Six months into a much longer restoration, the couple moved in. There were no kitchen counters, and the only working bathroom was a tiny powder room.
Yet, it was clear from the start that the kitchen would become the beloved central feature of this unique home, which once consisted of two rooms upstairs and two rooms downstairs. It took months to remove layers of circa-1950s paint and paneling and uncover original wood wherever they could.
"We knew what we were getting into," says Goldman, who grew up on a historic horse farm nearby and loved country life.
Though Lederman, who came of age in a fairly standard 1950s suburban home in Allentown, did not share that history, he shared the commitment to the old farmhouse, which has become their haven in the truest sense.
Step in via a side door and you're instantly transported back centuries. The kitchen that took so much love and labor spreads out before you, with its vast fireplace, a hearth made with bricks from the courtyard of the historic local courthouse that were being disposed of, and the hefty beam uncovered over that fireplace.
There was even the discovery of a hidden "bake oven" that shared a common flue with the fireplace. The couple believe that both the bake oven and cooking fireplace once had been outside, but were enclosed when the house was enlarged in the 19th century.
To a visitor today comes the happy discovery of hundreds - yes, hundreds - of rolling pins as the kitchen's main decorative element.
Goldman is happily addicted and explains that it all started in 1979, when she spotted an old rolling pin at a local flea market and bought it. Like so many "casual" collections, this one has grown to epic proportions and has been featured in regional and national magazines.
The grand total now exceeds 300, and they are everywhere: in the kitchen and hallways; over doors; hanging from special shelving. Goldman can identify each one by its lineage.
There are rolling pins from American and European centuries past. There are traditional wooden rolling pins, and some made of English porcelain. There are Depression-era glass pins and pins specially designed to crush oats. They sit in old baskets and barrels and ceramic jugs, and add charm to an already fascinating house.
Just beyond the kitchen is a dining room featuring a table rescued from Goldman's family's barn.
"It actually was a work table that we kept out in our barn," she explains, noting that she carefully preserved the nicks and scrapes as a reminder of its roots. Two benches provide seating. Comfortable chairs at the other end of the room are set before another of the farmhouse's three fireplaces.
A cozy library/den has the third fireplace, a rare corner variety. This room is where Goldman often settles in to do paperwork, and also where she and Lederman kick back, especially on winter nights, in their rare spare time.
Family is a touchstone for Goldman and Lederman. His six children from an earlier marriage are scattered across the country, and upstairs there are guest rooms ready and waiting. Full-time canine occupants, briards Beni and Aizee, are always delightful company. Photographic reminders of generations past smile down from the walls of the formal living room, where a baby grand piano reigns in one corner.
In spring and summer and into early fall, the couple can enjoy a screened porch that looks out over their one-acre property, in a small city whose downtown was named a "great neighborhood" by the American Planning Association in September. Bordentown, which has a proud colonial history, is now a mecca for art galleries and fine restaurants.
The couple have opened their home to neighbors and visitors for various house tours (three in the last five years) and get pleasure from sharing its place in Bordentown's history.
"We love the house, and we're glad to be its 'caretakers,' " says Goldman. And if Lederman once knew very little about the preservation of historic homes, he's something of an expert now.
"There's always something to do, to fix, to maintain," says Lederman, who actually enjoys riding his mower as he tends to the rolling lawns. "But I've definitely been convinced that old homes are worth it - and this one definitely is."
