I like traditions. I find them to be foundational for any family. They also make for great memories for children. One tradition my children seem to be subconsciously insistent upon, however, is the need for medical attention every time we go on vacation to Bear Lake. We've had stitches, broken bones, strep, throwing up, and multiple other ailments. I am growing weary of this tradition.
Today we woke up with two of our children needing medical attention. One child needed medication that couldn't be obtained in the great metropolitan area of Garden City so we needed to drive to the much larger city of Montpelier, Idaho (population 2,785) which boasts two grocery stores and a small hospital.
Strange as it sounds, I quite enjoyed the drive. I noticed it was hay baling season which is really quite beautiful to see - some fields just cut, others baled in circular bales, yet others in large or small rectangles.
The old barns are nostalgic to be sure. It reminds one of simpler times when a family subsisted on what was grown on the land.
What was striking to me was the very old and abandoned houses along the highway. It struck me that each of these houses used to shelter a family or two. Every structure stands as a testament of their existence and their story. Who were they? What were their dreams and heartbreaks? How many children were born within those walls? How many of them died? Why did they leave their homesteads?
My house is 9 years old. It has stories to tell. What kind of story will it tell in 100 years? Perhaps it will be standing after the great Apocalypse and the few survivors will be driving around wondering about that house and who lived there.
I love to be dramatic.
What story does your house tell?
Today we woke up with two of our children needing medical attention. One child needed medication that couldn't be obtained in the great metropolitan area of Garden City so we needed to drive to the much larger city of Montpelier, Idaho (population 2,785) which boasts two grocery stores and a small hospital.
Strange as it sounds, I quite enjoyed the drive. I noticed it was hay baling season which is really quite beautiful to see - some fields just cut, others baled in circular bales, yet others in large or small rectangles.
The old barns are nostalgic to be sure. It reminds one of simpler times when a family subsisted on what was grown on the land.
What was striking to me was the very old and abandoned houses along the highway. It struck me that each of these houses used to shelter a family or two. Every structure stands as a testament of their existence and their story. Who were they? What were their dreams and heartbreaks? How many children were born within those walls? How many of them died? Why did they leave their homesteads?
My house is 9 years old. It has stories to tell. What kind of story will it tell in 100 years? Perhaps it will be standing after the great Apocalypse and the few survivors will be driving around wondering about that house and who lived there.
I love to be dramatic.
What story does your house tell?
These photos are terrific. I too am fascinated by old houses.
ReplyDeleteThe house we are in was built in 1912. It tells stories of weird do-it-yourself fix-it plumbing and pre-historic wiring that will not allow for simultaneous use of the dryer and the air conditioner. Lots of pretty old rose bushes and lemon trees make up for that.
Lenny Bruce's father owned the house for 40 years and his granddaughter inherited it from him. I'm sure there are many stories there...
Oh wait. Are your kids OK?
Love this post and the pictures!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos, one of the houses looks just like the one in UP.
ReplyDeleteI also like to look at old abandoned houses and wonder at what kind of family used to thrive there. It is sad to see so many abandoned, but the hope is that they went on to better things!
Love the pictures! I love old houses! Like you, I wonder what it was like to live during that time....what they did, what their families were like!
ReplyDeleteI hope the kids are ok!
~ Jennifer
http://thetoyboxyears.blogspot.com/
Oh dear, we were praying for no doctor visits this trip!
ReplyDeleteBut the pictures are great as is the questions you pose.
Have a fun rest of the week, with no doctor visits~
haha I'm still laughing about you lying to your little boy. I hope you feel a tinge guilty when he wakes up screaming in the middle of the night cause a snake is trying to eat him. ;)
ReplyDeleteOH MYGOSH.. I LOvE THAT DRIVE!
I love love love the West and I can't stand driving past those old houses that are all abandoned and lonely. I want to stop, breath in their musty air and go back in time a 100 years. WHO WERE YOU!?!?!
Last summer I worked on a 100 year old ranch and they still have the original farmhouse. I spent the summmer digging up information on it-there were even old love letters they'd found hidden in the wall during the remodel. I got to read them! LOVED IT. Anyway. Sorry this is a short novel but you hit a little spot in my heart!
Ok so I kept forgetting to leave my house's story.
ReplyDeleteBut then I decided to put it on my blog..so it's there.
My Grandfather built a farm house in the countryside of Ireland in the 1940's My mother grew up there with her 6 siblings. As my grandmother got older and moved in with family her house deteriorated badly.
ReplyDeleteThe year before she died she asked me to go into her house to find something precious to her. I spent the day steeped in the smells and the magic of old things. I found what she wanted just as the sun was setting. It was a magical day.
Now ten years later my cousin has spent time and money renovating this lovely old house and lives in it with his wife and soon to arrive first baby. And so the traditions will continue with a new family in an old building!
I second everything that Anna said....
ReplyDeleteI think I have seen all those house on that drive. That last one is beautiful, why abandon it? My house was built in 1969, REALLY old around here. I would love to have one of those houses and fix it up but keep all the charm. We thought we would only live in our house for a few years before trading up. Nope, 11 years and we are still here. Too many memories to move now, I will retire in this house, I am sure.
Love love love old homes. I always dream/imagine about the families that lived in old abandoned homes.
ReplyDeleteMy husbands great grandfather was born and raised in Montpelier, and then married and raised his family there. The house is over 100 years old and still standing...I wonder if it is one of these...I love old houses, but I cannot even imagine life with no washing machine and all those kids. There is a reason why women starting smiling for their pictures taken in the early 1900's...washing machines and other luxuries..
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog, your is beautiful!