The Abandoned: shaving

Friday, August 12, 2011

Purple Thistle Whisker Flower

I saw this thistle pushing up through the roadway and suddenly in my mind's eye I rushed back into the past.

When my siblings and I were small we used these thistle flowers to pretend we were shaving like Dad. Yep--I know, we were just kids--and I was a girl, but it was so much fun to whisk that purple brush around in the bottom of a cup of suds, then whirl it onto our smooth beardless chins. Dad made shaving his face look like so much fun.

WARNING: Think twice about visiting The Abandoned without permission. You risk getting arrested for trespassing.

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.