the fairytale

It’s that house on the corner of Quincy and Joplin that always catches your eye. 

It looks like an old English cottage, like one of those little homes you’d see in a Dickens novel. It’s unique. 

“We always loved the house from the outside,” said Kara Jeck. “We’d drive by it almost every day when we went to Pitt State, and it just always jumps out at you because it’s adorable.

“I always said that if I ever get the chance to live there, I’m taking it.”

It just so happens that around the time that Kara and he husband, Stuart Jeck, were in the market for their first home, that adorable little place on the corner was for sale. It had been recently renovated by the previous owners, and they checked it out.

“We were ready to find our forever home, a place when we walked in we could picture our future kids running around and laughing and cuddling as a family,” Kara said. “When we walked in, that’s exactly what we envisioned.”

Kara always referred to the home as the “Fairytale House.”

“Now it’s our fairytale house.”

Kara and Stu are both teachers, at USD 250 and St. Mary’s Colgan, respectively. They’re both in their late-twenties. Both Pitt State grads. They both are into fitness and health and working out. And that’s really how their story begins.

“We were both at a place where we were working on bettering ourselves and doing what made us both happy,” Kara said. “Those things happened to be the same and connected us. We met at the gym and started showing up at the same times. Then little by little we worked out with each other and fell in love.”

Stu said they bonded over their mutual desire to improve … every day.

“We both feel like we challenge each other to be better than the person we were yesterday,” he said, “because I think Kara is the best person I’ve ever met, and vice versa. This drives us to make sure we are the best versions of ourselves for one another ... to make sure the other is getting what they deserve.”

They both love to hike, love the mountains. They love Colorado. They love their dogs. They love Colorado with their dogs. 

“Our fur babies are our life,” Stu said. “We always say we feel so bad for people who have never felt love from an animal. Their love blows our minds every day, it is the most unconditional love there is. Our life wouldn’t be complete without them. They are our family. They make our family.”

Stu grew up in Pittsburg. This is home. 

Kara, who grew up in Olathe, made her way to Pitt to attend PSU. This is now her home.

“To Stuart, Pittsburg is his hometown,” Kara said. “To me it was my college town. But, now it’s also the place that led us to our soulmate. Neither of us imagined we would end up here, and now we couldn’t see it any different.”

Both Kara and Stu said that the renewed energy and pride throughout the community is what keeps them here, particularly now at a time in their lives when they could pick up and go anywhere. 

“We love Pittsburg and what it is turning into,” Kara said. “I grew up in a city where you could never walk into your local coffee shop and see your best friends already sitting there, or make friends with a five-year-old and play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or get anywhere in two minutes. We are both so excited for the change that is coming to Pittsburg, all the local shops and restaurants. 

“The mindset that is behind Pittsburg now is so exciting and makes us want to be a part of it. With us both being a part of the education system here in Pitt, we are invested in the young and helping them to be prideful in their town. We are both proud to say we live in Pittsburg and we are excited to raise a family here in the future.”