The History of the German Style Haus in Carmine

Formerly the Jaster Home, our house was built about 1907. Its four roof gables with twin dormers in the rear remain a grand display of its 1900s German architecture. According to locals, Otto Eichler constructed the home using the best longleaf pine lumber and cypress clapping. After buying the home, the Jasters did some extensive remodeling themselves. The back staircase was removed, and a bathroom was added with indoor plumbing. Two of the four Jaster children were be born in the house.

The house was also the first one in town with electricity. The large rock in the garden is where the generator was once located, and it served the church down the street as well, which Mr. Eichler operated. Cigar salesmen and general merchandise men normally stayed in the house, and at the time, the entire house  had one large, tin bathtub and an outhouse. For social occasions, house dances were held with an accordion player or local bands. At Christmas time, a large cedar tree was decorated with oranges, apples, peppermint sticks, and sugar cookies.

The Jasters also had a café where the matriarch of the family, Ida, sold her canned goods made from fresh fruits and vegetables. She sometimes made as many as 900 quarts of her special canned goods for the café and the home. Ida also baked bread, tended her large garden, and helped the family raise cattle, turkeys, geese, chickens, pigeons, rabbits, and more. The family even made their own wine in wooden barrels. All this cooking and heating was done with wood until butane (now propane) came along. Candles and oil lamps were used until electric lights came into existence.