My old house: 421 Kiefaber St.

On a recent sunny afternoon in John Bryan State Park located in Yellow Springs, Ohio, Anna Heink Overmann ’09, Emily Klein McFadden ’09 and Alyssa Wagner Torres ’09 reconnected and reminisced about their time at 421 Kiefaber. They recorded their conversation for UD Magazine, and an occasional cry for “mommy” or a giggling toddler could be heard in the background.

Overmann, McFadden, Torres and their three other roommates (Jeanna Heink Panella ’09, Katie Fowler ’09 and Colleen Seamands ’09 ), calling themselves the “U6,” hatched a plan at the end of their freshman year to live together for the rest of their college careers. Their senior-year home, a former duplex painted blue with a half-pipe skateboarding ramp next door, may have marked the end of being roommates but the beginning of enduring, long-distance friendships.

The living room of the house at 421 Kiefaber was home to night owl chatterboxes and early risers who were on the rowing team. Although sleep schedules differed, the women spent lots of time together with frequent roommate dinners and bonding over Law and Order marathons. They even created a quote wall with their own funny anecdotes and inside jokes.

The “U6” best remember two rare natural events that occurred during their senior year.

One night in 2008, Torres woke up to her bed moving side-to-side. After a quick look under the bed and out the window, she was equally as confused as she was concerned.

“I looked out the window and the trees weren’t moving, there was no storm or anything. So, I thought, ‘The only other possibility is that my bed is possessed by a demon,’” Torres said.

“I looked out the window and the trees weren’t moving, there was no storm or anything. So, I thought, ‘The only other possibility is that my bed is possessed by a demon.’”

She later found out the cause: an earthquake.

The roommates also recall watching in awe as a major windstorm swept through the student neighborhood.

“I remember sitting on our porch, and people were sitting on rolling office chairs, trying to catch the wind with parachutes to get pulled down Kiefaber,” Overmann said. “Our power went out for the next week or so.”

The roommates miss the freedom and joy of their college years … especially without smartphones.

“We graduated the year before smartphones became widely used, so we didn’t have that same distraction,” McFadden said. “We were never inadvertently ignoring each other.”

More than 12 years later, the group does rely on their smartphones to keep in touch. Their group chat is, of course, called “U6.”

FAST FACTS

Address: 421 Kiefaber St.
Year bought by UD: 1989
Square feet: 1,377
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2
Style: Old-style wood frame