Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2013 09:51:28 -0500
From: Karen Tiede
Subject: Empty old homes
I spent a winter as a renter in one of those deteriorating old multi-generation, farm-family homes 20 years ago. I had buckets under the leaky places in the roof and the water would freeze overnight. You couldn’t keep a candle burning for the drafts.
The owners didn’t want us using the fireplace because the outside hadn’t been painted in forever and they were afraid any spark would catch the whole place on fire. The walls were insulated with straw and in hindsight, my bedroom was a scary fire trap, with an unsafe staircase and windows too small to crawl through.
I had to duck through all the doors because the builders had been short.
Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it was built well.
I totally understand why the farm family thought their doublewide was a better place to live than that old house. I left in the spring and never looked back. When I see some of those old wrecks slowly falling over in fields today, I can give a nod to the way of life that they provided, but I don’t blame anyone for wanting R13, nice indoor plumbing, and floors you can’t see through.
Karen Tiede