My Christmas Display

[iHaunt]

Ok, when I was 10 year old I saw 156-year-old house on the farm in Asheboro, NC. Its very, very old wooden house so now it's gone b/c some farmers torn it down and built a new brick house.

[Pumpkin_Man]

When you own property, it is your right to tear down an older house to make way for a new one, but I personaly think that was a tragedy of EPIC PROPORTION! It just sickens me to see those beautiful old buildings, and in some cases, historic buildings torn down to make way for so called "progress." The house where the original "The Haunting" was filmed was torn down to make way for a stupid Wal-Mart of all things. A Wal-Mart!!?? GIVE ME A BREAK! Let's tear down a house that stood since before Theadore Roosavelt was president so we can have yet another place to shop for steal towed shoes and 6 dollar toasters made in China.

Mike

[iHaunt]

Yes, right. Same thing when I was kid we used to go to old Farm Fresh store, but right now it's Army and Navy store with all of the clothes.

[Li H'Sen Chang]

When you own property, it is your right to tear down an older house to make way for a new one, but I personaly think that was a tragedy of EPIC PROPORTION! It just sickens me to see those beautiful old buildings, and in some cases, historic buildings torn down to make way for so called "progress." The house where the original "The Haunting" was filmed was torn down to make way for a stupid Wal-Mart of all things. A Wal-Mart!!?? GIVE ME A BREAK! Let's tear down a house that stood since before Theadore Roosavelt was president so we can have yet another place to shop for steal towed shoes and 6 dollar toasters made in China.

Mike

That terrible Mike. I never like Walmart because of the reputation for treat employees bad, but they also destroy the earth.

[witchy]

Thanks, Witchy. I knew you would like the fire place.

Mike

Now how did you know? I really do love the fireplace!!

[Pumpkin_Man]

Withy, you mentioned in another thread that you liked the fire place that was in a picture of some one elese house. I can't remember the thread, though.

Chang, Wal-Mart use to be pretty good to their employees, and they use to sell only American made merchandise. Thas't no longe the case since the founder of Wal-Mart sold the business. It's also a tragedy, because the older buildings and houses are a part of our country's history. Mount Vernon (George Washington's child hood home" did not have an attached garage, nor was it located in a sub devision. Independence Hall (The very first federal capital before it was moved from Philidelphia to Washington DC) is over 200 years old. It's where the U.S. Constitution was drafted and ratified, and it's also where our very first president, George Washington addressed the first U S Congress. Perhaps they should tear that beautiful old historical land mark down to put in a McDonalds or a Burger King. Perhaps they should demolish the Lincoln Memoril to make way for another K-Mart, or BMW dealorship.

A lot of this country's history is tied up in the older buildings. Fir instance, my house was built in 1910 Thats two years before the infamous sinking of the Titanic. People sat in front of my fire place and discussed the Woodrow Wilson administration. They argued about the Scopes trial. That house has lived through two World Wars, a major depression, Joe McCarthy, the 60s, and so on. My brother and I discussed the pros and cons of the Obama administration in the very same living room where some who we n ever met had a simular conversation as to whether or not Woodrow Wilson or Calvin Cooledge was a good president. Over 100 years of life in that house. Wouldn't it be tragit to tear it down to put in a new-fangled suburbanite fakery with an attached garage and brick venier? I think it would be at any rate.

iHaunt, we still have Farmers Markets in my neck of the woods. I buy corn on the cob at it all the time. It's quite good. It's very seldom you ever see that in any major city any more. IN Chicago, where I grew up, we went to the farm stand all the time for fresh produce.

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

I agree with you about historic homes and buildings, Mike. I love history.

As for farmers' markets, I think they are making a come-back. I can't speak about Chicago, but I know Nashville has a good one, as do most of the communities surrounding it. Murfreesboro actually has two during the summer months. There's been so much concern lately about contaminated food from sources no one knows. There is a movement afoot to get people eating more locally-grown produce, sold to them by the people who grew it.

[Pumpkin56]

I don't have strong opinions about the significance of old houses/buildings. I'm sure it's disappointing to see really old structures torn down in favor of newer ones, but at the same time, many (if not most) of the newer ones are far more energy efficient and overall a greener option. Without a great deal of work and upkeep, a lot of incredibly old houses are really unhealthy and unsafe to live in. I think these are definitely some of the factors that go into the decisions on whether or not to demolish older structures and build new ones in their place. My parents house is only between 30 and 40 years old, but it is stunning how much money they spend on upkeep. Between replacing plumbing lines, foundation repairs, replacing all the windows in the house (including two enormous bay windows), re-insulating everything, and getting rid of invasive vegitation that was planted on the property a million years ago, I have to wonder if they would be better off just getting a new house.

