Not far from Boston sits the Red House, built in the 1640s by a man named Walter Hatch and now owned by Sarah Messer's family. As she writes about the house where she grew up, Messer describes how her parents' attempts to retain the house's original character influenced the way the family lived--in the midst of antiques, old photographs, and Hatch family artifacts. Messer tells her own story and that of the house in this absorbing exploration of the intersection of past and present. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.