An old relic from Sim City's past arrives in town to be restored and reconstructed, pieces at a time, as part of a decade long search for leftovers of the big city's snootier past. Do current residence appreciate this house being placed near them, or does it remind them of nothing more than dusty furniture?
The Onderdonk House, a home commissioned for construction by wealthy judicial mediator Oliver Taylor Onderdonk, was erected almost a century ago in a small farming sector. It was one of the first wealthy class structures erected in the region to spawn many other homes to the upper class citizens. This home helped to introduce a variety of new designs to promote the region's development over the simple square boxed wooden clapboard facades that surrounded the farming sector.
Current resident of the farming sector Nolan Crumplebottom, 88-year old half-cousin of the infamous Mrs. Crumplebottom, says his father was one of the architects responsible for the construction of the home. His father's vision of new and imported furniture and design helped shape the 'backward' looking farmlands into a 'forward' looking destination for the higher class of citizens.
One of the rarities found in upper class homes that typical farming family houses did not have were twin, or double, beds. "Ordinary homes had single beds for everyone, including the husband and wife," says Mr. Crumplebottom, recalling what his father told him when he was a young adult. "They never slept together, it was considered risqué and dirty." The farming community didn't think it was moral to share a bed every night.
Another interesting feature that appeared in early upper class homes were refrigeration units for meats and dairy products. The farming community used ice boxes to store their food, but after a few years, they began to take notice and purchase fridges for themselves too. Soon after, the farming community realized that they needed more electricity, and thus higher bills were being charged to them, causing the price of food to go up.
A new invention that was also brought to the region, especially with the Onderdonk House, was the toilet bowl. The farming community used outhouses to do their business, and every night would use the waste produced for fertilizer. Upper class citizens did their business on toilets that lead to underground septic tanks to be emptied each month by their servicemen.
Warm and thick velvet curtains and dark patterned carpeting were the norm with upper class homes, and that was no exception to those developed in the farming sector. Ordinary homes had either shutter blinds, or no coverings at all. The farmers and their families felt they had nothing to hide.
The Onderdonk House, along with a few other homes in rural regions of Sim City, was featured a few months later in a magazine article about new home designs arriving, and how those new concepts changed the way regional families lived for the better.
“My father was pleased with the elegant designs brought into the home, even though the farming community at the time didn’t approve,” says Mr. Crumplebottom. “He guessed that everyone there were too conservative, which explained why designs were simple and plain.”
Currently, many furniture pieces from the Onderdonk House were either taken away from its multiple owners, were loss, or destroyed. Other homes in the region, built a few years later from the Onderdonk House, stand in better condition. The house is rotting due to weather erosion. Another factor was the occasional unrest that occurred between the first family and its neighbors in the region at the time.
"The first family to live there were very nice people, even thought they had different tastes," recalls Mr. Crumplebottom from his father's accounts, "However, the main problem occurred a few years after the home was built. Judge Oliver ruled in favor of a business who wanted to introduce chemical fertilizers for farms. The farmers protested in front of the judge's home shortly after the ruling, and the home started to deteriorate."
Local newspaper reports claim citizens caused vandalism towards the house and fire almost occurred when a mystery bag was set aflame and left on the steps of the home, near a roll of newspapers. The judge made attempts to appease the public to stop them from ruining his property, but to no avail. Mr. Crumplebottom's father believes the judge went to live in a different sector of Sim City after the debacle.
The house, along with a few other buildings of the period, is set to become a tourist destination once settled near the National Museum of City Designs' large outdoor exhibition of century's past. For now, the government isn't concerned about any backlash that could occur from the house's presence at the museum. Some local residence are not pleased about the house becoming a historical piece, claiming that it may bring disturbances to the area, such as protestors or mischievous people who want to tear down the place.
“Only time will tell how public reaction will be about the house once it’s put back together, and up for display,” says the museum’s chief operator. “We’ll provide all necessary measures to ensure a secure visit to the exhibition.”