An elderly widow is begging to save her home of 55 years before it is knocked down to widen a nearby highway.
Janet Arnett, 76, bought the 63-acre property in 1969 and after decades of living in mobile homes, built the house with her husband Lowell in 1998.
Four generations of her family either grew up in or spent large slabs of their childhood at ‘Mamaw’s House’ in Magoffin County, Kentucky.
But decades of memories could be wiped out with plans for an expansion to Mountain Parkway run right through the middle of her land.
Janet Arnett, 76, is begging to save her home of 55 years before it is knocked down to widen a nearby highway
Arnett bought the 63-acre property in 1969 and after decades of living in mobile homes, built the house with her husband in 1998
Arnett with her daughter Lanessa DeMarchis and granddaughter Zoe Parker
‘It’s a small house, but to me, it’s a mansion,’ she told WYMT through tears.
‘I’m 76, I’m not going to be around too much longer, why can’t I stay here, in the house, my house?’
Arnett said she was offered money by developers to sell the land to make way for the expended road, but said the memories in the house were priceless.
She and her family appealed to local officials to change the plans to build around her home, but was told that wasn’t possible.
Moving the house was also said to not be feasible because there would be no way to build a new septic tank.
Arnett kept the house after her husband Lowell (pictured together) died in 2015 and her family said it was the center of their social life
‘When I was growing up, Mamwa’s house was always this place of refuge where I could go,’ Arnett’s granddaughter Zoe Parker (left) said
Arnett with her great-grandchildren on her property that is under threat by the highway
Four of Arnett’s grandchildren, who spent big parts of their lives on her property
‘If they want to build the road, that’s fine. But just leave me alone. Build it in front of me; build it behind me. I just want to stay in my house,’ she said.
Arnett kept the house after her husband died in 2015 and her family said it was the center of their social life.
‘When I was growing up, Mamwa’s house was always this place of refuge where I could go,’ Arnett’s granddaughter Zoe Parker said.
‘We cooked together and this is where I grew up playing in the creek, catching crawdads, and catching lightning bugs.
‘This is the epicenter of our family and Mamaw’s place will always be Mamwa’s house, whether it be right where it is, or down the road – but it’s tough if it gets bulldozed.’
A sign on the wall of Arnett’s home with the nickname the family has called it for decades
Plans for an expansion to Mountain Parkway run right through the middle of her land
Arnett’s daughter Lanessa DeMarchis is campaigning with family, friends, and locals to convince state officials to reconsider the highway route.
‘They are forcing her to move. They will bulldoze her house to the ground,’ she wrote in a petition.
‘This is the house we raised our kids in. This is the house where we hid Easter eggs, celebrated birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
‘This is the house where ALL of us escaped to when life just got too complicated. This is where our kids ran barefoot and grew their own vegetables and caught lightening bugs.
‘This is the house with a front porch swing, where very meaningful conversations took place.
‘Yes, they are “buying” it from her. But, she doesn’t care about the money. She wants to live her remaining years in her home.’
Four generations of her family either grew up in or spent large slabs of their childhood at the house