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13 "A" Street

THE MAGALIS HOUSE

According to the owners, this lovely Victorian home at 13 '1A" Street was begun by Harry B. Funk in 1905, when the lower level was finished and lived in; this explains the ground-floor windows and finished appearance of that part. The attractive hand-caved staircase and entrance hall ceiling of ornate tin of the main floor attracted the present owners. This house was one of the first to have gaslight illumination in Brunswick.

Richard McKim Magalis, grandfather of numerous grandchildren born and reared in Brunswick, built in 1910 the three-story house at 703 East Potomac Street. The late LeRoy McGaha was reared in this house. It was built as a home, - but more. Magalis included a grocery on the west side, with a separate entrance and its own storage room. Former neighbors remember ice cream parlor tables and chairs for those seeking refreshments. The east side of the house contained the "downstairs" of the home with its private entrance. Bedrooms were on the second floor, and additional third-story rooms served as guest rooms for his buddies to visit or live in while in Brunswick. Some renters were long-term residents. Mr. Magalis died in 1925.

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RECYCLING OLD BERLIN As houses were razed in the area of Berlin sou th of the tracks, they were reused. Some were rebuilt to make Feete's Row on North Virginia Avenue above B Street. Originally four row houses were there. Another recycling project resulted in a Feete's project whose name reflected the man who ran the business: Harry Hahn's Cafe. This was a threestory building with four apartments; the business was on the first floor. When the present bridge approach was constructed, Hahn's building was razed, and Mr. Peete "re-recycled" what could be used when he built the apartment house that is snuggled between Petersville Road and Martin's Creek. Mr. Demory of Virginia was the contractor for this last building.

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HATHAWAY HOUSE A large house on the southwest corner of "A" Street and Fifth A venue has two addresses: 422 "A" Street and 15 Fifth A venue. It has long been known as the Hathaway house because of the family that owned it from November 1908 to September 30, 1930. "Duck" Hathaway used to haul large items for a fee. Clara Crowl Bohrer recalls that "Duck" would meet trains with his wagon to garner some business. When her grandmother, Mrs. Mary E. Crowl, moved from Martinsburg to come live with her son, Clara's father, and family, "Duck" transported her and her trunk on his dray wagon drawn by a two-horse team. Clara's family lived at 15 Tenth Avenue. One of a row of houses high above the road, it did not have steps to help one get into the front yard up to the house. "Duck" made the unlikely maneuver of backing the horsedrawn wagon up the bank as close as he could get, and then the family moved grandmother and the trunk into the house. Incidentally, Mary Crowl lived there until 1925, when she died at the age of 96. She did fine handwork until the week before her death, when she announced that the lace she was crocheting then was the last she would make. She died the next week. "Duck" Hathaway was a colorful person. He had a pair of mules w ith his wagon. The B&O RR came into a siding at the west-bound station. Daily there were freight cars coming in with merchandise, which was put on a long, four-foot high platform to

S - Dutch Burns W-MMM

SEARS HOUSES At one time Sears and Roebuck houses were bought by mail order and brought to Brunswick on the B&O Railroad. Every board was numbered and the carpenter did the rest. The Long house at 811 Petersville Road as well as its neighbor, originally built by the Wynkoops, are Sears houses. The design of a house built long agobyDr.J.G. F.Smith,wascalled "Maple." Today it is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Walker, 3529 Petersville Road. A house built by the late George W. Heffner for his bride is still in the family and stands at 812 North Maple Avenue. Jim Haller owns a Sears house at 302 Ninth Avenue. There are probably many more "Sears Houses" in Brunswick waiting to be identified. W-MMM

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