Once a Hoosier, always a Hoosier  

EDITOR’S NOTE: Historian, photographer and archivist Andy Chandler traveled west recently. Among several stops, Chandler went to the home Ernie and Geraldine Pyle lived at in  Albuquerque. Following is his documentation of that.

After leaving the airport, my first location was the home base that Ernie Pyle described. At 900 Girard Blvd. stands the original house. After Geraldine “Jerry” Pyle’s death, it was given to the city of Albuquerque and eventually turned into a branch of the city library. Working at his birthplace and having seen the location and photos of the now demolished childhood home, the first thing that came to mind was that this house just whispered traces of his Midwest childhood all over it. While it stood at the very outskirts of town during its construction, it differed dramatically to its neighboring adobe-inspired counterparts.  

The house was a kit house that was built by his friend and neighbor Earl Mount. Originally it didn’t include a fireplace, so during construction one was added, putting it over budget by $500 in 1940 money. All in all, the house and property came to $3,500 dollars. The picket fence that he and Shirley Mount built is still visible on the south and east sides of the property. Peeling lead paint on it and the utility shed in the back indicate, yes, this was built before they had regulations on this.  

The head of the library branch is Elizabeth “Lizzie” Peacock, who gave me the tour of the house. Lizzie knows the house better than most of us know our own homes. She showed me things I never would have noticed. Lizzie had with her photos of the property and the Pyles from the 1940s which she would show to me at the location for a then and now view.  

 The floor is original, except for a wall that was part of Jerry’s room that was removed sometime in the late ‘40s. The fireplace, that was installed at Ernie’s request, is still present. In fact, looking closely at the brick and wood fireplace, reminded me of what was once at his now demolished child home.  

Pyle biographer and senior editor at the Indiana Historical Society, Ray Boomhower has advised many aspiring writers to find a place where they can remove all distractions for the purpose of writing. Mr. Boomhower is onto something because in the room right off the library in the adult non-fiction, is Pyle’s writing area. It is here that the famous photo of him at his typewriter was taken, and while not the original bookshelves, a then-and-now photo comparison reveals similarities.  

What is astonishing is how much of the house hadn’t been removed but had simply been built over. Inside the bathroom, a counter against the wall was installed to hide the bathtub, and a potted plant hid the showerhead. The kitchen that played host to many a party when the Pyles lived there now hosts the staff break room. 

One modification from the original design was that the garage was converted into a guest room and for the most part, hosted Mrs. Ella Streger when she was staying nights as Jerry’s nurse.  

Walking back outside to the front porch it became clear that Pyle wanted a green lawn. Albuquerque is located in a rift valley, so the natural deposits of minerals from the Rio Grande River, mean pretty much anything will grow when water is added. In a desert, the Pyles created a little greenspace to remind the Hoosier vagabond of his roots.  

It’s harder to see now since what was once the outskirts of town is today downtown, but Ernie’s comment in his article about being able to see 80 miles, while at best baroque hyperbole, conveys a vast view of the valley. The view from the front door of childhood home, while not as baroque as the house in Albuquerque, conveys a magnificent vastness. 

In his childhood, Ernie’s father, William, had dogs around the house. Consequently, Pyle loved dogs, and in the backyard, next to the utility shed, is buried Cheetah, the Shetland he got for his wife while on assignment in Washington DC for Scripps and Howard in 1941. After the death of both of the Pyles in 1945, Cheetah went to live with Jerry’s nurse, Mrs. Streger. There is talk that their second dog, a Great Dane named Piper, who passed in 1942, is buried on the property, but they simply haven’t found his remains. Lizzie told me that whenever crews do renovations on the property that require digging, she’ll give the crews her number and if they find larger dog bones, to contact her.  

Being the archivist at the Ernie Pyle WWII Museum in Dana, Ind., I work in the home where he was born, and I have seen photos of the home he grew up in. From the wooden frames, the fireplace and the view, as well as the added touches as the saying goes: “once a Hoosier, always a Hoosier.”   

Andy Chandler is a presidential historian and a museum archivist at Candles Holocaust Museum in Terre Haute and the Ernie Pyle Museum in Dana Ind.