DWIGHT DANA: Jeffrey opened writer's eyes in many ways

The Wilds-Edwards house in Darlington was spared by Gen. William T. Sherman during the Civil War, in part because a member of his troop was the architect of the stately Italiante structure.

It was quite a place, but the house had fallen into ruins until the late 1990s when Jeffrey Kimbrell happened to be passing it in his Jaguar. The Italiante architecture turned Jeffrey every way but loose.

Jeffrey and his partner, Kevin, bought the house for a song and moved in. They were adept at renovating houses, having just sold a mansion in Eureka Spring, Ark., they called Villa Avarana.

It sounded like a good story so this writer headed over for an interview. Once inside the Wilds-Edwards House, he was surprised to discover that two men, Jeffrey and Kevin, appeared to be living in one room downstairs ... with one bed. The only heat came from the gas logs in the fireplace. It was all very cozy. And more than a little confusing to the writer who was a bit naive about such matters at that time. But, his horizons were soon expanded, and in a good way.

It was early in the afternoon and Jeffrey was already getting cranked up by drinking wine. The more he drank, the more elaborate the plans for the house became. When Kevin wasn’t fetching wine for Jeffrey, he was sitting on a couch with Shelly Mae draped around his neck. Shelly Mae was his dog.

Jeffrey had made his money in real estate in St. Louis. Kingsbury, Portland and Hortense — places that were all developed in the early 1900s. The mansions he sold were numbered and huge. It’s where the elite of St. Louis lived.

Jeffrey outsold all his competitors because he knew the history of each house and the people who lived in the houses. He liked it even more when the history was good and juicy.

The two men restored Wilds-Edwards to perfection. The writer was working at the Morning News some four years later when they had an open house on a Sunday afternoon. It was a great time. Jeffrey was in his element taking people from one room to the other and explaining the history of the house to the nth degree. The writer noticed that the explanations improved with each glass of wine he drank. Everybody who came through the house that day was impressed.

Jeffrey was loud at times, opinionated to the max and tried his best to put on a fake Rhett Butler accent when he thought it was time to impress people. He was one of the best mimickers the columnist has ever seen or heard.

Jeffrey also spoke his mind. There were many around Darlington who didn’t like him, because of that and possibly for other reasons.

Jeffrey was killed when he fell from a makeshift platform at another house he had restored in Darlington. Kevin was seriously injured. The writer was asked to speak at Jeffery’s funeral. It was an honor because he thought Jeffrey and Kevin were great people. The writer even had Ann Miles, the pianist, play “Meet Me in St. Louis” at the funeral. The scribe pulled out a glass of wine from under the podium and toasted Jeffrey.

It seemed like the thing to do.

If the writer hadn’t done it, Jeffrey probably would have.

Morning News columnist Dwight Dana can be reached at 843-317-7259, or be email at ddana@florencenews.com.