Capture the nostalgia of warm evenings spent cuddling as the soft sway of the porch swing lulls you back to a slower era.

So excited to announce my new "Sweetheart's Porch Swing" sessions just in time for spring, when love is in the air! To kick this off, I asked a very special guest to be my model. Jennie, a descendent of J. Isch, and her husband Phil joined me on the front porch of my studio, and we had a blast going over the history of the house and neighboring building. I hope you enjoy some of our pictures from our afternoon together.

The Sweetheart's Porch Swing sessions are perfect for young and old- from prom dates to 50th wedding anniversaries. Capture the nostalgia of warm evenings spent cuddling as the soft sway of the porch swing lulls you back to a slower era.

Please contact me for more information and to book your session today.

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Delph's Gun Shop/ Abersol/ Isch Home:

My studio, 109 W. Partridge, built in pre-Civil War days in the 1830's, is an old frame 2-story building that originally housed a gun shop. Because records of the original owner have been either lost in time or maybe never existed because permits were not required in the 1830s, the exact age is unknown. William Delph, an engineer and gunsmith, was likely the second owner. Delph moved to Metamora in about 1840 and worked as a gunsmith, machinist and civil engineer. Delph was appointed Postmaster of Metamora by Abraham Lincoln and held the office until the inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes, when he resigned. The home served as his gunsmith’s shop. But it wasn’t located where it stands today. It was on the northeast corner of the intersection of Partridge and Menard, where Eli's Coffee Shop stands today. To make room for a grocery store, it was moved – rolled - 200 feet to the west to its current location by means of big logs. Those cedar logs are still being used today as floor joists and are visible down in the basement of the house. John Abersol bought the gun shop and converted it to a home in 1871. In 1893 Mr. Abersol’s daughter, Mary, married John F. Isch who assisted in the store. He later sold it to John and Mary (Abersol) Isch in 1901.

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Eli's Coffe Shop Building:

Entering the front door of Eli's is like stepping back in time. The door appears to be the original one, and the floors inside are wide, pine boards, uneven from over 100 years of customers’ footsteps. They’re rough in places, but how they evoke the ambiance of the good old days!

John A. Abersol constructed the east half of the grocery store, known as Abersol's Corners, sometime between 1840 and 1860 of what is now Eli's. In 1901 his son-in-law John Isch built an identical store to the west and expanded the family business. After Mr. Abersol’s death in the same year, John Isch and his wife, Mary, took over the ownership and ran both stores. The store was renamed Isch’s Grocery and Variety Store. Half was devoted to groceries and the other half housed dry goods. This business continued until the death of Mr. Isch in 1952. At this time, the Isch daughters, Wilma Malone and Madeline Sullivan continued to serve the community running a gift and thrift shop. Wilma closed the shop in 1992. Since then, it has been a quilt shop and coffee shop.

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All information has been gathered and relayed to the best of my ability. I welcome any feedback or additional information.