Larry Reherman sat in his farm truck Wednesday morning in the parking lot of Dale’s 81 Electric.

He was staring west across U.S. Highway 81. There he saw the remnants of perhaps the most recognizable home on Kingfisher’s Main Street for much of the past century.

“I’ve been here several times this morning,” said Reherman, who lived in the house along with his wife Cena for 16 years before building a home on the family farm in 2001. “There’s a lot of history there.”

Cena’s history with the house, located at the corner of Locust Avenue at 1000 S. Main, dates back much further.

Before it belonged to the Rehermans, it was owned by the Springers. To many, it was called “Springer Mansion.”

But the history dates back even further.

The house was originally started in late 1936 and likely finished the next year.

A small story in the Nov. 19, 1936, edition of The Kingfisher Times said excavation for the home started two days prior to that edition’s date of print.

It was being built by Rich Pappe.

“The home will be of two-story brick veneer construction in the old English style,” it was written. “Many modern and desirable features are included in the plans, including large south sun porches on both floors.”

Some years later, J.T. and Ollie Springer moved to Kingfisher from El Reno.

“They didn’t have a damn dime to their name,” said Larry.

The couple started a small fruit stand in town. It grew into Springer’s Market on the north end of Kingfisher.

They came to Kingfisher with two girls. After they moved here, they had two boys, both of whom later died in a house fire.

After that, they had one more girl - Cena Springer.

“She was supposed to be a boy,” chuckled Larry.

Added Cena: “In all my baby pictures, I was in blue.”

The impressive stature of the Pappe home wasn’t lost on Ollie Springer.

“They came by the house and mother said, ‘I’m going to live there someday,’” said Cena. “Of course, Daddy laughed at her.”

Ollie proved to be correct.

When Cena was about 9 years old, the Springers purchased the home from the Pappe family.

It became a hub for the family.

“All of mother’s family was in El Reno,” Cena recalled. “Every year after we got this, we had the Kennedy family reunion at Thanksgiving up here.

“She had nine brothers and sisters.”

Added Larry: “There were a lot of people up here.”

“A lot,” Cena added. After Larry and Cena were married, they lived in a few different homes.

They recalled the old farmhouse, another “old house” and then a trailer house before they purchased the family home on Main Street in 1985.

By then, nearly all of their children - Stephani, L.J., Tiffany and Ryan - had been born.

Their youngest, Teneille, was born after they moved into the home.

On July 16, 1985, Larry and Cena planted an oak tree between their home and Main Street.

“We planted it on our anniversary because I wanted an anniversary tree,” Cena said.

She recalled the moment as she stood beneath the trees branches as it was now 40 years old and towered almost as high as the home.

“It’s done well,” she said as she stood at the base of the oak tree, which she said was about waist-high when they planted it. “It doesn’t seem possible, but time flies.”

The next day, their 54th wedding anniversary and 40 years to the day after planting it, they watched the home being razed and the tree soon followed.

“I hate to see it go down,” said Cena. “There are just so many great memories here.”