This house has had a varied history in the neighborhood. Originally a stately single family house in Washington Heights,(the original development built in 1908 was called WH Subdivision) it was donated to the Lutheran Church many years ago and used until several years ago as a focus for campus ministry to Washington U. During that time it was extensively modified. The Original stairway was changed and the first floor plan made room for a large open stairwell to the basement, which in turn was remodeled as a coffee house. The building was brought up to date mechanically and received excellent care until a few years ago when it was relegated to storage. It was purchased by the present owners in 1973.
A special decorating feature that may be seen in several rooms is the varied use of barn siding which came from a nearby farm and was personally torn down and redesigned by current house residents.
The house is owned jointly by Nancy Nonnenkamp and
Kurt Lorenz, both teachers in the Neighborhood at The Unschool. This is the only house on the tour that is run as a collective. This means that the people who live: here share common space and respon- ,sibilities without sharing as many aspects of each other’s lives as might be true of a commune. The residents are, besides Kurt and Nancy, Peter Muckerman, administrator of the Loop West End Free Clinic, David Haynor, who is doing post-doctoral research at the Washington U. Medical School, Susan Sante, who teaches at Forest Park Community College, and Susan’s two boys, Emile 7, and Peter 6. The house affords ample private space for all of these people.
All of the responsibilities of owning and operating the house are shared by the people who live there, with each person’s duties clearly defined. Group decisions are made at a weekly evening house meeting. Everyone has a specific house job to take care of such as taking items to the recycling center, cleaning the living room, policing the yard, shopping, etc. All house members inclUding the owners pay a monthly rent to a central fund that is used to pay taxes, utilities, and the mortgage. In addition each person pays eleven dollars per week to a food budget which keeps all very well fed. Members belong to the Limit Food Coop. Each of the adults cooks a family dinner one night a week and plans menus prior to their night to cook so that the shopper can coordinate the food purchases for the week.
Kurt Lorenz offers the following perspective to neighbors and visitors: “This house represents a life style that we believe is more in keeping with the economic and ecological realities of the post-industrial age in America, than the nuclear family. There is ample evidence that the world can no longer support infinitely expanding “slurbs ” that our cities have become. Every piece of furniture, tool, eating utensil, etc. which we share is obviating the necessity for several more that need not be taken from the earth’s resources, nor returned to the trash heap that we leave behind us.
Lastly we find that people who are willing to put enough of their ego behind them to experience collective living will find their lives enrichened. We have access to each other’s friends and experiences and need not be so isolated. Since there are ample amounts of people power to get jobs done we need not resort to sexist work division to keep the house running. Because our living expenses are so low we need not compete in a cut-throat job market for high salaries. We can each afford to take jobs that are far more satisfying for us, if not so well paid. We each live very comfortably with adequate privacy and sharing, on personal food and shelter budgets of approximately $110.00 a month.
We hope you enjoy a chance to look around our house.”
Originally published in The Paper, May 1975.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1975_05.pdf, printed page(s) 7; PDF page(s) 7.
