The home of Sterling and Mary Beath was a house rescued from neglect and decay when the Beath’s purchased the home in 1994.

Sterling and Mary had visited Evansville many times.  Sterling’s family connections to the community went back four generations and they would make nearly annual trips to visit family and tour the area.  The house at 107 West Liberty was built by Sterling’s grandfather, Ernest J. Ballard and his mother was raised in the home.

During their visit to Evansville in the spring of 1994, the Beath’s drove by the old Ballard house at 107 West Liberty and found the house was a rental property, with an absentee owner.  The house was in desperate need of some tender loving care.  The porches were decaying and the house looked as though it had been neglected for some time.

Mary wrote immediately to the owner to see if he would consider selling the house.  However, the sale was contingent on the sale of the Beath’s home in Port Angeles, Washington.

Today Mary and Sterling look back at the smooth and rapid real estate transactions that took place and believe that their move to Evansville was meant to be.  Their home in Washington sold immediately and the owner of the house in Evansville was agreeable to sell.

When they purchased the house in October 1994, the Beath’s began a major restoration project and an in-depth study of the Ballard family history.  For Mary and Sterling it was a rescue mission to save Grandpa and Grandma Ballard’s house.  It was about making connections to family and community.

The house at 107 West Liberty was built for Ernest J. & Alice “Allie” Eldredge Ballard in 1891.  The property was the east part of a nearly three city lots that were owned by Ernest’s father, James Ballard.  The land for the house was a wedding gift from the James Ballard’s to their son and his new wife.

William Libby, a popular Evansville builder was hired to do the construction.  It began in the March 1891 with the excavation of the cellar.  Charlie Winship dug the basement with the help of James Ballard.  The stone for the foundation was purchased at the Eden quarries near Fond du Lac and the lumber was purchased from the Evansville Lumber Co., located at the southeast corner of Maple and Church streets.

By September, the house was nearly completed and on September 22, 1891, the Evansville Review printed a description of the house:  “Mr. Ernest Ballard, our prosperous jeweler has certainly built for himself a very neat and exceeding tasty residence, on a lot which formed a part of the old Ballard homestead, second from the corner on the south side of Liberty Street.   We cannot advise of the size or the cost, but the size is ample for his family—only a wife.  The arrangements for rooms, and convenience of access from cellar to chamber could hardly be improved upon.  The pantry is a model of conveniences.  The whole woodwork is oil finished in antique oak, every room being finished alike, save some choice pieces of oak which were assigned to the parlor.  We think Wm. Libby planned and did most of the carpenter work; the hard finish was done by Mr. Halstead, assisted by Mr. Ballard himself.  We think Mr.  Ballard has a convenient and as finely finished house as there is in town and is a credit to the builder (owner) as well as to the locality.”

By November, Ernest and Allie had moved into their new home and the following February 1892, their first son, Byrl Ernest, was born.  Two years later, a daughter, Eilleen, (Sterling Beath’s mother) was born and the Ballard’s put a two story addition on the house to accommodate their growing family.

The addition included a new kitchen and woodshed on the first floor and two bedrooms on the second floor.  During the construction, Elmer “Pete” Libby fell from a staging that was being used.  According to the newspaper report, Libby was badly bruised, but no bones were broken.

A third son, Laurence, was born on September 10, 1901.  Within a month after the baby was born, Allie suffered a severe attack of pneumonia and for a few days, she seemed near death.  Fortunately, she recovered.

Ernest was kept busy at his jewelry business at 16 East Main Street.  He first started in the jewelry business in Evansville in 1887 and purchased his own building at 16 East Main Street in 1895.

Ballard frequently made buying trips to Chicago and weekly trips to the village of Oregon, where he repaired watches and operated an optical business.  His wife and the three small children often accompanied him on his business trips, demonstrating Ballard’s devotion to his wife and children.

To supplement the income from his jewelry sales, Ballard also operated an optical service.  He gave his customers eye exams and fitted them with glasses.  To improve his skills, Ballard had taken courses and was a graduate of two optical colleges, including Philadelphia Optical College, reported to be one of the best in America.

Ballard also repaired watches and had taken additional training so that he advertised as a certified repairman for the South Bend Watch Company.  While most of his time was devoted to the jewelry business, another line of merchandise that Ballard carried was musical instruments, sheet music, pianos and Victrolas.

