Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full
Speaker 1: of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book,
Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display,
Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet
Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Let's be honest. Homeownership can be a mixed blessing.
Speaker 1: On the one hand, it's a huge milestone in one's life,
Speaker 1: often feeling like a defining moment of becoming an adult.
Speaker 1: On the other hand, owning a home means no longer
Speaker 1: relying on a landlord to fix common issues. Are your
Speaker 1: cabinets old and chipped? Need your hot water heat replaced?
Speaker 1: It's all on you now, and it can get expensive.
Speaker 1: It sounds painful, for sure, But remember the word mortgage
Speaker 1: is old French and it literally means death pledge. But
Speaker 1: homeownership comes with freedom too, especially the freedom to change
Speaker 1: what you don't like about where you live. And Russ
Speaker 1: knew that he hailed from Lexington, Massachusetts, and got his
Speaker 1: start as a cameraman for Boston Public Television back in
Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties. While working on Julia Child's series The
Speaker 1: French Chef. Russ master the art of doing more with less.
Speaker 1: He used a small studio and spare equipment to shoot
Speaker 1: their episodes in a single take, with no room for error.
Speaker 1: It gave the show an authentic feel, and it paved
Speaker 1: the way for others like it to come from there,
Speaker 1: Russ climbed the corporate letter, going from cameraman to director
Speaker 1: and then to producer. He was always looking for the
Speaker 1: next French Chef, some educational program with a charismatic host
Speaker 1: showing the audience how to do everyday things, and he
Speaker 1: found such a person in Norman. Born in Rhode Island
Speaker 1: in ninety nine but raised in Massachusetts, Norman had gotten
Speaker 1: a taste of a carpenter's life when he was only
Speaker 1: nine years old. You see, his father was also a
Speaker 1: carpenter and taught his son everything he knew. On Christmas
Speaker 1: Eve of nineteen fifty eight, he invited Norman to join
Speaker 1: him on a job installing hardwood floors in a client's home.
Speaker 1: They placed a skill saw upside down on an old
Speaker 1: milk crate to slice the boards, and used cut nails
Speaker 1: or squared off nails with blunt heads to hold them
Speaker 1: in place. It was a little old fashioned, but it
Speaker 1: made for a sturdy floor that would last a lifetime.
Speaker 1: From then on, Norman was never seen without a hammer
Speaker 1: or a saw in his hand. He spent his weekends
Speaker 1: and summers off from school apprenticing under his father and
Speaker 1: learning the trade. He took shop safety very seriously and
Speaker 1: adhered religiously to that philosophy of measured twice cut once. Eventually,
Speaker 1: Norman struck out on his own doing jobs all around Massachusetts,
Speaker 1: including one four television producer Russ. He had wanted a
Speaker 1: barn built on his property, and so he reached out
Speaker 1: to Norman to construct it. When the job was finally done,
Speaker 1: Russ was gobsmacked by the craftsmanship. It was the finest
Speaker 1: barn he had ever seen, so he knew that Norman
Speaker 1: would be the perfect person for the project that he
Speaker 1: had been planning. The station he worked for had recently
Speaker 1: purchased a dilapidated home built in eighteen sixty in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Speaker 1: It only cost seventeen thousand dollars, but the planned renovations
Speaker 1: would be extensive and expensive. His idea was to film
Speaker 1: the restoration over the course of thirteen episodes to be
Speaker 1: aired on w g b H in Boston. Norman, though
Speaker 1: had no television background, but Russ had one more ace
Speaker 1: up his sleeve. He recruited another expert named Robert to
Speaker 1: act as host for the program. The series debuted on
Speaker 1: w g b H in nineteen seventy nine and became
Speaker 1: an immediate hit, with Robert and Norman showing the audience
Speaker 1: a real behind the scenes look at what it took
Speaker 1: to restore a one hundred year old house. Years before
Speaker 1: homeowners would love it or list it, or travel the
Speaker 1: world in search of the perfect time me home. They
Speaker 1: could watch a couple of regular d I wires on
Speaker 1: TV and learned straight from the kinds of people who
Speaker 1: might fix up their homes one day. And Russell Morash
Speaker 1: placed that responsibility on Roberts and Norman, otherwise known as
Speaker 1: Bob Vila and Norm Abram, who would become synonymous with
Speaker 1: their little program called This Old House. Over the years,
Speaker 1: other tradesmen and women would join the cast, but the
Speaker 1: heart and soul of the show would always be Norm Abram,
Speaker 1: clad in his trademark plaid shirt. It was announced this
Speaker 1: year that Norm is leaving This Old House after forty
Speaker 1: three years and more than a thousand episodes. He taught
Speaker 1: homeowners and television audiences how to do everything from framing
Speaker 1: a deck to replacing a staircase. Home improvement television just
Speaker 1: won't be the same without him, but we'll always have
Speaker 1: reruns for decades worth. In fact, all courtesy of the
Speaker 1: house that norm built. There's a reason people say they
Speaker 1: don't make them like they used to, and our culture
Speaker 1: of mass produced and disposable goods, it can be difficult
Speaker 1: to find something made today that's as strong and long
Speaker 1: lasting as its equivalent made decades ago. From clothing and
Speaker 1: appliances to cookware and tools, the things from the past
Speaker 1: are still used today because they were made to last,
Speaker 1: and the sentiment extends beyond what we consume. Certain architecture
Speaker 1: has withstood the test of time as well, such as
Speaker 1: the Colisseum in Rome and Notre Dame in France, and
Speaker 1: if you tour Great Britain you'll find numerous medieval castles
Speaker 1: dotted throughout. Many of these structures were built during the
Speaker 1: eleventh and twelfth centuries, such as Kilkenny Castle in Ireland.
