We had a load of laundry to do so we did that first. The laundry was in an old building in downtown VC. Washing machines back to back down the center and down the right wall were the big, industrial dryers. It was $1.25 to wash and .25 for 6 minutes, but it only took .75 to dry our clothes, because those dryers are HOT. The jeans were still damp, but they dried by the time we got back home.
So looking around the inside of the building I could tell it was old. High ceiling with the old
raised tin panels and wood floor. I was thinking that my grandparents or father had probably been in this same building. We decided to take a walk while waiting for the wash and I had noticed an antique store on the corner that I wanted to check out, saved it for last. We walked all around and admired the old brick buildings and walked to and over the footbridge to the college. It sits across the Sheyenne River and there has been a foot bridge there since the late 1800’s to make access easier for the towns people. Went into the antique store, it had originally been a bank. Said bank on it in the bricks and the old vault was still there. I was on a mission to get a piece of crackle glass from Valley City for my collection. Sure enough there were several pieces, but I chose the two blue ones. As we were walking out into the foyer, I noticed the stairs that went up and thought they looked familiar, which I 
told myself was odd, cause I would have never seen them. I really felt like I wanted to go up those stairs, but we had to get back to the laundry. So we get our laundry finished and as we leave I take pictures of the buildings there in the block, including the antique store. Next we go up Central Ave. to the Barnes County Museum. We figured someone there would be able to help us find the house my Dad’s family had lived in. We had surmised that the street names had been changed at some point, because there was no Helena E. Ave to be found. Sure enough around 1941 they had changed all the street names. So in talking to the curator, he pulled out all the
old maps and directories from that period, and he was able to tell us where my grandfather had his offices. My Grandfather was a physician, so pretty easy to find. Now this is the chilly part, my grandfather had his 
offices upstairs in the building that we had just been in, the antique store! Isn’t that cool! I always like knowing that I’ve still got the “vibe”. He had moved his office to this location after becoming ill. In 1928 when he had come to Valley City to set up his practice his offices were in the “Foss Drug building”. They were there for up to 9 years. He was in the office above the old bank in 1937 on. Also in 1928 Mercy Hospital was built. It was a lovely Spanish style building, and their house was across the street from the hospital. In the early 50’s the “old” hospital was redone and
enlarged and we suspect the houses across the street were sold off or destroyed, because the few that are there aren’t of the right period. In another directory at the museum they had lived at another address in the early 30’s but we couldn’t find a match for that one either. We took pictures of both of his office buildings and I went upstairs in the antique store and looked around up there too. I didn’t take to many pictures cause it was just an antique store.So it was an interesting day trying to piece together a puzzle from dim memories of stories only half listened to in the original telling. Most regrettably I might add. You just think you’ll never forget anything or that you have forever to ask those questions! NOT.
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