It’s that time of the year when the sun begins to shine and flowers begin to grow. I recently planted delphiniums, rhododendrons, mums and a variety of other small plants in our garden. They look great and make the house even more beautiful. It is amazing what a few plants can do for appearance. Click on the link to view picture.

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Stahancyk, Kent, Johnson & Hook is excited to welcome new associate Matthew Cohen to our Vancouver office. Matt graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned his law degree from Lewis & Clark College in Portland. Matt brings a high energy and hard working attitude to the office and we are thrilled to have him as a part of our team.

Rick and Rosy Brown, very distant cousins of Charles Brown, who live in Minnesota, briefly stopped by the house last week while they were in town for business. Vince gave them a tour of the house and exchanged email addresses. Rick is very interested in Charles Brown’s father, Sam, and wanted to learn more about him, as well as Sam’s descendants. Rick provided us with a copy of Sam Brown’s obituary.

Bella C. Lemon was the only child of Alonzo and Belle Cook. Alonzo is believed to be the builder of the Brown House, although some evidence suggests Sam Brown could have built it. Mrs. Lemon quite possibly lived in the Brown House for several years as a young girl. Her obituary appeared in the Daily Olympian, March 12, 1940. Click to read.

Stahancyk, Kent, Johnson & Hook’s very own Vince Roman had a short story he wrote printed in the most recent issue of the Trailbreakers, the Clark County Genealogical Society’s quarterly. The story concerns early Vancouver pioneer Samuel W. Brown. Click on link to view article and click on article to enlarge.

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We recently donated photographs and other historical information regarding the Brown Family to the Knox County Genealogical Society in Galesburg, Illinois. This information was then forwarded to the Galesburg Public Library where it is stored in their archives. Galesburg was the hometown of Samuel Brown. Below are two thank you cards each organization sent us. Click to read.

This morning in Vancouver at the Charles Brown House we were thrilled to have a few of Charles Brown’s descendants visit us and share old stories and photographs.

Charles Wilson (94) who lives in Corvallis is Charles Brown’s last surviving grandchild and grew up right here in the house from ages 8-21. His mother was Charles’ daughter, Frances. He hadn’t been back to the house since 1935! The highlight was Charles “Chuck” seeing his old bedroom again for the first time in 72 years.

Chuck was joined by his cousin Anne and her son Rick, who are Brown descendants as well. It was a great time.

Yesterday a tree trimming company came to the office and cut back our enormous laurel hedge that was growing out of control. Approximately three feet was trimmed off the sides and four feet off the top. They shaped it very nicely. The whole back parking lot looks so much better and the work opened up more room for the driveway. Pictures coming soon.

The Charles Brown House was mentioned in an article that appeared in last weeks Columbian. The article talks about the history of Vancouver and different architectural styles throughout the city. The unique architectural style of the Brown House is what got us noticed. We are mentioned on the second page in the left hand column.

[click on the thumbnail images to read the article]

Our beautiful rose bushes have begun to bloom outside the office here in Vancouver. This is always a great time of year for us–Leah loves cutting flowers from our gardens and arranging them in vases around the office.