By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post
Kris Munsch has renovated 50 houses during his lifetime, his latest — and most famous — sits on 415 W. 17th in Hays. The home recently was featured in ‘This Old House Magazine” and will be part of the Hays Christmas Home Tours in early December.
Munsch, 51, said he loves breathing new life into old homes, bringing them from “haunted to home,” but said the renovation of the 17th Street house was his most difficult — and not because of the physical effort.
“Because right across the street is the house I worked on with my son,” he said.
Munsch’s son, Blake, was killed in a car accident two days before Christmas 2005 at the age of 16.
When working on the previous house with his son in 2005, Munsch said he had his eye on the 415 W. 17th house. Even then, Blake teased him: “What are you doing looking at that house? We still have this one to do,” Munsch recalled. But there was something about the house he said “spoke to him,” so he learned more about it.
Munsch discovered the house did indeed have a story. More than 40 years ago, the owner of the house committed suicide — not inside or near the home — but neighbors still referred to it as the “haunted” house.
“This house sat empty for years and years, and it was really emptied because of tragedy, a family tragedy, and I really never noticed (the house) until I got to work on the house across the street,” Munsch said. “The more I learned about it, the more I knew, ‘OK, I want to bring it back to life’. …Very representative of my life with tragedy and rebuilding.”
Munsch believes he did bring the “haunted house” back to life as he and students from his class at Fort Hays State University tore through the layers of old wallpaper and sealed the cracks in the plaster.
“I think this house has, more than anything, really helped me to see my life very clearly. People always say, ‘Gosh, if these walls could talk,’ “Munsch said. “There is a story in old houses — the Christmases, the good times, the bad times. I see those things in the walls.”
Munsch said it was Blake who led him to rebuild the house the two had stood in front of in 2005.
“I think my son has a lot to do with things that fall in place. … My goal is not to go Heaven and have God say you did a good job,” Munsch said. “My goal is to go to Heaven someday and hear my son say ‘I am proud of you. You picked up the pieces and moved on.’ That is what I want.”
The house will be showcased on the Dec. 7 Christmas Home Tours, a fundraiser for Thomas More Prep-Marian. Click the image below for more information.
Additionally, Kris Munsch has provided a look at the renovation in pictures HERE.