1181: Why Not Just Go To the Store?!

I stopped by the Miller house on my way home from work on Friday because it had been awhile since I drove up to the house. I can see it fine from the railroad tracks but I can't get the full impact from there. The gate happened to be open so I drove up the long driveway, which is getting more and more rutted out due to large trucks and lack of improvements. As we came to where the circle drive connects, I noticed the large tree that had fallen over near the house and was just laying there, starting to rot. I originally thought that the fallen tree was new but it's also there in the Google satellite image so it's been fallen over for at least a year.

I was going to get out and take some pictures but the grass was so tall and everything looked so precarious that I didn't feel, at that time, like it was safe. There was also a large truck blocking the road as well as the tree so getting turned around and back out was also a bit of a chore. I noticed that there was no glass left in any of the windows and the back porch had collapsed at some point in the last two years.

Ever since I learned about the Miller house in 2001, I have fully expected the house to either be torn down or, due to vandals, burned down. I never expected it to fall down due to neglect and I've talked with the owner about it and it's just too costly to renovate so neither he nor the historical groups he's talked to can afford that kind of investment. Currently the property is being used to house farming equipment and other things for the owner's farming business.

The house was in the Miller family for over 100 years and two of their children are buried on the property behind the house. I would love to preserve the house and refurbish the stone for the two children but I, too, lack the funds. If nothing else, I would like to purchase a new stone for the kids or relocate the graves before it's too late.

How did you let the dog food run out? Who goes to a neighbor to get spare dog food? Who does this? I ask you. Who, when they run out of dog food, would just go to a neighbor's house and ask for food? People don't even go to their neighbors to ask for a cup of sugar or two eggs anymore because everyone is a stranger and we need to be scared of everyone who isn't us.