Check out the photos of Jody’s specially decorated office below.

Sears Homes (or Sears Modern Homes) were purchased from the Sears and Roebuck catalog between the years 1908-1940. They were ready to assemble homes with all the current amenities to date such as indoor plumbing, heat and electricity. These homes were typically shipped by train to rural areas and assembled by the buyer with the help of family and friends. Throughout the programs 32 year history, more than 300 different home designs were offered. Over time the market for these declined and by 1940 they were discontinued. During the 1940s all sales records were destroyed and the only way to find one of these houses today is literally one by one or by stories passed down. Approximately 70,000 of these homes were sold in the United States but it is currently unknown how many still exist. It is believed that  the Astoria House is one of these homes.

Another unique treasure found in the walls of the house is this business card once belonging to John Mattson. John and his wife Fredrika built the home in 1906 and lived in the house with their sons until about 1930. A carpenter in his early years, John later became a general contractor in the Astoria area.

In one of his many office renovations, Steve Roman came across an interesting letter written by a young girl, name and age unknown. Found behind an old wall, the letter is written on the back of a business invoice belonging to John Mattson, the original builder of the house. It is presumed the girl was a boarder in the Mattson home due to the letter’s contents. The letter ends mid-sentence so it is likely another page followed but is missing. Here is the letter’s text (with grammar and punctuation mistakes just as she wrote it):

“I hope this later will reach you, as it is the most important of all. I’m writing this on an old bill head because I haven’t time to go down town and I haven’t any other. Mrs. Matson asked me to write a letter this morning about 20 minutes after 8 as this is Friday and we were to have three test today. I told her I didn’t have any time as I wanted to get to school at eight 35. She said the letter had to goe this morning and I said that didn’t only 15 minutes to get to school in, and that that couldn’t do it till I came back for lunch.  She pulled my hair and told me she did not want to see my face today so I went up in my room and got my books and when I came down she said she was going to get me a room in a Swedish ladies house and told me to pack and she would bring over in the morning. Now what shall…”

See the letter here

Local Astoria criminal defense attorney Steve Roman is the current owner of the Astoria House, which he purchased with his former law partner Nick Zafiratos in 1979. Steve was born and raised in Astoria. In 1965 he graduated from high school and enrolled at the University of Oregon. He also completed his law degree from the University of Oregon in 1973, the same year Stahancyk, Kent & Hook senior partner and founder Jody Stahancyk graduated. Friends and allies in the legal community, Steve and Jody are both successful attorneys in their own fields and SK&H is delighted to occupy a building with such a well-respected community leader. Steve and his wife Becky reside in Astoria and raised six children and have four grandchildren. The photo, taken in 1982, is of Steve and his son Vince, who is currently the Client Relations Specialist and Historian at the firm’s Vancouver branch.

In the 1990s, current owner of the Astoria house, Steve Roman, remodeled several rooms on the second level of the home. As he was peeling and prying away at old boards he noticed something hidden behind the wall. Upon further inspection he realized he was staring at a stack of vintage baseball cards. Further research showed these cards were not any old set of cards, but a stack of T-206 cards, one of the most prominent of all vintage sets due to its size, rarity and color quality. T-206 cards were issued from 1909-1911 in cigarette packs and chewing tobacco. Unfortunately, the most expensive baseball card to date, the Honus Wagner card, which belongs to this set, was not among these found. If so, Mr. Roman would not be practicing law, he’d be on a beach on Maui! Most recently the Honus Wagner card sold for a whopping 2.8 million dollars.