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D e c e m b e r 2015 89 House of tHe MontH Colin W. Sargent MichaelericBeruBe-MaineVirtualhoMetours.coM The Tory Lover The John P. Mellen House Saco 375000 W hat a Christmas house. When- ever our family drove through Saco during the wonder years first in a teal 1957 Ford then in a metallic copper 1963 Ford Falcon convertible and fi- nally in an iridescent blue-green 1968 Mus- tang my mother used to gaze dreamily at the crisp Federal lines of this lovely home at 15 North Street and say Oh I love that house. Would I ever love to see the inside. She loved the arched doorway deeply set in luscious brick painted white. She loved its roofline faintly Dutch. Shaded by leafy trees it made you dream of caring for it. My father seemed relieved when hed say gripping the steering wheel Its not for sale and it needs a lot of work. This ones for you Mom. Were going in. The John P. Mellen House has been owned by Arnold Manthorne and his wife Felice for 29 years and theyve done a lot of work. Ar- nold yes named for Benedict Arnoldhes a direct descendant on my mothers side was a Boston lawyer who tried cases of FDIC fraud for the government. We enter to find a Federal center hallway with a classic steep spiral stair flanked by a formal living room on the left with fireplace and a large dining room on the right with fireplaceboth with Indian shutters. There were signs below the wallpa- per of a door halfway up from an earlier straight stairway. A mysterious door. My mother loved such things along with sig- natures and notes people had written below the wallpaper when we took it off. A clue for you all the P in John P. Mellen stands for Pepperrell. Mellen was an early shareholder in York National Bank. TheEuropeantileswereaddedtothedin- ing rooms formal fireplacewhen In any case the changes to this house were made with a good eye. During the Depression it may have taken a beating Arnold says. We bought this house from the president of a small insurance firm who was more of a boat person. He didnt give a damn about the interior of the house. The Manthorpes do restoring the orig- inal floors and the four formal wood burn- ing fireplaces theres also a woodstove and another fireplace in the stone-floored three-season atrium and presiding over the recovery of the gardens. Theyve also worked to make the house comfortable and energy-efficient. Interior magnetized acrylic storm windows keep the drafts away. The furnace is about 10 years old the wiring has been updated and theres been considerable exterior brickwork in- cluding refurbishing the four elegant square wings that punctuate the roofline as well as the chimneys. From my earliest memories the house had Tory chimneyswhite-painted capped by a black stripe. Traditionally this means its owners had English sympathies during the Revolutionary War. Like this house Gen. Arnold was inspi- rational but complicated. The kitchen needs a further update as does a five-room suite with kitchen where Felices mother stayed for twelve and a half years. She hit 100 Ar- nold says. There are four bedrooms a dry basement with great brick arches an attic a classic red barn and 50000 in gardening and flag- stones. This house is move-in ready be- cause its worth making your own over time. Taxes are 7366. n