Month: June 2016

Now that the second 30 yard tip is full, the back yard is looking better. Here are some before and after shots.

All that work, however, was not without its rewards. Each rake full of debris pulled up more clues to the past. There was plenty of new trash to throw one off the scent but hidden in the dust were artifacts that spurred curiosity.

There were other signs of the past as well. Here we have a row of foundation stones from a long lost outbuilding. Since this is just a straight row of stones with no corners, I suspect that there is another row of stones running parallel to it. Wood timbers would have been set on top of these with floor joists strung across them.

It’s June 25th and downtown Dayton is celebrating Oodles of Noodles which is a salute to the town’s Chinese and Italian heritage and a good reason to take a break from filling dumpsters. While roaming around all the booths on Pike street, my wife and I were well received by all the neighbors who told us how happy they are with our efforts to clean up and restore the Union. We also heard a bit of town gossip and many stories about past residents, some alive, some dead and some who remain in ghost form. It’s just amazing how warm and friendly people are in this town.

I’d thought that a 30 yard dumpster would suffice but that was not to be the case. Two refrigerators, two sofas, six mattress sets, several desks, numerous nightstands and a lot of assorted junk later and the tip was overflowing.

As soon as we got the back yard cleared, more trash from the interior filled the void. This particular heap of furniture was great fun because it required heaving these brocade monsters from the second floor balcony.

At least some of the rooms are looking and smelling better. This room had two dog stained carpets which were providing the sweet scent of Ode de Pooch. Now that they’re gone, the fug is receding.

In our digging, we also found many treasures including these two pixies that would be well suited for a Stephen King movie.

Stay tuned for the next chapter where we have high and futile hopes that a second 30 yard dumpster will have the last of the junk cleared.

We knew that there was a lot of cleanup to do but after three pickup truck loads to the dump, we decided to rent a 30 yard skip. It was apparent that a past tenant of the place was a collector of many many items of dubious value. There were dozens of bags full of household garbage in the yard that were just decomposing slowly and a least 100 bags of used clothing.

In between flurries of cleaning, I also started measuring the building so I can produce accurate floor plans and a shopping list of parts that are missing. There are several missing door locks and a few doors as well that need to be sourced locally. Most of the door knobs are missing as well but I have a collection of fancy Victorian brass knobs that will work fine.

As for the measuring, I did that myself with the building staring at me as if it wanted to ask what I was up to. It felt a little creepy with the wind blowing through the open windows and some of the doors closing with a slam from the movement of air. Oh, and there are swallows living in the bathroom light fixture to add a little chirping music. I sure hope the creepiness clears up as we redo the interior. We do have reports that a neighborhood three year old was heard to say “Bad house” and “That’s where the ghosts live.”