The McCleery Home at 317 South Arlington Avenue

Lee and Jane McCleery put down roots at 317 South Arlington Avenue in 1944.  With one child at home and another on the way, the couple likely needed more space for their growing family.  Mr. McCleery worked for International Harvester on Brookville Road so his drive to work would be quite short from the home.  The dwelling was first built in 1917 for the Jonathan Merwin family.  The Merwins, in keeping with the times, stained the exterior clapboards a dark brown hue.  The McCleerys eventually lightened the house dramatically by whitewashing the stained wood.  They also enclosed the front porch and added rear rooms as Mr. McCleery lost a leg in a terrible industrial accident so he struggled with stairs.  These photos show the home shortly after the McCleery's purchased it in the mid-1940s and later as their children began to play outside.  The couple would eventually add a third child in 1955.

The McCleery home at 317 South Arlington Avenue c1945

Chuck McCleery on a pony by 317 South Arlington in 1946

Chuck McCleery on his bike in front of 317 South Arlington Avenue c1951

317 South Arlington Avenue c1952

Wilda and Chuck McCleery in front of 317 South Arlington c1952

317 South Arlington Avenue on July 24, 2013