Located on North Main Street, this Colonial Revival was built by Dr. E. P. Keefer and later owned by the Westers. Best known today as the longtime home of the Hardy & Nell Owens family, it’s adjacent to their old photography studio. My grandmother and great-grandmother lived a street away so this house holds a special place in my memory. One of the biggest thrills of my childhood was seeing the house all decked out for Christmas. The highlight of the decorations was an illuminated Santa, complete with sleigh and reindeer. To a young boy, they may as well have been flying over the roof of the front porch. I think they gave many of us who grew up in Fitzgerald in the 1970s reason to believe. Christmas trees, snowmen and other symbols of the holiday were always in abundance, as well.
