PINE GROVE - It was not a typical moving day Saturday for Steve and Darlene Noll.
The couple did not have to haul any luggage. It was their house that was on the move.
"We built it," Darlene said. "My daughter was born here. It's special to us."
Steve built the home about 33 years ago on 10 acres of land along Swopes Valley Road in Pine Grove Township. Pig farmers at the time, the couple had to sell seven acres of property and the home in 1988 after losing several hogs. They put two trailers together and moved to the remaining three acres at 473 Swopes Valley Road.
"It was a bad time for hogs at that time," Steve, now a truck driver, said. "We had to sell, clear our debts and start over again."
Since then, their old home had three different owners.
"We always told them if they were to sell it, we would like to buy it back," Steve said.
This past Thanksgiving, the current owner of the home said she was planning on building a new one on the property and asked if they knew anyone interested in it.
"My face lit up like a light bulb," Darlene said. "I would love to have my house."
The owner agreed to give them the two-story home as long as they moved it about 600 yards onto their property. But it was worth the $8,400 to move the home where the couple raised five children.
Darlene's cousin, Dale Aungst, operates a house moving business in Bernville.
"I actually helped him move houses before so we knew it could be done," Steve said.
Aungst arrived with the equipment early Saturday morning. The house was loaded onto a huge 24-wheel dolly by several hydraulic jacks. A bulldozer then pulled the dolly.
"It's usually cheaper to move than haul away," Aungst said. "And sometimes people are attached to a home."
It took only about 20 minutes to move the house about 400 yards Saturday. PPL Electric will arrive Tuesday to lower power lines so the house can travel over them to cross the street. Then Aungst will finish moving it onto the property.
Aungst said it was actually one of the smaller homes he has had to move and that the most difficult part will be going across the road. He said stone will be put down to level out the ground.
"As long as we go slow and watch what we are doing, everything will turn out OK," he said.
Steve and Darlene Noll said they plan on moving into the home as soon as possible.
"It's like a miracle to me," Steve said. "A dream come true."