“When Rachael was pregnant, we set a deadline for the completion of the house,” said Mike Ryckman, who co-owns Buerschen and Ryckman Orthodontics located in Beavercreek and Dayton. “We knew that we needed water in the house with a new baby.”
A native of Grand Rapids, Mich., Mike Ryckman grew up in Mansfield, where he was active on the soccer, swim and tennis teams before graduating from Lexington High School in 1997. He attended Centre College in Danville, Ky., where he studied biochemistry and met Rachael.
Rachael Ryckman was born in Knoxville, Tenn., but moved with her family to Kentucky, Texas and back to Nashville. She attended four different high schools before graduating from Gallatin High School in in 1995. She studied biology at Centre College and went on to study veterinary medicine at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
The couple maintained a long-distance relationship while Mike attended dental school at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. The couple wed, but remained separated while Mike finished his residency in orthodontics at Saint Louis University in Missouri and Rachael became a partner in the Banfield Pet Hospital in Lexington, Ky.
“I grew up on a farm, so I wanted to be able to have a horse and some land,” said Rachael Ryckman, of the couple’s decision to buy the James H. Marshall Home, which dates to about 1830. “We were looking for five to ten acres and we have five acres here.”
The couple bought the house from Dr. Jack Gruber, who had maintained the quaint charm of the historical home. Problems developed, however, when the couple decided to renovate the interior and add a second floor to the rear of the house. The contractor determined that the whole rear section of the home needed to be reconstructed and that meant that the kitchen and bathroom that were located there could no longer be used.
“I spent a lot of time at work,” said Rachael Ryckman, who transferred to the Banfield Pet Hospital located in Sugarcreek Twp. PetSmart. “We managed to finish the home before our son, Graham, was born.”
The spacious, 3,000-square-foot house with high ceilings will be featured in the 2010 Greene County Historical Society Christmas Home Tour. In addition to the home and springhouse, the property consists of two barns, a chicken coop, a round stone well and gardens.
Contact this columnist at (937) 432-9054 or jjbaer@aol.com.
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