single hue would have been economical, but the truth of the matter escaped me sometime over the last fifty years. I do sort of remember a neutral pastel, maybe yellow. We learned to paint that summer, and Don and I paid a portion of our college expenses with paint brushes and rollers. But that’s another story.

The carpets were laid by a guy from Indianapolis and his college age son. Dad had previously measured each room, and the carpet man commended him on his accuracy. The Courtland Hotel was replacing some of its old furniture, so we acquired their discarded beds, dressers and writing desks. None of the rooms had built-in closets so we purchased sixteen new brown metal ones. By the end of summer we had the rooms set up and ready to rent. Don and I were transformed into chambermaids, and thus began the next stage of our education, an informal introduction to sociology, psychology, and the humanities.
GO TO: Part 4, House Maid Service