January 21, 1872

On this date, George Clarke Sellery was born. Academician, scholar, author, administrator, George Sellery was acting President of the University of Wisconsin/Madison from 1937 to 1945, and wrote scholarly works about the Renaissance, and the treatment of captured folks by the Germans, after WWI. Interestingly, two of his daughters married Germans. Oh, well...



He married Mabel, and they had 5 children. For the family, he worked with a local architect to design and build a large-enough house at 2021 Van Hise Avenue, close to the university. He was especially proud of the fact that each bedroom had its own washbasin.



That bay window on the right contained a delightful window seat, where I often took afternoon naps. Behind the house, at the back property line, stood a magnificent blue spruce tree.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!



UPDATE: I forgot The Pipe! (This was a tobacco-loving generation, after all.) Grandpa always had a pipe, the aroma was delightful, and it permeated the house. I really miss the smell of that pipe!