Andy Turrentine’s wife Susie made it clear that Andy must to go to the Preservation Dayton presentation recently, but she didn’t specify why. He was, of course, winning an Excellence in Preservation Award from the group for his work on his home on June Street in Dayton.
“Yeah, it was a surprise,” he said. “I didn’t even know about them [awards] until like two days before. They mainly focused on this house, but I’ve worked on probably 15 to 20 houses in St. Anne’s and Huffman.”
The Turrentines moved to the Dayton area in 2014 to be closer to their kids and grandkids. The couple lived in California for 60 years before making the move, but Andy has been a contractor since 1980 and worked in many industries.
Andy owned a voltage company and while working at the Seattle Seahawks football stadium, he was betting in an online auction to purchase the June Street home. Andy said West Coast time was probably on his side that night.
The front of the June Street home. CONTRIBUTED
“It was 11 o’clock. I was a little bitter. We found out two or three years later it was a real estate guy here,” he said. “It must have been 2 o’clock in the morning for him. He gave up. But the house was in terrible shape.”
They purchased the home in September and were able to move into it in December. The couple moved in with two camping chairs and a newly delivered bed. The furniture they had shipped didn’t show up until January, but Andy had a lot of work to do with the home.
Susie said the home was extremely run-down. The outside of the house was overgrown. The upstairs bathroom had no running water, and there were no showers in the house, just a clawfoot tub. Andy had to replumb and replace the electrical throughout the home. Some of the ceilings had even fallen through, but Andy knows how fix things.
“I touched every square inch of this house, either cleaning or painting or refinishing or whatever else I had to do,” he said. “I learned all the trades. The best way for me to stay working is to start doing concrete work. And I said, ‘I can help with that, and I can help with that.’ I can help all the way up. I’ve done every single trade.”
Other projects done in the home included replacing the windows, refinishing the original oak floors, renovating the kitchen completely, installing a master suite bathroom with running water, redoing the other bathrooms, refinishing or retiling many of the eight fireplaces and putting an addition onto the carriage house.
One of the eight fireplaces in the Turrentines’ home on June Street. CONTRIBUTED
The home is massive at 4,638-square feet. The home now has four bathrooms and six possible bedrooms, as well as a 1,200 square-foot attic and basement. There is also a massive carriage house in the backyard that Andy uses as his workshop. He has worked on many homes in the area, including the Bossler Mansion, so he creates plans and makes his own parts in his workshop.
The home was built in 1889-1890 by Joseph Wortman. The home was built in the Queen Anne Style in brick, but has many ornate elements in wood and stone. The home has a few stained glass and round windows. The northwest corner of the home is curved, and the curved glass in the windows is still intact.
Wortman was an attorney, stockholder and director. He invested in real estate as well, and was known for helping build up the North Dayton area. Eventually, Wortman ran into money troubles and sold the home in 1894. It was foreclosed on in 1895, and eventually sold to Nicholas Lause in 1899. The home was again sold in 1918 to Henry and Rosa Beigel and stayed in that family until 1997.
One of the eight fireplaces in the Turrentines’ home on June Street. CONTRIBUTED
Andy has worked on many homes in the St. Anne’s and Huffman historic districts. He’s owned and sold four to five homes, and both Andy and Susie tried to be landlords renting out properties they purchased and renovated. However, the couple quickly found out that they were not the best at renting.
“We’ve learned we’re terrible landlords,” Susie said. “The person would call and say, ‘My toilet is stopped up,’ and we’d be there in a flash. Then they’d call and say, ‘I can’t make my rent.’ We were too easygoing.”
The Turrentines are going to focus on purchasing and renovating homes in the area if they feel like it’s worth it. Susie said that regular maintenance of the June Street home is non-stop. One of their future projects they want to do is renovating the upstairs of the carriage house to be used as an apartment. Susie also said she’d like to put in a porch in the back of the home.
Recently, the home was used as the backdrop for a short horror movie directed by a Wright State University film student. The couple said that the experience was cool and the students were very respectful. Susie said the movie will possibly be out in 2027.
The carriage house in the backyard that Andy Terrentine uses as his workshop. CONTRIBUTED
“They used part of the dining room for some scenes, but they mostly used the bedroom and then what we call the library,” Susie said. “Our neighbor next door was so nice … and they [students] had some equipment in her yard. But they were really considerate, but that was kind of cool that this [home] got used for a movie shoot.”
While the couple loves their home and is happy about the Preservation Dayton award, they really want to travel in the future. They plan to go to France next spring and are possibly thinking about a trip to Africa. Susie said their future trips rank just a little bit higher than home projects.
But they love calling the Huffman Historic District home.
“We have a great neighborhood, the social aspect that goes on here,” Susie said. “Plus, people in the neighborhood care so much, and not just the owners, renters too, care so much about the neighborhood, and they watch out for each other … I think that the neighborhood, the people, really care about each other.”