By Howard Greninger
TERRE HAUTE — As she answered a telephone call, Diane Trackwell made her way across vintage wooden floors through an expansive turn-of-the-century home to get to her scheduling book.
“Yes, we would love to have you,” she told the caller, booking a room in the Farrington Bed & Breakfast at 931 S. Seventh St. It is a business she has owned since the end of 2003.
Yet Trackwell said she is ready to move onto something new. She has placed the bed and breakfast up for sale while she continues to operate the business. A Remax listing shows the asking price is $289,900.
The 5,500-square-foot house was built between 1898 and 1901 for $10,000, Trackwell said. It was built by John Cox, whose son, Paul Cox, an Army pilot, in 1933 became the memorial namesake for the former Paul Cox Field on Terre Haute’s south side. That airfield was a sod field.
“My uncles worked at Paul Cox Field long ago,” Trackwell said.
Trackwell, who lives on the top floor of the 2 1/2-story house, initially entered the bed and breakfast business after retiring in 2003 from Columbia House, where she had worked for more than 27 years.
Instead of staying retired, Trackwell ventured into the bed and breakfast business.
“It was always something that I thought I wanted to do and never dreamed I’d be able to do,” she said. “I am just ready to do a real retirement. I have worked really hard and am proud of what’s here. I think it is an asset to the community.”
Trackwell said that while business could be better, most businesses are struggling in a down economy. “Plus having two new hotels downtown didn’t help me,” she said.
Farrington Bed & Breakfast has been a staple for people visiting Indiana State University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, often to attend graduations. One guest chose to stay in the bed and breakfast Friday for easy access to an interview at ISU for a master’s degree program.
Trackwell said running the business requires commitment.
“They say that bed and breakfasts have ownership on average for eight or so years,” she said, adding the business also demands attention, requiring a person to stay with the business daily, especially on weekends.
Last year, Trackwell opened the large house to the public for lunches, with her daughter, Karen, helping out. But that led to even longer days, working from very early morning to midnight, so she stopped the lunches.
“That helped convince me” to retire, she joked. “I tell everybody this is great fun, but tons of work. I am not afraid of hard work, I have been a hard worker all my life. I do think it is fun and I will miss it, but I am ready to go to that chapter of my life where I can be with my grandkids and travel just a little bit when I have a little bit of money.”
Trackwell said a bed and breakfast exposes you “to the greatest guests in the world. They are always appreciative, complimentary and come back when in this area.”
A look through a guest book reveals visitors from Denver; Metuchen, N.J.; Waukesha, Iowa; St. Paul, Minn.; Tulsa, Okla.; Austin, Texas, plus many from across Indiana.
“Some of the most interesting guests that I had include a gentleman and a lady. Their daughter went to Purdue and was getting married. The lady had come from England and the gentlemen from Sri Lanka, and they had each brought their fathers with them and they all stayed in the house. It was so much fun, with the diversity of the whole group,” she said.
Trackwell said a bed and breakfast business provides a unique service to people visiting Terre Haute.
“I think there is a certain group in the world that prefers this setting,” Trackwell said. “There are folks who look for a bed and breakfast, and I think they play a key role and are a real benefit to the community.”
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
