wow!
a 104 year old house?
man, you've got your work cut out for you LOL.
i see why you expected a noisy mains.
you said that your neighbor lived with her elderly mother.
medical equipment is a BIG RFI producer, and can wreak havoc with HF radio.
as for the grounds, just connect the antenna ground rod to whatever is closer.
if you want to get around the 60 foot height thing (which most CB'ers dont pay any attention to anyway) just go get your ham license.
you can study for the test on qrz.com and find out when they hold tests in your area. there is no morse code required anymore.
when you are a ham, you can put your antenna as high as you please, as long as its safe of course.
good luck with all your research and experimentation.
when doing your google searches, always include "ham radio" or "amateur radio" in your keywords. that way all your results will apply to home hobbyist radio stations.
also, while its hard to tell someone not to get carried away with safety; you are going to find that to do it "right", its going to cost you an arm and a leg.
you have to asses what your goals and limitations are, and find out what others have done in similar situations.
many folks just unplug their radios and put the coax out the window during a lightning storm.
no one but you can determine how far into this you should get.
i hope it all works out for you and you can get on the air soon.
LC
