A GROOVY RETRO RANCH RESIDENCE

Both living room and basement fireplaces are still used by Pam. The surfboard coffee table was purchased from the previous owners.

Small touches of character add up to attract an Aberdeen newcomer.

story and photos by TROY MCQUILLEN

Realtors have their work cut out for them for sure. They have to juggle a person’s needs, tastes, and budget with what is actually available for sale at a particular time. Quite often they read a client in a particular way, trying to hone in on exactly what will pique their interest. Realtor Craig Mickelson probably was a little taken aback with Aberdeen newcomer Pamela Monaghan-Geernaert when she picked a house because of a rather nondescript feature: a pink toilet paper holder in a basement bathroom.

Pam moved to Aberdeen in the summer of 2019 to take a position at NSU. She is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and focuses a lot of her work on Native American cultures. For that reason, South Dakota was very attractive to her.

When looking for a house, she says she wanted character. She’s lived in southwest-style homes in New Mexico and a 100-year-old historic house in Maryland. Newly built homes just didn’t resonate with her. She has an affinity for the mid-century modern style (retro 1950s era) and even had a few furniture pieces in that style. She looked at a couple houses in the Eisenhower Circle neighborhood, but many were too large and needed updating. She really wanted move-in ready.

When she was shown this house on North Jay Street, it spoke to her on so many levels. “The blue and pink bathrooms really sold me,” she explains. Pam says the previous owners of her house took great care to remove truly outdated, worn things (carpet, wallpaper, paint, fixtures, etc.) and replaced them with retro-sensitive items. Many original items were left, fortunately for Pam.

“I needed specific spaces for a home office and gym,” Pam states, “so I just loved the basement.” The basement living room provided the space for a dedicated office complete with natural light and built in bookshelves. It even has a working fireplace that she used in her first winter here a few months back.

“My doorbell plays 'A Bicycle Built for Two' and 23 other songs,” she says. “The house is perfect. The attention to detail and character just fits me. Once I saw that pink toilet paper holder, I knew this was the place for me.” //

Lucite chairs along with the glass table help keep the relatively small dining area look less cramped. The chandelier is new but is reminiscent of the Googie style of architecture of the 1950s. The dining room extends to an outside patio behind the house.

The kitchen includes two wall ovens. Pam affectionately calls these her “Easy Bake Ovens” because they are relatively small. In fact, her cookie sheets would not fit in them. But she loves the style and flair of them. The red brick surround creates a vintage feature wall.

Pam was drawn to period details like the louvered doors, laundry shoot, fireplace, and of course the bathrooms. Downstairs bedrooms have been converted to a craft room and a small gym.

This toilet paper holder helped seal the deal with Pam when she was house hunting.

Pam required a separate home office that was not also a bedroom. Built-in bookcases contribute to the period charm.

When this house was built in 1955, it was in a location known as Aberdeen Township. For several years, the city tried to convince people in this part of town to be annexed into the city because they were taking advantage of city services and schools, yet only paying taxes to the county. Citizens and companies actively lobbied not to be annexed due to the financial burdens. The city won out ultimately in the early 1960s. Pam says the house is “brick on brick” construction, meaning its structural components are brick, not wood, and the house is covered with decorative brick on the outside.

Pam and her daughter Sophie love the neighborhood around their house. It’s quiet, close to bike trails, and compared to big city living, it’s close to NSU as well!

Pam’s dog Avalanche is right at home. The house includes two built-in planters. Because of this, Pam refers to her house as the Brady Bunch house, which had a built-in planter prominently situated by the staircase.