On the market: A brick twin in Chestnut Hill for $349,900
The house, on a popular street near Pastorius Park, has new hardwood floors, a remodeled kitchen with barely used appliances, and replacement windows.
Peggy and Robert Garrett met at the Overbrook School for the Blind, moved to West Oak Lane, had three children, and then decided to move to Chestnut Hill.
So, in 1968, they bought a three-bedroom, 1½-bath twin on a tree-lined street there.
“They decided it was a better place for the kids to grow up,” said their daughter, Sandy McNeil, who was in seventh grade at the time.
Robert Garrett, who had worked as a photo darkroom technician and had run a food service business at the Navy base, died in 1991.
Peggy Garrett, who sold Avon products and taught gardening to visually challenged adults, died in January.
So the family house is on the market.
“My parents were really remarkable people,” McNeil said.
Robert had lost his sight due to an inherited ailment and Peggy in a home accident, but “they lived pretty normal lives, and we were pretty resilient.”
Her father got around without a cane and played a Braille version of Scrabble. Her mom got a master gardening certification in teaching gardening at age 66 and lived through seven seeing-eye dogs.
Both loved going to supermarkets and shopping on their own.
It was tight quarters, McNeil said, with five people and just one full bathroom. But she remembers her booming babysitting business and the Sweet 16 party she had in the basement.
McNeil, who is sighted, now lives in Lewes, Del., and is a supervisor manager of a home-furnishing sales force. Her oldest brother, blind from the disease their father had, lives in Williamsport, Pa., and was CEO of a sheltered workshop for the blind. Her middle brother, who is sighted, lives in Battle Ground, Wash., and has held a variety of jobs including photographer and audio technical expert.
Though it’s obviously time to sell, that doesn’t mean it’s easy, McNeil said. “It means losing our childhood."
The 1,064-square-foot house, on a popular street near Pastorius Park, has new hardwood floors, a remodeled kitchen with barely used appliances, and replacement windows.
Off the kitchen is a laundry room, powder room and door to the back patio.
The upstairs bedrooms all have ceiling fans, hardwood floors, tall windows, and ample closet space.
The hall bath has been updated by reglazing the tub and adding new laminate flooring.
New laminate flooring has also been installed in the full basement, and outside there is a walled patio.
The house is convenient to shopping, parks, a branch library, and trains to Center City.
“It’s a house that has good karma,” McNeil said. “Only good things happened there. Now it’s time for another family to love it and enjoy it.”
The property is listed by Mimi Morrow of BHHS Fox & Roach-Chestnut Hill for $349,900.