Ballard also participated in many of the local business organizations.  He was a member of the Men’s Club that promoted the building of the public library and improvements to the local park.  Ballard was also elected president of the Southern Wisconsin Jeweler's Club, a professional organization of jewelry story owners.  The club engaged in business and social activities.

In a 1903 promotional series on local businessmen, The Evansville Review said of Earnest Ballard, “Mr. Ballard has always maintained a high reputation for the general excellence of goods carried, embracing about every thing that one expects to find in a modern and up to date jewelry house.”

The Ballard’s were active in the Baptist Church.  In 1911, Ernest Ballard served as president of Evansville’s Choral Union, an organization of local citizens who performed concerts, with the Evansville Seminary music teacher, Anna L. Boyce, serving as the director.
While maintaining an active social and business life, Ernest and Allie were also devoted to Ernest’s aging parents, James and Theda Ballard.  The senior Ballard’s celebrated several anniversaries in their son’s home.  The last was their 67th anniversary, celebrated in December 1913.  Within months, James was taken into Earnest & Allie’s home and died there in July 1914.  Theda died the following April.  Both funerals were held in the Earnest Ballard home.

Within a few years, Ernest’s health also began to fail and was confined to his home.  The jewelry store was turned over to his young assistant, Joe Straka.

The Ballard children were grown.  Byrl graduated from Evansville High School in 1910 and Eilleen in 1913.  Byrl served in World War I.  He was a talented organist and when he returned to the United States after his service in France, Byrl worked as a church organist in Chicago and later moving to Cincinnati.  In the 1920s, Byrl moved to Hollywood and local people often listened to his organ recitals on the radio.  He also served as a church organist for a large Episcopal congregation in Hollywood and for a Jewish synagogue.  Byrl died in 1971 and is buried with his parents in Maple Hill Cemetery.

Eilleen married Sterling Beath, a missionary and educator, who spent a major portion of his life in China and Japan.

Ernest James Ballard died June 2, 1920 and Allie no longer wanted to live in the house.   Within a month after Ernest’s death, she rented the house to A. F. Smith, the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad depot agent.

For the next 25 years,  Alice Ballard, and then her three children continued to own the home at 107 West Liberty and the jewelry store building at 16 East Main.  In 1923, Robert Collins, a local drug store owner rented the home for his family.

A long-time renter of the Ballard home was John G. Weber, the manager of the local telephone company.  He came to Evansville in February 1926 and rented the house until the mid-1940s.

A few years after Ernest’s death, Alice moved to California and lived near her sons, Byrl and Lawrence.  Lawrence worked as a horse trainer for the Disney studios.

Allie died in 1938 in California.  Her daughter, Eilleen and her husband Sterling S. Beath were home from their missionary work in Shanghai, China and were able to attend the funeral in California.  Allie Ballard’s ashes were returned to Evansville and buried in the family plot at Maple Hill Cemetery.

The house was now owned by the three Ballard children and they kept it as a rental property until it was sold in June 1945, to Fred Janes and his wife, Mabel.  The following November the Janes’ also purchased the store at 16 East Main from Ballard children, Byrl E. Ballard, Eilleen Beath, and  Laurence Ballard.  Janes, a lawyer and real estate agent, wanted the store for his business, but had no interest in keeping the house.

A series of rapid sales of the house followed the longtime ownership of the Ballard family.  Janes sold the old Ballard home to Alphonse “Foncie” Collins in July 1945.  In December of that same year, Collins sold the property to Charles & Della Hoops.  Two years later, in September 1947, Edwin F. & Coral Powers purchased the house.

The Powers’ lived in the house and rented rooms in the upstairs.  Art and Joan Sands rented one of the rooms when they were married in September 1947.  Joan’s former roommate, Gwen Gransee, also rented a room on the second floor.

Powers’ sold the house to Bill & Rebecca “Becky” Blair in September 1949.  Bill was a salesman and his hobby was flying.  He had been a pilot in World War II and was one of the first to get a helicopter license.  Bill owned his own plane and would do crop dusting for local farmers, but he was best known for his stunt flying.

Bill Blair seemed to have no fear when it came to demonstrating his flying ability.  He frequently flew over Evansville, going into nose dives and flying upside down over Lake Leota.  His flying routines were a favorite entertainment for 4th of July celebrations and other events at the City Park.

