Staff writer
Several years ago, Tom Schmidt of Peabody was searching for information about the town in archives at Wichita Public Library. There he found in an 1887 Kansas Atlas, a line drawing of the house at 611 N. Sycamore, Peabody. The picture also included a carriage house behind the residence.
Schmidt gave a copy of the picture to Mike and Cheryl Berger, the current occupants of the house. They posted it on their refrigerator.
The original carriage house was gone before the Bergers purchased the residence in 1988. When they decided to build a garage, Mike said he got the idea to style it after the former carriage house.
He contacted Arlen Gfeller, who agreed to design the building. It was recently completed, and the Bergers are proud of the result.
The double-car garage has a distinct four-sided roof with a topper. In addition, it has a lean-to for storage, which the original carriage house also had.
The Bergers have three grown children. They own and operate Peabody Sausage House.