Historic Log House Is No More

A house I should have photographed

For the first eight years or so that we lived out here, we drove by an old log house every time we went to Hopkinsville.

The structure was actually two two-story log houses ("pens") built side by side with one roof over all. The "dogtrot" between the two "pens" was the entrance hall. It had a wide front porch that must have been perfect for watching the sunset and the traffic on the road. The balcony on the second floor was the same size as the front porch. A massive stone chimney stood on each end of the house.

We used the log house as a distinctive landmark when we gave directions to our house. We talked about how interesting it was to have such a unique, historic building in the neighborhood. We even met the family who lived in it.

I don't know why I never took a picture of that exceptionally fine old house, but I didn't.

One day, as I drove home from town, I was shocked to see that house going up in flames. The volunteer fire department had arrived, but they were unable to keep it from burning down. The next day, little remained but smouldering ashes, scorched trees, and the chimneys.

A few months later, the family bought a modular home and put it on the site where the old log house had stood. I still drive by their place every time I go to town, and I often think of the big old log house that once stood there.

The house is still listed as the "McClellan House" in the National Register of Historic Places for Kentucky. I guess they don't realize that it no longer exists. The construction date is estimated as 1800-1824. It would have been one of the first homes in this part of the county.

In the library, I found a book with photographs of all the Christian County sites that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It has two photos of the old log house, so I photocopied that page and brought it home.

It's not the same as having a photograph that I took myself, though.

Technorati tags: regrets, log house, historic structure, historic place

Lost to Fire

Many treasures can't be replaced.

I've never been burned out by a wildfire, but I have experienced a house fire. In 1978, when I was student teaching in Warrensburg, MO, the principal called me into the hallway one day and told me that my house was on fire. I spent the rest of that afternoon watching the firemen fight a major fire in the huge old house I shared with several other college girls. One of them died in the fire, and another was severely burned.

As it happened, my room did not burn. I was able to go into the building several days later to see what I could salvage. Many things were too smoke-damaged and waterlogged to save, but at least I decided what to I had to give up and what was good enough to keep.

My sister's home burned

My sister and brother-in-law lost their home to fire a couple of years ago. Their son woke up one morning to a fire in his bedroom, caused by a short in electrical wiring. Charlotte picked up her purse on her way out of the house. Wisely, David would not let his family go back in to try to save anything from the flames. Their house burned to the ground, but no one was hurt.

Rebuilding after the fire

Charlotte and David built a beautiful new home and they moved into it this spring. Its design is highly fire-resistant and energy efficient. They have lots of room. Their community has been generous in giving them many things that they needed.

Charlotte and David are thankful for all that they have, but I know that they will always be sad about the irreplaceable things they lost in the fire. In her Christmas card last year, my sister quoted a Scripture that had become especially meaningful to her.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:19-21, Today's New International Version)

I'm thinking about those families in California. In each home that burned, a family's personal treasures were destroyed. In time, the families will rebuild and re-settle, but the loss will always be with them. How they cope with and think about that loss will determine the real extent of the fire damage. It will shape the rest of their lives.

Technorati tags: , fire damage, house fires, wildfires

Mogul Wagons Revisited

A short history and advertisements for Mogul Wagons

Yesterday, I did some research in the genealogy section of the Hopkinsville library for a Pennsylvania lady who is writing a book. A portion of the plot is set in Hopkinsville around 1890-1910, and the rest takes place elsewhere.

While I was looking through the 1897 and 1899 editions of Meacham's City Directory of Hopkinsville, I came across a couple of ads for Mogul Wagons. I photocopied and scanned them, and here they are, for visitors who are seeking information about Mogul Wagons.

Mogul Wagon Company history

A short summary of the Mogul Wagon Company's history appears in Gateway From The Past, Volume II: A Pictorial History of Hopkinsville and Christian County, Ky. Since 1865 by William T. Turner (published in Hopkinsville by Southern Printing, Inc., in 1981). I came across this while doing research for the lady's book, also!