One thing that does bother me, which is a big problem where I'm at, is all the development. When I was younger, the town I lived in had quite a few fields and wooded areas and was really a pretty place. However, a lot of companies have decided to move their corporate offices here and it's like the city just can't stand having any patches of grass or trees anywhere. Everything has to be covered in concrete. Summertime in Dallas is beyond brutal to begin with and having pavement everywhere really just makes it hotter. Getting rid of the trees hasn't helped either--during the summer nearly everyday is an "air advisory". The area has essentially become a big concrete inferno where you can't breathe

[Murfreesboro]

That sounds like terrible city planning, getting rid of all the green spaces.

I live in a house slightly over 50 years old, no real historical significance (a late-50s ranch style), and it needs tons of repair work we can't afford, alas. There is nothing distinguishing about it, so if it were to be torn down someday, it would be no great loss to the world. However, there are houses here in town, much older than mine, which are truly beautiful. I'm talking antebellum homes (the white columns), and gingerbready late-Victorian homes. Those would indeed be a huge loss to the community. Fortunately, they are owned by some of the wealthiest people in town, who presumably can afford the up-keep, and they are protected by a historic district ordinance.

Even so, I have seen some buildings torn down since I moved here in 1994 that I really wish had been saved.

[Pumpkin56]

There are quite a few of those "gingerbread" Victorian houses in my town too. They're in the older part of town and if I'm not mistaken, nobody lives in them. I think they are all used for various businesses. I know my mother's company has an office in one of the houses and another one is a small art gallery. Strange what gets to stay and what has to go. The family of one of the original founders of my town still has a huge farm that everything has slowly been built around. Another founder's Victorian home and small farm still stands not far from where I live. It's been turned into a museum and a place for elementary schools to take field trips. I think it would be unusual to someone who had never been here---all kinds of businesses and stores and malls and suburban neighborhoods all surrounding a few old farms

[Pumpkin_Man]

Murf, in my opinion, an old home does not have to have had some famous person from the past, or be centered around some actual event in order to be historical. When we read History or watch programs about it on the History channel, we hear about the more promenant people, like Abraham Lincoln, Gingas Kahn, and the like. We hear about famous or infamous events likt the 9/11 attacks, Pearl Harbor, the sinking of the Titanic or the Lunar landing.

To me, it's just as important to know and see how regular working class ordinary paople lived back then. Like us, people back in the 1800s argued politics. They married, h ad children, and lived life. The significance of an old house like mine, is that ordinary people lived there back in 1910. They argued about whether Wilson or Cooledge was a good president, much the same way my brothers and I argue about Barack Obama today. I caught the breaking news about the 9/11 attacks the very day it happened, in the very same living where in 1912, the residents read the news paper reports about the sinkjing of the titanic. The same living room where residents who lived there before me heard about Pearl Harbor on the Radio, or watch the assassination of JFK on a counsel black & white tv.

It's living, pure and simple. We hear a lot about Julias Ceasar, but I want to know more about how the 'working stiff' lived in ancient Rome. I hear a lot about George Washington, but I would like to know or see how regular "Joes" like me and you lived their lives in 1776. To study the works of Aristotle, Homer or Plato is fine, but what about the ordinary people of their day? What was life like? How did they live? What did they do for entertainment? How did they react to the "Pearal Harbors" or "9/11s" of their time?

A great way to know those things, or at least get a few clues is to study the houses they lived in.

At least that's the way I look at it. It's great that we still have Mt. Vernon and the old U.S. capital, but what about the homes where ordinary families resided?

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

I think there is a branch of history that deals with the everyday stuff, Mike. I've forgotten what it's called--maybe social history? But the books you can get about "women in the Middle Ages" and stuff like that address everyday life as best one can, considering how few material records are left of the anonymous people of those times.

A little more recently, one of the best insights into everyday life was reading old letters and diaries. Unfortunately, hardly anyone writes letters anymore. I suppose those who are inclined to keep journals still do it.

But I agree that homes are a great way to get an insight into the way people lived. I love visiting writers' houses when I have the chance. I've seen Faulkner's in Oxford, Mississippi; Goethe's in Frankfurt, Germany; and in London I've seen Keats', Dickens', & Sam Johnson's. My son saw Yeats' home in Ireland the summer before last.

[Pumpkin_Man]

If what I hear about the Library of Congress is true, that they keep a record of everything posted to on line sites, then there will be a lot of information for our decendents to read about us.

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

OMG, I hadn't heard that! I cannot imagine how much info that would amount to, and it's growing every split-second!

[Pumpkin_Man]

Murf, don't take that soo seriously. That could be an urban legend, but I did hear it back in the late 90s, when I was majoring in Information Technology. I decided to go back to school back then and get my Associates degree in Network Administration. I graduated with high honors, too, but t hat's a whole other story. Anyway, it was one of my instructors who told me that story, but that is terrabites and terrabites of information, so it does sound far fetched, BUT you never know. My camera has a card not much bigger then a quarter which can hold 8 gigabites of memories, or 1000 very high quality digital photos.

Mike