July 9, 2012 – A Sad End to Someone’s Pride and Joy
We were saddened to see not only another barn destroyed and burned, but an entire farmstead and woodlot. This farm is a bout a mile away as the crow flies. This one is a haunting reminder of our impermanence. The last person to live here just left everything like he was going to church when he went into a home. No family came back to put the items in order. In the photos below, you can see a comb still on the bathroom sink, suit coats still in the closet, overhalls and coats hanging in the mud room, shoes and Christmas tins scattered by the coons and salvagers. There are extensive financial records, old letters, old Christmas cards and the like scattered around. All the equipment from a career of farming, from single-row steel wheel plows, to combines and tractors – all left like they were 25 years ago. Neighbors tried to buy the place a number of times, but never got anywhere, before the house deteriorated and equipment rusted. It just sat. On its commanding view of the countryside on the crest of a hill.
Here’s and aerial view of the farm (left side of the road) before the bulldozers and backhoes flattened the trees and dug holes and pushed in and burned the buildings – presumably to get ready to plant corn and beans.
The following album shows some pictures of the “progress” in making the land ready to plant. Click through to see all the photos.
2 Responses to “July 9, 2012 – A Sad End to Someone’s Pride and Joy”
Steve says:
July 9, 2012 at 10:54 pm
Sad. Thank you for taking the pics.
Pam says:
July 16, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Yes, thank you for documenting “progress”. Having grown up on a farm with many good memories, it saddens me to see this happening.