BY MATT AUERBACH
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — Some borough homeowners opened their doors to their neighbors for a good cause on Sunday.
The Borough Improvement League’s annual house tour went off on schedule despite the remains of a nor’easter, which created treacherous walking conditions every step of the way.
The snow caused folks on the tour to make one concession: they either had to take off their shoes or put a pair of blue hospital booties on over their footwear before entering each home.
Proceeds from the annual tour benefit the Old Franklin Schoolhouse on Middlesex Avenue, which currently serves as a meeting place for the Borough Improvement League. The league has owned the schoolhouse since 1906 and it means a lot to its members, including volunteer Nancy Trought.
"We have 60 active members and we’re all aware of the history between the league and the schoolhouse," she said. "Today’s tour to raise money is very important. It’s our biggest event of the year."
The Old Franklin Schoolhouse, which was built in 1807, served as the borough’s first school until about 1870, when it became a private home and gradually fell into disrepair. The league took possession of the building in 1906 and has been responsible for upkeep since that time.
In addition to raising funds, the tour is also a way for residents to meet their neighbors.
"We just closed on this home in October," said Rob Kochik, one of the homeowners whose home was featured. "When our Realtor mentioned the house tour to us, we saw it as a great opportunity to get to know people."
The tour started at the schoolhouse where maps, information pamphlets and refreshments were available. People were on their own to decide in what order they would visit the homes on display. Most began with the homes on Highland Avenue and Robins Place since they were within walking distance of the schoolhouse and then made it over to the remaining homes on Woodbridge Avenue and Spring Street.
The tour was a mix of the old and the new. There were two Colonial Revival homes built in the early 1900s, one craftsman bungalow constructed around the same time, one 1989 townhouse, and one 1999 Queen Anne Victorian home.
What connected these five homes was a sense of pride shared by the owners.
"We are the keepers of this house," said Deanna Manzo, owner, with her husband Dominick, of 47 Highland Ave. "We were specifically looking for an older home in Metuchen and when we found this one, we liked it immediately. We waited 10 months for the price to go down and when it did, we jumped on it."
She considers her home, which served as a hospital in World War I, as "not original but historic."
Rob Kochik and wife Carole moved from South Brunswick to their home on Woodbridge Avenue for one overriding reason: Metuchen.
"We were very anxious to move here," said Carole Kochik. "We looked here for three years." Rob works in Manhattan and said that the house’s location across from the train station is "ideal."
Owning an unusual home isn’t always easy. Highland Avenue residents Tina and Robert Garrett said their house contains some non-standard-sized features.
"If we need to replace a window or a door, it has to be custom-made," said Robert Garrett. "We can’t just go to Home Depot."
Garrett isn’t complaining though. "Our house has character," he said. "You feel like you’re living in a real home.
"It’s a little drafty, but it’s worth it," he said.
Over at 65 Spring St., Barbara and James Wolff had a civic-minded motive for getting involved in the tour.
"When we built our home, we built it with the character of the neighborhood in mind," said James Wolff.
"The tour presented an opportunity to show the house as an example of what can be done," he said, referring to recent controversy over new construction in neighborhoods with many historic homes.
Robert Garrett summed up the purpose of the tour best: "Our house doesn’t look like the house next door," he said. "Not that the house next door isn’t a very nice place."