A Little Whimsy and Little Green Men: A White Rock Elementary Home for the Ages

When it comes to writing about past-decade homes, I can’t resist looking them up in the old Dallas Morning News archives. Sometimes I find builder advertisements for the home or its new subdivision. Other times, I find someone notable once lived there. But my favorite finds are the ones that just add a little whimsy to a home and its former occupant’s history. In this case, I found a news story about the first owner of this week’s featured Ebby Halliday Realtors home, 9419 Covemeadow Drive in Lake Highlands.

Picture a fall day back in 1966. A man, 39, heads to nearby Flag Pole Hill to test out a new invention. He’s an Astro Toys salesman who hopes to capitalize on a new phenomenon sweeping the country — unidentified flying objects sprinting through the skies. Preparing for a big U.S. market launch, the enthusiastic salesman launches the beta into the Lake Highlands skies. He hopes to “scare the pants off people” — and by an obscure paranormal newsletter’s account that I found, the flying saucers that measure two feet wide will certainly do that.

But the salesman has a problem. The saucer really has darted across the sky and out of sight. Now, he has to call Dallas Police to his home on Covemeadow Drive and report his flying saucer has gone missing — lost somewhere in White Rock North.

Now, we don’t know if our Astro Toys salesman ever found his flying saucer, but his 1964-built home near White Rock Elementary remains as a cool tether to this eccentric news story.

Jamie Sheehan of Ebby Halliday Realtors’s listing has five bedrooms, three baths, and 3,542 square feet set on a heavily-treed quarter-acre lot. This stylish home boasts a split floor plan, vaulted ceilings, a floor-to-ceiling brick and stone fireplace, and huge windows and skylights throughout.

Sheehan says all of the bedrooms are oversized with tons of closet space. Then there is a 350-square-foot playroom that is currently being used as a large bedroom. Basically, you’ve got flexibility for multiple home offices, a mother-in-law suite, or a giant play palace.

The highlight of the home — the outdoor living spaces. Take your morning coffee on the wood deck off of the kitchen, retreat to the shaded open patio, or hang out in the large backyard. “The outdoor spaces in this home are by far my favorite part of the home,” Sheehan says.

Jamie Sheehan of Ebby Halliday Realtors has listed 9419 Covemeadow Drive for $899,000. And if you find a two-foot flying saucer, please let us know.