I went to a funeral Tuesday. She was 101-years old when she died. She had a good life, but still, it was a sad event. Funerals always put me in a melancholy frame of mind. Afterward I went for a drive. Passed by the old home place (which was a mistake) . The old house has changed so much I wouldn't have recognized it. Gave me a hollow feeling, like a big part of my life had just disappeared.
I drove on by the site of my first school. A tiny one-room building that combined first and second grades. It's long gone now. Moved to another town and recycled into a wedding chapel. It looks better now that it ever did as a school house.
I was headed southwest toward the river when I saw another old one-room school house a friend of mine attended years ago. The little limestone building had been closed and sat empty on a corner lot under a pair of huge shade trees. Now a nice couple has bought it and turned it into a most charming house.
In the photos you can see the original limestone school with its wall of large windows. The new owners have added an enclosed entrance to the front of the structure and a wing of similar style alongside for a garage with rooms above. The overall appearance is cute and country. Altho it's quite modern, it isn't an insult to the simple old style building.
28 comments:
While going down memory lane you at least got two good ones out of three. But your old house would have been the important one. Sorry that one didn't work out.
Marnie,
I find myself doing the same thing when I go home. I've started taking more pictures when I go. My Great Grandfather had a huge house that sat on top of a hill close to my parents. I went home one weekend and told Jamie, "I'm going to get a picture of that old house before something happens to it." The next trip home, it was gone. It's good to document these memories.
Sorry about your loss of a friend. A melancholy time for sure. I think that schoolhouse is very charming and I never would've guessed it was a schoolhouse before. I notice the shade trees are still there:)
Sorry for you loss.
Memory lane can be tricky. Last year, I went back to my home town. My parents died young, so I'd not been back since 1990. My grandmother was my gardening influence, so I drove by her little 4 room cottage. Well, there are no cute picket fences, no hydrangea, no front and side yard gardens, no veggie garden in back. The little house was a yard of weeds. The farm where I lived through high school is now an airport. But the countryside and lakes are still pretty. Cameron
I'm sorry for your loss. I, myself, am going down memory lane. I'm back in my home state of Kansas this weekend and just went to my old hometown yesterday and saw our old house, my grandparents' old house, my old school, etc.. It's necessary but hard at the same time for me. I actually posted today about my first kitty because we drove by the place where he first found me which of course continued me on that path of memory lane.
I enjoyed reading about your experience!
My former school is a now a strip mall. sigh. I come from a long line of teachers. My maternal grandparents and two great-aunts were teachers. One great-aunt wrote an autobiography and told about her one room school house...
Oh, sometimes the temptation is so great, but as the saying goes 'you can never go home again'. :(
Ah, a trip down memory lane...I often do that in my mind or when family is together. I like what they've done with the old school.
Sorry for your sadness.
Memories that you treasure will always be with you.
This brings back memories, Marnie. Several years ago I first drove by the house I lived in as a small child. Amazingly, it looked so much smaller than I remembered it--I remembered the yard with the tree swing where I played for hours as being enormous, when it really was just a small piece of lawn.
When I was 7 my parents moved to the family farm to a house that my grandfather built, which is where they still live. When they are gone someday, I don't know how I will react to seeing that house, because I doubt that anyone in our family will move there.
I'm glad your old schoolhouse has been preserved and restored, but memories can be bittersweet.
Hi Marnie,
I take a trip like yours once in a while. I was always eager to see what changes people had made to my homes. The last house I left was very special to me. The new owners aren't taking care of it. The outside is going down hill.The yard is the hardest thing for me to look at...after all the hours and hours I spent trying to get it to look beautiful.They have no interest in the outdoors. Oh well, what can you do? I have a new yard and will work to make it nice for the next owners.
Hi Flydragon, I know, I expected changes, but not bad ones. It wouldn't have been so depressing if the old place had looked better or even just been nicely maintained.
Marnie
Hi Jamie and Randy, you are right about the photos. I should just get out the old albums when I want to reminisce. And I should take more pictures now.
Marnie
Hi Tina, in this area the old schoolhouses were pretty much cookie-cutter built some of wood, many of limestone. All had the walls of tall windows on both sides. You still see quite a few sitting off in a corner of someones farm.
Marnie
Hi Cameron, you are right. Especially when we are a little moody, trying to go home isn't wise. Your comment reminds me of what they did to my grandmothers home. It was the most charming place, now it looks awful.
Marnie
Hi Beadedtail, I live not too far from where my parents got a beautiful collie for me when I was a kid. A bribe or reward when I had my tonsils taken out. I remember him every time I drive on that road--we named him after the road, Kelly.
Marnie
Hi RamblingWoods. Interesting about your aunt writing a biography. Is it published or is just for family and friends?
Marnie
Isadora, you right of course. But don't we all keep trying, especially as we get older?
Marine
Hi Oldcrow. That is the best way to do it--talk about memories with family and friends. Our memories may not be perfect, but they are probably the way we want them to be.
Marnie
Hi Rose, I guess I should have realized just about everyone has gone thru the same thing you and I have. We move on with our lives, but we somehow expect the past to remain the same.
Marnie
Hi Balisha, that's doubly sad when they let these homes run down. My old home place was pretty run down. Many of my previous homes have been in other states because I moved around a lot before coming back home to Rockford. Lucky, I guess, I can't go back and look at them.
Marnie
I'm sorry for the loss of your friend Marnie. Your little trip down memory lane was a nice way to end a sad day. That schoolhouse turned private home is really cute. What a nice way to recycle an old building into something usuable today. The limestone walls have alot of character.
It is a wonderful recycled house, Marnie. Isn't it exactly what some of us dream about...a lovely cottage! I wonder if they have the cottage garden hidden in the back yard! I hope so!
One hundred and one...imagine all the changes that were experienced in that lifetime!
Gail
Funerals are always a time of reflection for me too. Makes me think about what I want to do with the rest of my life, did I do all I could for the person that passed, etc., etc. I think it's good to take those trips every once in awhile even if we don't like what we find. I'm sorry your friend is gone Marnie. I'm sure you will think of a way to remember her well.
What a quaint building that is, and you're right, they didn't spoil it with the additions. Very pretty!
My first school was a lovely little stone building too, with combined classes. I'd have to go 12000 miles to see it in Australia!
I took the photo of the tree sparrow on the first day of March. They stay around for only a little while before continuing their journey. I saw a junco on our front porch today. Yes, it's early, but we have predictions of snow for Wednesday. Ugh!
Thats such a cute little house and very like the old school house that's near our field. It's currently being turned into a house and will be lovely when finished. I should take some pictures.
Kim x
My condolences on the loss of your friend, Marnie.
That recycled schoolhouse looks great! It reminds me of a relative that passed away less than a year ago -- she and her husband bought an old schoolhouse in the Eastern Townships of Quebec (close to the US border) and converted it into a home/pottery studio/school. Wanda passed away at Christmas-time last year, and when her husband passes away (hopefully a really long, long, LONG time from now), that school/studio/residence will become part of the local university. Recycling, indeed.
/krys
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