Most of the time, following in my mother’s footsteps is a wonderful thing. After all, I followed her to Pomona. However, this past week represents one of the few times when I reeeeeeally wish I hadn’t done exactly what my mom did. Let me explain.
One of my mom’s few regrets from her time at Pomona was that she did not go out at midnight to watch Seaver House move from wherever it used to be to its present location on College Avenue. I have heard this story many many times in my life, long before I ever decided to come to Pomona. She says now that she is not sure why she did not participate or even get up at midnight to see or photograph the moving of the house. It may sound a bit silly, but how often do you get to see a house being moved (outside of Howl’s Moving Castle)?
So, when we got an email from Bob Robinson of Facilities and Campus Services saying that the Replica House was going to be finding a new home, I was really excited. This was my chance! I could finally do what my mom didn’t get to do—watch Pomona move a house. The email said they were moving the house on Monday, November 12 between the hours of 8 am to midnight. So, pretty much all day. I figured I had plenty of time to grab a moment and go find the house, wherever it was, and take a picture of it being moved.
I dragged a friend along with me some time in the evening when we thought the house would be making its way east along First Street. However, we found it right where it had always been, by the baseball field. Hmmm. Maybe we got the timing wrong? Maybe they changed the schedule? We took some pictures of the house up on wheels, ready to move, and planned to come back later that night.
Unfortunately, as college students we all know how it goes. A little too much homework, a little too much cold and I found myself in my room, working in my pjs around midnight with absolutely no intention of venturing out again that night. I didn’t check on the house the next day either. On Wednesday, we finally went back and of course the house was gone. So after all the hype, I missed it. Just like my mom, I missed the moving house! Oh well. Maybe it’s a tradition of its own kind.
