Twelve hours of physical labor, Monday through Saturday probably isn’t the retirement dream of all that many Americans.

But it is the norm for Arthena and Matt Massoth, each of whom is 68 and eligible for some rocking chair time. At an age when many would rather be taking it easy, the Massoths devote their time and considerable energy to restoring old houses.

“When things get old they need to be taken care of, whether it’s a building or a person,” Arthena Massoth said.

Since July, the Leavenworth couple has been rebuilding a historic, 108-year-old Queen Anne house at 1108 Tenn. The house is their 10th project.

Built in 1895 by Charles Grovesnor, a prominent Lawrence businessman at the turn of the century, the house saw three owners until Norma Wilmuth’s parents, Frederick and Ella Deem, bought the home in 1942. Frederick, a doctor, and his wife lived in the house with their two daughters. Wilmuth purchased the house from her mother in 1978. Her mother lived in the house until her death in 1999.

When Wilmuth decided to sell the house she told a friend, Angie Conrad, the Massoths’ daughter. She told her parents about it.

“I loved the fact that we knew the careers of the people that lived in the house from the ’40s on,” Arthena said. “It just needed to be saved.”

Wider trend

The Massoths have done the work themselves, everything from stripping the walls to sanding the floors.

Arthena and Matt Massoth, Leavenworth, have been restoring an 1895 home at 1108 Tenn. since July. The Massoths, both 68 and retired, restore homes together as a hobby.

“We grew up in the country, and we have good work ethic even at our elderly age,” Arthena said.

The Massoths said their passion for restoring old homes keeps them active and busy.

“It’s pretty much a hobby,” Arthena said. “My husband’s a perfectionist so it’s a challenge. But if you don’t have something to do you just become old, not older.”

According to David Ekerdt, interim director of the gerontology center at Kansas University, the Massoths may be part of a wider trend and evidence that what once was considered the winter of life is increasingly being viewed as autumn or Indian summer.

Not only does Arthena work hard at restoring houses, she also runs five miles a day. And she and her husband aren’t the only retirees using their building skills.

According to a January/February article in Mother Jones, more than 1,000 Habitat for Humanity volunteers decided golf and fishing weren’t enough to fill their retirements. They formed Care-A-Vanners, a group of retirees who travel the country in RVs building houses.

Except for a few minor details, most everything on the Massoth’s current project is original, including the sliding oak doors in the dining room and the decorated-brass window locks.

“The house has so much solid wood and character,” Arthena said.

The Massoths — she’s a retired teacher, he’s retired military — plan to finish the house by the end of October, at which point the house will probably go on the market.

“It might have been done differently by somebody else,” Arthena said. “They probably would have chopped it up into apartments. But the house has poetry. It touches your heart a little.”

Ideally, the couple said, they would like to see a young family purchase the house. But the future is uncertain. Arthena said she just feels lucky to have had the opportunity to restore it.

“I enjoy seeing the house come back to where it should be,” Matt said. “I love to come here at night and turn all the lights off.”