Miles Manor: From dream to reality

Members of the Miles Manor community gather in front of Earl Miles' home (from left, front row: Earl Miles, Beatrice Kelly 2nd row: Barbara Horrell, Genevieve Hill, Bettie Nunnelly 3rd row: Leroy Smith, John Kelly, Louis Nunnelly). Earl and Clara Miles founded the development in 1959 and finished building their home in 1965.   ¦  Sara Stogner

More than 50 years ago, Clara Miles sat on the front porch of her home on Pendleton Street waiting to reveal to her husband, Earl, an idea she'd been stewing over for quite some time.

Earl came home from work around noon after a full shift of baking at the Wigwam Café. He remembers what his wife said to him as he made his way to the front door.

"She asked me, ‘Do you want to take a ride? I'll drive.'"

He thought it a little strange that Clara was so eager to take the wheel, but soon they were driving away. Earl had no idea where his wife was headed, but he could tell she had planned the drive in advance. She pulled up to a home near the corner of Russell Boulevard and College Park Drive, where a $75,000 house sparked Clara's imagination.

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