Mr. Turner, our city/county historian, included the following facts in a caption he wrote for a 1909 photograph of the Mogul Wagon factory in Hopkinsville:

• The Mogul Wagon Company was organized in 1871 by J. K. & M. C. Forbes.


• The original factory was located on South Virginia Street between 10th & 11th .


• In 1906, a new factory opened on 21st Street between Harrison and Railroad Beltline.
  


• The Mogul Wagon Company was incorporated in 1908.


• The types of Mogul wagons included: "farm, log, mountain, platform, spring and dead axle coal and ice wagons, drays, floats and gun carriages." (According to Mr. Turner.)
  


• A fire on December 28, 1925, destroyed the large factory.


• The remaining inventory of wagons and spare parts were sold by the Forbes Hardware Company through 1951.


• After the factory was rebuilt, the Eastern Dark Fired Tobacco Growers Association purchased it, and it was finally dismantled in 1981.

The original Mogul Wagon factory must have been either on the lot now occupied by BB&T Bank or on the site of the medical building, just north of the War Memorial building on Virginia Street. The 1906 factory must have been located on 21st Street on property that is now owned by the Pennyrile Rural Electric Coop, just across the railroad tracks from Hopkinsville Milling.

This advertisement for Mogul Wagons can still be seen
on the back of an old building on Main St. in Hopkinsville.

Fire risks at a wagon factory

A wagon factory surely faced a high risk of fire. In the process of manufacturing, a great deal of sawdust and wood debris would have been created. In addition, quantities of lumber would have been warehoused waiting to be used. There was also bark debris from sawing logs, I assume.

The factory would have been as vulnerable to fire as any modern lumberyard or woodworking plant, but it would not have had the benefit of sprinkler systems, smoke alarms, or modern firefighting tools.

Read more about Mogul wagons on this blog:

Hopkinsville's Fire Station and Transportation Museum
More About Mogul Wagons
Hopkinsville, Kentucky, in 1907
Mogul Wagons

(Or, just click the Mogul Wagons label at the end of this post.)

Updated to correct a possible error about the building that currently occupies the site of the original Forbes Mfg. Co.

Technorati tags: old time wagons, , old farm wagon, antique wagon, old coal wagon, horse drawn wagons

Yellow Maple Leaves Make Me Happy

How does yellow make you feel?

Our old sugar maple has taken on its autumn color. It's always very, very yellow.

I am mildly fond of yellow, in subdued tints and shades, but I do not like a lot of intense yellow in my clothing or my home. However, I think this tree is beautiful, and when I stand beneath it and bathe in its golden glow for a few minutes, I feel happy.

The yellow color of these leaves brings back some nice memories of the kids raking up huge heaps of leaves and jumping into them from their swing. Our old kitty, Happy, who was young then, loved playing in the leaves too. He liked to be covered up, and then to spring out and "surprise" everyone.

My happy feelings about these yellow leaves made me wonder what the psychological effect of yellow is supposed to be. I won't claim that I conducted exhaustive research, but I did read a few webpages on the topic of color psychology, and here's what I found. Negative effects are noted in italics.

• Yellow in the American culture: Sunny, cheerful, inspiring, high spirit, caution, cowardice (Source)
  

• Connotations of yellow in Western cultures: Happy, friendly, optimistic, cowardly, annoying, brash (Source)
  

• Yellow in the home: Sunny, energetic, creative, intellectually stimulating, friendly, inviting. Deep shades "can enhance feelings of emotional distress." (Source)
  

• Effects of yellow: Feelings of optimism, enlightenment, and happiness, a promising future, energy, creativity (Source)
  

See also:
All About Yellow
The Psychology of Color

This photo also appears in a post on my tree blog.

Technorati tags: yellow, psychology of color, sugar maple, autumn foliage, fall colors

Autumn Sunset

Sunset over the neighbor's farm

I took this photo one evening last week. We didn't have much of a sunset today -- or much sun at all, for that matter. We didn't mind. We were happy for rain.

If you like sunset photos, check some of the others I've posted. Just click the "Sunsets" label below.