Becky Blair worked as a typist in the office of the Pruden Products when they began their manufacturing operation in Evansville.  She was also an officer in the Eastern Star.  Their daughter, Barbara, attended the Evansville schools and was a charter member of the Order of Rainbow Girls, a Masonic organization for young women.

Bill Blair had an opportunity to work as a civilian for the U. S. Air Force to train servicemen to be helicopter pilots.  It meant that the family would move to the South.  The Blair’s sold the house in September 1959 to Harry Keegan and his wife, Julia.

The Keegan’s owned the house for seven years.  For a number of years the house was rented to Wally and Dorothy Schoepp.  Wally made cheese at a small cheese factory on Maple Street and then moved to Monroe.

Keegan sold the house to Harold and Mary Norslein in December 1966.  Harold Norslein worked as a salesman for Pruden Products.  He was also part owner of a lumberyard in Black Earth.

The Norslein’s owned the home for the next 26 years, but lived in the house until they moved to Black Earth.  Then they rented the house to Miriam Hall in 1978 and she lived in the house until the Beath’s purchased the property.  Few repairs or upkeep were done to this aging home from the 1970s to the early 90s.

In 1994 and ‘95, the house at 107 West Liberty was dramatically transformed to its former glory, under the direction of Mary and Sterling Schuyler “Red” Beath.  Mary was especially drawn to the house after listening to Sterling’s aunt, Bina Beath Buckingham tell stories of the families who lived in Evansville.  She wrote to the Norslein’s and offered to purchase the house and the transaction was completed in October 1994.

Sterling’s mother, Eilleen Beath had grown up in the house.  She graduated from the Evansville High School in 1913, married Sterling Stanley Beath, who had spent most of his youth in Evansville, and later attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison.  Sterling S. Beath was determined to be a Baptist missionary.  His first assignment was in Japan in 1913.

After their marriage, Sterling S. & Eilleen came home on furlough every two years.  On his first furlough in 1915, Sterling Beath gave an “illustrated lecture” on Japan at the Union Baptist Church.   Later, the Beath’s spent most of their furloughs in California, occasionally visiting Evansville.

Their first son, Ernest Ballard was born on February 21st, 1920 in China.  The second son, and current owner of the house, Sterling, and his brother, also accompanied their parents on their missionary trips.  Most of his missionary work was in Shanghai, China where Eilleen’s husband, Sterling taught in the School of Commerce, University of Shanghai, in the center of the city.

In August 1937, Japan invaded China and the Beath’s were in the middle of the war, with Shanghai under bombardment.  The city was surrounded by Chinese soldiers, trying to protect it from the Japanese attack.  More than a million refugees were reported to be in the streets.

Beath got into his automobile and led a convoy of teachers and students from the University in the center of Shanghai, to what he thought would be a safe area of the city, known as the International Settlement.

However, this area was heavily bombed during the Chinese attack and several hundred people were killed.  The Beath’s decided that Eilleen and their son Sterling, known to the family as “Red,” would leave China and go to Manila on board the ship, President Hoover.   With missionary zeal, Sterling remained in Shanghai.  A letter describing the harrowing circumstances of their escape was published in the October 7, 1937, Evansville Review.

In September 1942, it was reported that Sterling Stanley Beath was a prisoner of war of the Japanese and was being held in a Japanese concentration camp in Shanghai.  He survived the incarceration and returned to his missionary work.

Despite the challenging circumstances of their missionary work, Sterling and Eilleen wanted their sons to have a good education.  They attended the American School in Shanghai and their son, Sterling, also attended school in the United States.  He was graduated from John Marshall High School in Los Angeles.

During World War II, Sterling served in the Navy and was trained in search and surveillance.  In the latter part of the war he was stationed in the Philippines and when the war ended, he visited with his parents in Shanghai.

After the war, his parents continued their missionary work, and Sterling returned to the United States to complete his education.  He attended Cal State in Los Angeles and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree.   For 30 years, he worked, without a day off, for General Motors Insurance Corporation in California and Nevada.

Mary Beath grew up on a farm near Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  Her mother was a talented piano teacher who taught Mary to play.  After high school, Mary attended General Beadle State Teachers College in Madison, South Dakota and then taught music in elementary schools in South Dakota.  She moved to California, where she completed her degree in music and elementary education at the University of California at Santa Barbara.  She continued her pursuit of life long learning with graduate courses in psychology at UCLA.