Speaker 1: The techniques used by the Irish there were adopted from
Speaker 1: the Normans who built these castles in Ireland using smooth
Speaker 1: cut stones rather than the more commonly used wood. This,
Speaker 1: of course made them more impervious to enemy attacks. The
Speaker 1: stones were all chiseled by hand into the shapes needed
Speaker 1: for construction, with wooden scaffolding erected to allow workers to
Speaker 1: build upward, much like they used today. Some castles were
Speaker 1: built using a dry stone method, meaning that the rocks
Speaker 1: were simply stacked on top of one another in an
Speaker 1: interlocking pattern until the different walls and sections were complete. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: that also meant that they were more susceptible to attacks
Speaker 1: as well as damage from the elements. Castles built with
Speaker 1: mortar between the bricks, however, allowed for a better seal
Speaker 1: and stronger walls regardless of the techniques used. Though, these
Speaker 1: castles were constructed by teams of mason's working together for
Speaker 1: years at a time, but one castle eschewed all of that.
Speaker 1: It was built by just two men, standing today as
Speaker 1: a testament to their passion and maybe their obsession. They
Speaker 1: had originally tried building the castle in secret, away from
Speaker 1: the prying eyes of village elders. Unfortunately, the higher it grew,
Speaker 1: the more attention it received. The village wanted to know
Speaker 1: more about the structure and how tall the men planned
Speaker 1: to build it. For one, this castle was developed with
Speaker 1: more cutting edge techniques than others had been. They utilized
Speaker 1: steel rods embedded inside concrete blocks to reinforce the structure.
Speaker 1: They also carved out eighty eight windows around its perimeter,
Speaker 1: all of which were left open to the environment. The
Speaker 1: goal was to increase air circulation and let various weather
Speaker 1: phenomena blow in and out. By the time the castle
Speaker 1: shell was complete, the two men had poured about seven
Speaker 1: million pounds of concrete and built a castle roughly fifty
Speaker 1: feet tall. As for the inside, they hired a carpenter
Speaker 1: to outfit the interior with all sorts of intricate woodwork,
Speaker 1: such as staircases and pews. It took him three years
Speaker 1: to complete, and those who walked its halls afterward said
Speaker 1: it didn't feel like they were inside a castle at all.
Speaker 1: The castle is still around two by the way, but
Speaker 1: visiting this strange hybrid building doesn't require a trip to
Speaker 1: Ireland to see it. The builders, Rusty Ikes and Otis Sadler,
Speaker 1: broke ground back in ninety four in a little town
Speaker 1: called St. Augustine, Florida. Castle Otis, and that's with three
Speaker 1: tas mind you, was created as a landscape sculpture, not
Speaker 1: as a dwelling place. They had no intention of living
Speaker 1: inside the castle, which the town designated as a garage anyway.
Speaker 1: They simply wanted to construct an homage to Christianity, going
Speaker 1: so far as to consult with historians at the Catholic
Speaker 1: Diocese of Northeast Florida for the interior would work. Today,
Speaker 1: Castle Otis stands tall, overlooking the floor to landscape. It
Speaker 1: was even granted an award by the American Institute of
Speaker 1: Architects in which called it a new landmark. Visitors hoping
Speaker 1: to catch a glimpse of the interior can come to
Speaker 1: Castle Otis on the last Sunday of each month for
Speaker 1: a special service. All are welcome, regardless of their faith,
Speaker 1: and those lucky enough to get inside can see the
Speaker 1: handiwork done by the carpenter that Ikes and Sadler had hired.
Speaker 1: Oh and about that carpenter, his name was, in fact
Speaker 1: carpenter Lee Carpenter. To be precise and to be onst
Speaker 1: I feel like they really nailed that choice. I hope
Speaker 1: you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about
Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show
Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how
Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore,
Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and
Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the World
Speaker 1: of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious. Yeah,