Our neighborhood appears to be going downhill.
Houses built at the turn of the last century (when it was possible to raise a family on 40 acres and a mule) abandoned, since it is more efficient to put up a double-wide trailer to live in nowadays than to rework the old structures to be warm, painted, and bug free. Once the roof loses integrity it is just a matter of time and a few seasons until structure falls and returns to earth. Many of us in the area try to document these places through photos before they are just dark rectangles on the old geodesic maps. And this is just a holding action since photos have a habit of accumulating and becoming detritus to be discarded by a future family member who wonders why anyone would take a picture of an old falling-down house.
This left behind, probably too heavy to move -- and who would tune it? It is nice to think of the tunes that emanated from this instrument; probably religious music but who knows, maybe "Coming Round the Mountain" bounced off of the walls on occasion.
Makes me wonder what we will leave behind and what will become of it. Perhaps a future photographer will walk around our dusty house and wonder "why would they save that old piece of junk?"
Kind of saad that an object only has the value that one or two sets of humans place on it. Especially when a few years down the road someone might actually pass through and see the absolute worth of debugging, rebuilding and saving what is already there as opposed to having a factory built house that will last 1/3 as long and be only 1/4 as good to live in.
ReplyDeleteThere are more photos of old houses in this house than anything...and then there are all the drawings and paintings! I love them...as I look at each one, I wonder about the families that lived and died in them.
ReplyDeleteUp here, there are many old structures, mostly made of logs, that are still standing. Some of them become heritage buildings and moved off site and showcased elsewhere. Others still stand, a little crooked, on the sides of the road...a testament to the gold miners who would seek shelter on their way to where the newest gold strike was.
How sad that the piano was left behind. Somebody long ago went to a great deal of trouble and longing to have it in their home..
I love old houses and find it sad to see that adandoned old house.
ReplyDeleteI have some pictures of the house I grew up in and it's over 100 years old now .... wonderful and pleasant memories from those pictures!
I wonder also what tunes were played on that old piano that was left behind...
Wishing you a most pleasant day!
Margie :)
The stories those walls could tell...so sad to see a house fall into disrepair - there should be young children traipsing around the yard, and a dog, and roses growing up the veranda and a cobblestone pathway...
ReplyDeletewell, it is definitely very difficult to maintain such big houses!!....
ReplyDeletemaybe an urban re generation project by your town council can save some good structures which are reminiscent of ur town's past!!
ohh I love that house and that piano also.. I hope someone restores em and am sure the future generations would love these pictures.. sad..
ReplyDeleteBeautiful goatman, I am drawn too to such places, so much music in the walls and laughter in the hallways..or not. As we can only guess, the possibilities are limitless.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my other blog, marine recruit mom, I am so torn with what my son has done. Human nature is a puzzling thing.
National Geographic did a similar article a few years ago, they went through abandoned towns in the Midwest. Several of the homes looked as if the people had just up and left on a whim. One picture had a marching band uniform hanging on the side of a closet door like the owner was about to get ready for a parade.
ReplyDeleteOne of my 'fears' is that i might leave this pretty place before i have had time to tidy up my 'stuff' (Stuff= very important 'things' to me)...Silly to have such fears but healthy in my case as it is probably my sheer stubbornness about 'my stuff' that keeps me ~here~ X;-) Lol!
ReplyDeleteBTW ~Love~ the photo's... and about that... i have been known to find an old photo or two at garage sales or markets and bought them home simply because my heart aches that such sometimes beautiful images should be dis-guarded so...
Thanks for your time at my place!
ReplyDeleteThat house looks exactly like the one on a piece of property my husband and I were going to purchase a long time ago! My jaw dropped when I saw it, it is that similar! Uncanny, I tell you!
:-0
visiting via red dirt girl
ReplyDeletewalk in to an old house and you can feel what kind of home it was, not just four walls.
My Man died in May. His children have kept nothing, have sold all his stock and land with no regard to what he called their inheritance. This was not material things, but their rights as Commoners (which went with the land) and the family inheritance of over four hundred years of farming and caring for land and livestock, in different places.
They have gained financially but lost his spirit.