"Beyond the Wild Wood comes the Wild World," said the Rat. "And that's something that doesn't matter, either to you or to me. I've never been there, and I'm never going, nor you either, if you've got any sense at all." - The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham
Toad Hall is a fictional place in a fictional book written about a Toad and his adventures with his friends; Mole, Rat, and Badger. This beloved book is a classic and is beautifully written, a treasure in the literary world, but also a treasure in our home. Why? Not just because it is a cherished book, but because it was given to us by a delightful man who built and lived in our home. A home that is small and not as grand as Toad Hall in the book, but we hope is just as welcoming, cozy, and peaceful. Our Toad Hall amongst the Wild Wood where the Wild World can not bother us and we can find sanctuary away from it.
How Toad Hall came to be
In order to truly share the story of Toad Hall Homestead, I must first share a little bit about the man who owned this property first, built the cabin, and cared for the property. This man is now 85 years old. His name is Alan. He is a man who loves company, loves to share story after story, and a man who was a lover of all books. He has traveled the world, taking back seeds from trees to plant back home; many of those trees still reside on the property. Those were his two loves: books and trees. He found his daily conversation with the books he read and the weather station he reported to daily, as he ran a weather station right on Toad Hall property. He carried buckets of water down a path through the woods, across a creek, and up the hill to the house and found no use for modern amenities. He is a very interesting man and one that we have had the privilege to know throughout the past year.
The name Toad Hall comes from two different origins twined together to create the name we have kept for the homestead. The first comes from a story from the time Alan was in the Army, stationed up in Fairbanks, Alaska, back in the day. Alan was surrounded by men of all kinds. Sleeping tightly in the quarters after a dinner of bean chili the environment could be described as sounding like a room full of toads. As one can infer, he was referencing the gas in which the chili induced. And, being a lover of books and having a special infatuation with The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham, Alan dubbed the barracks "Toad Hall". He even made a sign and hung it on the entrance to the barracks.
Before leaving his Fairbanks duty station he took the sign and kept it with him, hanging it on the entrance of his small cabin, officially calling his own home, Toad Hall. From then on Alan leaned into the experience of it all. He traded his own homemade black currant wine to a local artist for a charming stained glass window which depicts Toad and his friends. He has always and to this day calls the property Toad Hall both on official paperwork and in simple conversation.
After moving in, we agreed to keep the Toad Hall sign, stained glass window, and most importantly, the name. Alan's legacy will continue to live on through the trees he planted, his classic copy of the Wind in the Willows, and the name of his beloved dwelling.
How we found Toad Hall
Adam and I struggled to find a home in an expensive market and in an area where the inventory is low. We spent hours driving around, checking out every FOR SALE sign we saw on the side of the road sometimes even minutes after the listing popped on the market.
Eventually, we started cold calling property
owners (35 to be exact), many of them who resided out of state, to see if they would be willing to sell. The Alaskan housing market is the wild west. In our experience, cold calling was the better option and we received more "shoot me an offer" then we did "not interested in selling". With their permission, we would walk or snowshoe the property, attempting to visualize what and where we would build. But, there was always a catch. Either it would cost a limb and our first born to run utilities to the property or the terrain was so rugged it would be nearly impossible to build a driveway or access the property. Alaskan landscape doesn't make it easy to have modern amenities such as electric, water, and gas!
Unsettled. Anxious. Impatient. Desperate. These were all feelings we had after about 8 months living in Alaska. We had a roof over our heads and we had amazing family who we lived with, yet we felt so ready to be in our own place, building our life up here, and a home to raise our family in. The devil himself was inserting lies into our minds and we became obsessed with trying to find a place. We prayed and prayed asking God to show us where we belonged. We prayed over every property we looked at but God's answer was continually "This is not it, wait patiently, do not grow weary!"
24 hours after making the decision to stop pursuing a property that we believed could work, Adam decided to take a side-by-side ride to clear his head. While on the trail, he met one of the neighbors from down the street. Somehow the conversation led to Adam telling him we were looking for property. The neighbor mentioned that his neighbor who was older in age was talking about selling his place and that Adam should go check it out. A couple days later, Adam and I took a walk down the street to check the place out. (When I say walk, I mean a literal 5 minute walk from my parents house). We strolled down the winding driveway and like something out of a fairytale the trees opened up to a small little house set promptly in the middle of an acre yard surrounded by a fence and nestled in the middle of a forest which sat on 18 acres. The second I saw it, I knew this was it.
We met Alan a few weeks later, expressed interest in buying his place and a friendship was ignited. Within that month, we helped Alan move out of Toad Hall which was filled to the brim with books and 50 years worth of things Alan collected. It was an antique pickers paradise! Throughout that process we got to know Alan. We shared stories, meals, and walks. In the moment all we wanted to do was get into the house, renovate it, and move in, but God forced us to slow down, carry another box of books to the trailer, and enjoy the company of our new 84 year old friend. It was an opportunity to witness and profess the goodness and glory of God!
We closed on the house and property on July 20, 2022. It was a joyous day filled with happy tears, relief, and utmost gratitude to the only one who deserves it, our faithful God. The story of how we acquired Toad Hall will always be a story of His promise of provision.
"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" - Philippians 4:19