Salukis in Business — Jane Adams
Owner — Pool House Guest House — B.A. 1986 Anthropology — College of Liberal Arts — SIU Carbondale Professor Emeritus
What do you call someone who began their career at SIU Carbondale as an undergraduate and retired from SIU as a professor? A Saluki for Life!
Jane Adams grew up on a farm outside of Ava and attended University High School, but despite her proximity to Carbondale, did not live in town until she became a student at SIU.
“It was then I came to know and love the town. I got a solid undergraduate education at SIU, one sensitive to, and appreciative of, the diversity of our university and our region.” Adams said.
After graduating from SIU Carbondale in 1976 with a B.A. in Anthropology, Adams earned her doctorate at the University of Illinois, and was subsequently hired as a professor in SIUC’s Department of Anthropology.
Her books, The Transformation of Rural Life: Southern Illinois 1890–1990 and “All Anybody Ever Wanted of Me Was to Work”: The Memoirs of Edith Bradley Rendleman, and Fighting for the Farm: Rural America Transformed, have received several awards.
In 1996, she settled in Carbondale, within walking distance to campus, in the Arbor District, a neighborhood populated with many students and a very active neighborhood association.
By the time Adams retired, she and her husband already had a small collection of houses they’d restored and rented in the Arbor District, three of which were recognized by the Carbondale Historic Preservation Commission for their annual award.
The duo restored their last house in 2012, and while doing some remodeling on their own property, they decided to convert their pool house to a vacation rental.
They completed the project in July of 2017, just in time for the eclipse. The “Pool House” is a 900 square foot luxury cottage with a gourmet kitchen, furnished with antique Danish Modern furniture, which comfortably accommodates four adults.
“The Pool House guest house has been successful well beyond our expectations. It’s a luxury accommodation with a swimming pool and extensive gardens, right in the middle of town,“ Adams said.
Adams said they also provide a “home away from home” for medical personnel here as consultants or other short-term positions at SIH. To learn about the house and its history, or to make a reservation please visit: http://www.carbondalepoolhouse.com.
Salukis in Business celebrates the unique relationship between regional SIU Alumni business owners and SIU Carbondale . If you’d like to be featured, email us at alumni-socialmedia@alumni.siu.edu.
This article was originally published in the fall of 2018 in a different format.
