The Abandoned: mama's garden

Friday, May 10, 2019

Garden Mailbox

This old mailbox perches atop the trunk of the little old cherry tree. It's fragrant blossoms graced my childhood. In my mind's eye, I often saw fairies there--and would play games and dream of their life in Mumsie's Garden.

I think this is a wonderful use of that old tree. I fancy if I open that mail box I would find those lovely childhood memories waiting there...

Friday, January 8, 2016

Mama's Garden

This is a picture I took of Mumsie's garden last Summer. It is so beautiful.

I was visiting there a few days ago, and you would not believe the construction that is going on where The Abandoned once stood. There are houses everywhere! Those houses weren't there the last time I visited just before Christmas.

I call them Mushroom Houses, because they pop up like a flock of shrooms. It is almost frightening how quickly these houses are being built. And they are HUGE homes. The next time I visit, I'll take a picture to show the incredible progress they've made. It is abandoned no longer.

Have a lovely day, sweet Friends!

The Abandoned

Years ago, I dedicated this blog to The Abandoned, a huge complex of abandoned buildings in rural Oregon.

Surrounded by wetlands and old growth timber, The Callahan Center was built in the 1970's by the State of Oregon as a rehabilitation center for people recovering from injuries on the job.

In 1992, the property was bought by a mega church. However, the Living Enrichment Center closed in 2004, amidst financial scandal and the property was abandoned.

The buildings stood empty for many years. Over that span the property was vandalized and looted. Yet the beauty of its rare architecture shone through the shambles of abuse and disrepair.

In the summer of 2013, the complex was completely demolished. We were all sad to see the buildings go, but because of trespassers and vandals, it was necessary to take them down.

The area where The Abandoned once stood is filled with $500,000 mushroom houses (homes built so fast they pop up like mushrooms) built on postage stamp lots. There are sidewalks and tall lamps where I once watched the foxes of the field leaping above the grass, hunting rodents.

The surrounding woodlands still survive. It is my prayer the wetlands and forests with their pristine creeks, native trees and flowers, as well as the wildlife which shelter there, will be protected.