Saturday, June 14, 2008

The House that Didn't Move

The old Byron Kendall house was scheduled to be moved yesterday, and I got up early and drove over to the location.

The barn is now gone. It was still standing the last time I drove past the property, but evidently they dismantled it in the meantime. Hopefully they employed the local company that repurposes the wood to build historic reproduction buildings, as opposed to the interior of chain restaurants.

Strong winds and rain passed through this area the night before the scheduled move. The sky was threatening again this morning, so the move was postponed.

It didn't matter to me because it allowed me to stand out in a cornfield and watch the corn grow. You can laugh, but I'll assure you that watching the corn grow has been known to save a life. True story and I'll tell you about it another day.

Instead of writing about my experience standing in a cornfield that was the consistency of a wet kitchen sponge, I made a video.

I've undone my playlist for today so you can view it without fiddling around. If you're viewing this after 6/14 then you'll need to stop the music.

Here's the Byron Kendall house sitting on its wheels waiting to take a ride down Keslinger Road.



NOTE: The Editor from Liberty Post has made an important statement in the comment sections. She called this encroachment and stated that we all do it, which is very true! When the Farmer took a look at this post he said, "Wow, what are YOU thinking? Twenty years ago our property was a horse pasture and someone probably stood out on the old road and said, hey look at all these people moving in and spoiling our countryside!"

Oh no! I'm an encroacher complaining about the encroachment!!!

10 comments:

Paula B. said...

Your video left me feeling so sad...much the same way I felt when I visited the site of my grandfather's blacksmith shop. It was such an affront to see a double-wide trailer on the site where he had labored so hard, plow shears stacked 10 deep by the door waiting their turn to be re-made under his skillful hands. The disposable house and modern molded plastic toys strewn about the yard seemed the ultimate slap in the face to a discarded and forgotten way of life.

life in red shoes said...

I'm with Paula, I don't like that future. I have a long standing dream of restoring an old farmhouse.#1 bought me a pendant with a picture of one. When people ask what it is, I say a dream. Guess I should find an old house before they are all gone.

LIBERTY POST EDITOR said...

Encroachment. That's what it's called and we all do it. We take someone's land and use it for our purpose until someone takes our land and uses it for their purpose. So great to hear your voice. Now when I read your posts I will know your voice.

Anonymous said...

the encroachment is nauseating-we are
cheering for ag easement here-in Ohio-you find out who people really
are by the way they detest what you
have a passion for... we have felt it-on both cheeks...

Mary said...

I realize that people need a place to live but, oh, that is so sad. At least they didn't just demolish the house... Although, with the price of corn going up, and the world shortage of food, maybe it will become more profitable to grow corn than to sell to developers...

Have you gotten all that nasty weather we see moving through the midwest? Hope you are staying dry, and safe!
xoxo,
Mary

Anonymous said...

If it's any comfort, a couple years ago I heard on Canada's national radio station, CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp) that Americans have been very active in coming up here to deconstruct old heritage barns that Canadian farmers aren't bothering with, then taking them back to the States and rebuilding them, turning them into tourist attractions. It's a real loss to Canadian heritage architecture but thanks to some enterprising Yankee doodles, at least these buildings are being saved.

My dad always says, "Those Americans can take any old pile of rocks and turn it into a tourist attraction!"

Vee said...

This is going on everywhere, I think, and it does make one feel sad for the loss of the land. I remember well when a large farm on the edge of "the city" was sold and the fields were broken up for house lots. My daughter would weep every time we drove by and I would think that she was an odd little kid. Now I think that she had it figured out.

BittersweetPunkin said...

Wow Suzanne...this has really hit home with me. Back in my hometown of Stonington CT..the roads were lined with farm houses and crops....then Foxwoods Casino came along and bought up all the farmland for that giant turquoise casino...it was so heartbreaking to see the landscape change. They wanted to bring in a 6 Flags but thankfully the town fought it...but when I speak to my Mom and Sisters and they tell me about all the changes that are happening back home I can hear it in their voice...change is not always good.

Great video.
Hugs,
Robin

Anonymous said...

Change is continous www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/06/16/suburb.city/index.html

Rue said...

I'm so happy they're saving that house. We live on the farm of the farmhouse I so desperately want. There is still a few hold outs here, but not many. They keep building, but now there are so many homes that no one can sell them. I wish they would stop.