This was Joe Jr’s bedroom
The Stahancyk House was created by and for “the Ruler of the Ranch.” Dad put a great deal of thought and effort into his master suite. He designed the headboard and bedside lamp using balustrades salvaged from the old Shasta County Courthouse, a gift he received in the early ’60s. The Stahancyk family motto has always been: “Save everything because you’ll find a use for it one day.”
This is the Stahancyk House master suite located upstairs
The custom-built cabinets in the master suite and public spaces stand at 39 inches high—designed specifically for my father’s 6’5” frame, compared to the standard 32 to 35 inches. If the mantel over the master fireplace seems a bit out of proportion, you have a good eye. During construction, the builder accidentally swapped the mantels for the living room and bedroom. By that time, Dad was tired of waiting in a small apartment for the house to be finished. “Just leave it,” he proclaimed. “Pumpkin can change it if she wants to when she does her BB…” But I never did—because it’s part of the charm.
Dad designed the shower, picked the fabric for the drapes (yes, he wanted drapes!), and carefully curated every detail. I believe he had carried the vision for this room in his mind since childhood.
Growing up on the ranch was a simple life. When Dad married, he installed electricity and indoor plumbing for his new bride. But just down the road stood the Battles’ House, home to Jerry Battles, a good friend of my father. Jerry’s father, Asa Battles, was the local insurance agent who took my grandfather, Joe Sr., under his wing—helping him become a U.S. citizen and teaching him how to buy back the ranch for taxes after the Great Depression, clearing the title from another Polish family who had given up on Prineville and returned to Canada.
When Jerry and his family went on vacation—a concept entirely foreign to the Stahancyks—they hired Joe Jr. to care for the animals and watch over the property. My father would sneak into their house, take a bath in their modern bathtub, and dream of the day he would have a grand home of his own—with drapes and all the other accoutrements of fine living.
The Stahancyk House is the culmination of those dreams.
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