Remembering Stella VanArsdell

In January of 1960 an article written by Mrs. L. Byron appeared in the Lexington Herald Leader that told the story of a talented Sharpsburg citizen.

From dollmaking to woodworking, the late Stella VanArsdale was a multi-talented lady, but didn’t get actively involved in her favorite hobbies until she was in her mid-70s.

The 1940 Federal Census has Stella listed as a florist working from her home on main street Sharpsburg and her husband Crit as an assistant cashier at the Citizen’s Bank.

After the couple retired they moved from their two-story home to the new 1960s Mod house Stella designed herself.

With time on her hands and the idea that one should always stay busy, Stella did exactly that, she delved whole-heartily into her favorite hobbies.

With a new woodworking shop set up in her home to accommodate her crafting supplies and tools, her golden years were happily spent creating and completing a multitude of projects.

After their oldest son went away to college the VanArsdell’s decided it was time to downsize, so Stella started to plan their new home in complete detail.

She was said to have watched “every move” the workmen did as they went about their work, to ensure every detail was just right.

She even instructed the crew on how to make the forms for the shower bath she designed for each bedroom.

The new modern home was designed to be more efficient and easy to maintain and would allow her more time for outside activities and the pursuit of new hobbies.

Byron’s article said, “In her open-plan kitchen, she arranged each fixture for maximum efficiency. The house is a two-level plan and designed so that it is efficient, easy to maintain and charming, completely different than the family’s former many-roomed and tall ceiling house that was filled with antiques. When they moved into the new home, Mrs. VanArsdale disposed of all the cherished antiques that would require extra care in the way of dusting and cleaning. However, they did move the many other treasured pieces such as the beautiful pair of end tables which she made and the rocking chair she carried home in a sack that she put together, and the coffee table she made. The handsome pair of banquet tables that graced the former home was sold and in its place in the new dining room is a harvest table which she designed and had made”.

Furniture repair and restoration were among her favorite projects, but she also enjoyed making dolls and clothing, creating dried flower arrangements, tending her fruit trees and designing her own color picture slides.

One of Mrs. VanArsdell’s most prized creations was an end table she made from an old mahogany log that someone gave her.

When she wasn’t busy with her craft projects, she was involved in charity work, was a Girl Scout leader, and she also played the organ and cleaned the church she attended.

According to the original article, each of the VanArsdell children were interested in engineering.

One of the sons was an engineer for the Quaker Oats Company and one purchased an interest in an electronic manufacturing plant.

A son in-law was an engineer for the Timex Company.

The late Stella VanArsdell was 50 some years ahead of the times, when she took a photo of herself playing the church organ in what would be known today as a “selfie”.