Public views restored historic house in Mineral Ridge

By VIRGINIA ROSS SHANK

MINERAL RIDGE — Tearing down boards, sweeping floors and wiping away cobwebs were among the least of the chores John and Mary Lou Godleski faced when they decided to buy and restore the Moss Ancestral Home close to 19 years ago.

The couple agreed to purchase the property after Mary Lou learned it was to be condemned.

“I didn’t want to see that happen,” she said. “There’s so much history here.”

History that has a special place in Mary Lou’s heart.

The three-story brick house, known as Old Red, was the home of her great-great-grandfather Jacob Moss from 1859 until he died in 1899.

“It was quite a mess, and I learned it was going to be torn down, and I didn’t want that to happen,” the Youngstown native explained. “So we bought it. And we’ve been working on it ever since. If I had known what we were getting into, I probably wouldn’t have done it. But ignorance is bliss. It makes you wonder if we’d really take on most of the things we take on if we really knew what we were getting into.”

But Sunday, as the couple, in cooperation with the Mineral Ridge Historical Society, hosted a fall open house, Mary Lou’s enthusiasm eclipsed any regrets she expressed.

With the help of several family members and friends, she and John offered visitors a glimpse into the lives of the Moss family and the Stouffer family, who lived in the house for several decades to the early 1980s.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.