The McConnell House is the birthplace of Mindy McConnell, and her residence until she moved to her apartment at 1619 Pine Street, when she was 20. Latterly it is the home of Fred McConnell, his second wife Cathy, and Mindy's grandmother Cora Hudson.
Location[]
The McConnell House is located, like Mindy's Apartment, on Pine Street, around 4 blocks away from the Boulder Museum (Old Fears) and not far from and from the Music Store in the Pearl Street Mall. in Boulder Colorado.
Owned By[]
The House has been in the family for a number of years, seemingly from Mindy's Mother's/Cora's side of the family, and probably passed to Elizabeth and Fred, becoming the McConnell Home after they married. It is currently in Fred McConnell's hands.
About[]
*Note two different houses are depicted in the show, firstly in Old Fears, and later in A Morkville Horror, as the latter episode is about the House itself, and as the style of the 2nd house is more in keeping with the age of the house as discussed, rather than the ranch style house first seen, it seems more expedient/pertinent to go with the second depiction.
Mindy's High School Picture
Photo of younger Cora on the McConnell's wall.
The interior decoration of the house is in keeping with an older family home with a lot of antiques, including a beautiful wooden carved Hammond Organ, classic antique pieces of furniture including Chippendale chairs, and fine French style dressers. The wall decorations also show the family's interest in music, and there are a lot of family photographs, many of which are of Mindy at various ages, including her High School year book picture (Pam Dawber's used), along with those of Cora and other family members.
While the decor / furnishings remain largely the same the layout of the front room is very different from S1 to S2, with the front window and door changing sides from one season to another, this however is in line with the new depicted exterior of the house.
In addition all of the wallpapering that Mork had so far done in A Morkville Horror seems to have been taken down in the months before Fred & Cathy arrive, and the old wallpaper restored (though given Mork walked through some of it, that could've been a family choice!)
History[]
Around the time that Fred & Cora have left Boulder to go on tour with Fred's Touring Symphony Orchestra, and the family are considering selling the house rather than letting it stand idle, a history of the house previously unknown to Mindy is discovered thanks to some detective work by Jeanie. The house has apparently descended down Mindy's Maternal Line having been build by her Great Great Aunts Deirdre and Lucinda Lafillette, and was known for a long time as The Lafillette House (Fillette meaning Little Girl) (A Morkville Horror).
Fred and a 6 year old Mindy
Some half century later in the 1950s, after their marriage, it passed into the hands of Elizabeth and Fred McConnell, becoming their family home. As with many children at the time, Mindy was born in the house, living their with her parents until Elizabeth died following an illness when Mindy was 6 years of age. Sometime after that Cora, herself widowed, moved in to help Fred raise his daughter and her grand daughter.
Mindy remained there till after she turned 20, whereupon she moved to her apartment at 1619 Pine Street living alone there till Mork's arrival, while Cora remained in the House with Fred, living and working together undoubtedly adding to both the fractious and fond elements of their mother/son in law dynamic. The house itself, due to its age, began to fall into a state of disrepair around the time, being so old a number of things went wrong with it, most notably the plumbing. With the McConnell's Music Store not doing great business at the time, finding the money was hard to come by, leading to Mork almost turning themselves in so Fred can avail of a cash reward for proof of Alien Life (Mork Goes Public).
During a particularly low and lonely time in her life, Mork aged up through his Orkan Age Machine, began to call on Cora at the store and the house, in the form of 'Bill', taking her on lunch and dinner dates to help fill in for the loss of another close friend. When his actions are discovered by Mindy, she points out to him in no uncertain terms that she could seriously hurt Cora if she starts to develop feelings for 'Bill', and Mork is forced to try and 'break up' with her, whereupon it's revealed she knew it was him from very early on, she's just not sure how he's managed it. It's in the house with her, that Mork confesses his secret to her. (Old Fears)
The Lafillette Sisters start to make themselves known to Mork & Mindy
When Fred & Cora depart on tour, selling the Music Store, in the wake of odd happenings while Mork & Mindy are trying to re-decorate the house with a view to (a reluctant) Mindy selling it, Jeanie uncovers the history of the house . With the discovery of who built the house, comes the more macabre discovery of a love triangle that led to possible murder suicide involving the two sisters, and a silver mining suitor beloved of both girls, but who favored the younger. Said suitor subsequently turning up dead, poisoned. And though no charge was ever levelled at the sisters, after that they locked themselves away in the house and were never seen again alive. Obviously, a history like that was not discussed much by the relatives who took possession of the house after, the house passing down through family hands, and the story was lost, with nothing more coming of it. That it until the house was on the cusp of potentially being put up for sale with the threat of it being sold out of family hands (to Mr. Bickley) becoming a possibility. Whereupon the ire of the original owners, the specters of Deirdre & Lucinda Lafillette, is brought down on Mindy and Mork's heads, returning to ensure, one way or another, that Mindy will not sell the house.(A Morkville Horror)
Despite the efforts of the Lafillette sisters (inadvertently exorcised by their attraction to Exidor who is vacationing in the closet of the empty house) the intervention of the ghost of Elizabeth McConnell, convinces Mindy to let go of her own reluctance to let go of a house with so many memories in it for her.
Mindy helping Fred uncover the house furniture A Mommy for Mindy
However, as it pans out, in the months that follow there are no further prospective buyers, at which time Fred returns to Boulder, unexpectedly and newly married. There he informs Mindy of his relief the house wasn't sold and though both he and Cathy are touring, he is intent on re-establishing the house as their home (A Mommy for Mindy).
Over time that is exactly what happens, as Fred becomes the conductor of the Boulder Symphony Orchestra, once again living in town. After Cora too returns home, having spent some time living with her sister Mildred in Boston, it seems as if she moves back in to her old home as well, especially as Cathy is still often touring as a flautist with her successful quartet.