Mary and Sterling retired to Port Angeles, Washingtn, where Mary continued to use her musical talents as a full time church organist and part time organist for a local mortuary.  When Mary and Sterling visited Evansville in 1976 to bring his father’s ashes to Maple Hill Cemetery for burial, they toured the city and this brought back many memories of Sterling’s childhood visits to grandparents and other relatives.

Their visits to Evansville continued for nearly 20 years.  Once they made the decision to move here, Grandfather Ballard’s house was their choice for a new home.  The configuration of the house had not changed since the days that Ernest and Allie Ballard lived in the home.  Although some of the owners had rented rooms, the house had never been cut up into apartments or changed in any other interior ways.

After the 1994 sale was complete, the Beath’s immediately began the restoration of the home.  In 1995 they restored the exterior.  While fixing the front and side porches they discovered Sterling’s great grandfather, James Ballard’s, name in the cement on one of the porches.  A deck was built on the south side of the house during the renovations.  Randy Thornton of “Unlimited Services” did the construction work on the porches.

Other exterior work included new fencing and a cement driveway.  Cheryl Fuchs built a long fence.  Baumberger and Gibbs did the cement work.

Using scrapings from the wood of the house, they determined the original color scheme and repainted the original soft gray green on the main portion of the house and dark green and white trim.  They also rebuilt the chimney and put aluminum siding on the 1894 addition to the house, carefully matching the color scheme.  Exterior painting was done by Cheryl Fuchs and Randy Thornton.  Thornton also did the aluminum siding on the back portion of the house and the small “carriage house” garage.

Oak woodwork, doors and windows throughout the interior were restored.  The hardwood oak floors throughout the house were also refinished by Dave Anderson of Janesville.

The living room has a lovely three-wood parquet floor and the original fireplace and fittings.  The oak stairs and banister leading from the dining room to the second floor were carefully restored to their original beauty.

There is a pocket door between the foyer and the living room.  The Beath’s restored the grates for heating ducts and found many of the original door knobs and fittings on ledges in the cellar.  Some of the door hardware was purchased in antique stores.   A wood air-return grate in the stairway was remade by Herb Christensen.

Windows throughout the house have been restored.  They include beveled glass windows in the foyer, an original stained glass window in the living room and a large glass window in the kitchen.

The deteriorated condition of the home’s utilities required all new electrical, plumbing and heating.   A new kitchen was completed, with white cabinets and countertops and new flooring.  A beautiful oak wood cabinet was moved from the northeast corner of the room to the west wall of the kitchen.  Mary removed 9 coats of paint before the original oak appeared.

The bathroom fixtures were replaced, with the exception of the original old claw-foot tub.  The bathroom on the second story had to be restored because it was sinking into the washroom below.  New wallboard and flooring were installed.

The master bedroom and two other bedrooms are located on the second story.  A skylight was placed in the roof of the master bedroom to increase the natural light.

Many of the plaster walls in the home were saved by Doug Peterson.   The decorations in the house include a lincrusta wall covering on the east wall of the foyer.  This is original to the house and is a mixture of plaster and linseed oil in a raised design.

Mary has used many Chinese art pieces, including pottery, paintings, and needlework in the decoration of the house.  These were brought or sent to the United States by Sterling’s parents.  The Chinese curio cabinet in the foyer is put together like a jig-saw puzzle, with no nails.

There are many family photographs of the parents and grandparents, and other relatives near and dear to Mary and Sterling.  An old pocket watch, made by Ernest Ballard, mantle clocks, spoon collections and many other antique furnishes are featured in the decoration of the house.

Just a few years ago, Mary also began a doll collection.  Her first doll was rescued from a garage sale.  Mary carefully restored the doll and made clothes for it.  The doll was a present for her granddaughter.  It was the beginning of a new hobby and collection that now includes old buggies and dolls from Mary’s childhood.  She has made, restored, or purchased more than 650 dolls and their clothing.  They are all dearly loved.

The house also features original art work including quilts and paintings by Mary and other family members.   Travel souvenirs and shell collections have also been used in decorating the home.

Restoring the house at 107 West Liberty made Evansville home to Mary and Sterling Beath.  Their coming home also generated a desire to know more about the house and their family.  Mary has a large notebook of family history and pictures, as well as a series of pictures about the restoration of this lovely home.