Anderson

The other day while looking in places in the house not often looked into I also came across these. Grandchildren of Richard and Hansine may find them to be of interest. They are quite likely the last pictures ever taken of these structures while they were still standing.

My recollection is inexact but as near as I can I would suggest that this was late summer 1973 or 1974. Pete and Mickey wanted to go camping. I owed and owe them both plenty. I wasn't doing much of anything that weekend so I suggested that we could go up to Yellow River where I was (and still am) part owner of some land and we could hang out for the weekend. I took my camera along and by random chance was running a roll of black and white. Don't try to colorize these, black and white is what they are.

The buildings were still standing. I was back again a couple of summers later and the buildings were all down. Considering that the building site was already abandoned when we were there I assert that these are probably the last photos of these structures.

We slept (in sleeping bags) inside the house.I slept in the room that I had always slept in as a child, Kenny's room. Pete and Mickey slept in the big bedroom with the grate in the floor through which heat arrived in the winter months and through which children who were supposed to be in bed sneaked peaks at their parents and grandparents and uncles and aunts.

The barn still seemed mostly structurally sound.However, when I went inside and climbed to the hay mow I discovered that the farm had been abandoned with a relatively small amount of hay still in the loft. The hay, visible through the open access door, was gradually rotting away. The rot was also affecting the floor and supports underneath that remaining pile. My surmise has always been that the barn failed because of that slowly advancing rot, the supports fell and the barn collapsed. The owners of the property then were forced to take appropriate action with a bulldozer, knocking down the remnants of the barn, and while they were at it, the rest of the buildings, including the house.

I am not positive, correct me if I am wrong, I think this is the machine shed.As I recall that weekend the apple tree, located immediately adjacent to the machine shed was full of apples when we were there.

And a view of the yard, towards the barn, from near the front door of the house.The chicken coop is visible on the left.