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I Grew Up In A Ghost Town

By
Home Stager with Rooms With Style

I Grew Up In A Ghost Town

Do you ever see pictures of those deserted towns or drive through one on your way somewhere important and think to yourself:

"I wonder who lived here?" 

 

Edge of Town

 

"I wonder what it was like.....did they have dreams for themselves?"

 

Abandoned Car

 

Well I do know who lived there...... I did. Here is my home.

 

My House 

 

Kind of weird to say those words, "I Grew Up In a Ghost Town" but I did.

Oh of course when I lived there it wasn't a ghost town, it had a bar (my best friend Nancy's Dad owned the bar):

 

Berwick Bar

 

It had a post office:

 

Post Office 

 

It had a town hall where I danced standing on my Dad's feet and holding onto his belt loops:

 

Town Hall

 

It had a two room school house (no longer standing) that closed after I finished second grade so there was no longer a school in town.

 It had a grocery store run by Elmer and Francis and they lived above the store.

We lived right next to them on Main Street.

 Do you want to know what it was like?

 

Berwick Town Hall

 

It was normal.

Well....I didn't know any different so I thought it was normal.

 

I thought going to the outhouse during recess was normal.

 

 Berwick Out House

 

I thought going to the pump in the center of town to pump water for cooking and drinking was normal.

Didn't everyone do that?   I did.....many times a day.

 

Town Pump

 

I thought playing on the railroad tracks and in the dirt were normal.

 

So, "Who lived here?" I did.....     "What was it like?".......it was normal, it was all I knew.

 

 Berwick Home

 

The next time you drive through or see pictures of a Ghost Town think of me. Some of the ghosts are still alive.

 

 

Originally posted at "Rooms With Style Blog: I Grew Up In A Ghost Town".

 

 

Show All Comments Sort:
Susan Emo
Kingston, ON
Kingston and the 1000 Islands Area

Shar -  how did it feel, seeing your town like this?  What happened to it and where did all the people go?  It gave me chills to think of a town be turned over to ghosts!!

Aug 15, 2011 04:40 AM
Janice Ankrett
Burlington, ON
Staging Professional

Shar, great pictures. I too am curious to hear what happened to the town. Oh Yes, you dooo look too young LOL.

Aug 15, 2011 05:27 AM
Kerrie La Guardia
ActiveRain, Community Manager - Kirkland, WA
Let it Rain!

Love this post and the pics!  Such a different lifestyle you had. 

 

Aug 15, 2011 05:59 AM
Roger D. Mucci
Shaken...with a Twist 216.633.2092 - Euclid, OH
Lets shake things up at your home today!

Normal?  You?  That's all I'm saying girlfriend!  For real, this is a really cool post, it's great to see where you grew up and how different it was from my childhood, which I thought was normal too...........silly me!

Aug 15, 2011 06:17 AM
Diane McDermott
Realtor®, GRI, Landis e2 Real Estate, LLC - Charlotte, NC
Charlotte NC Real Estate Market

Shar, what great photos and descriptions of growing up there.  The people may have moved on but those buildings still hold stories and memories for those that lived there - fascinating!

Aug 15, 2011 07:39 AM
Shar Sitter
Rooms With Style - Minneapolis, MN
Home Staging and Redesign Minneapolis/ St. Paul, M

It was strange Susan. My Mom knows what happened to most of the people. Many are ghosts but their children are around somewhere I suppose. The only house occupied is the house we livedin. Now wouldn't that be weird to be the only one living in a Ghost town!

Yeah!! Love you Janice! :) My Mom goes back for reunions for the town and surrounding little towns so she knows the scoop on everyone.

I moved away in 8th grade and never went back after my Grandparents passed away in the mid-70s. It was creepy to see.

Different is a good word for it Kerrie! LOL

There are many degrees of normal Roger. hahahhaaH

Isn't it fascinating Diane. There are so many towns like these and you just wonder of all the stories. I have so many and I wasn't there a lifetime like most.

Aug 15, 2011 01:10 PM
Roger D. Mucci
Shaken...with a Twist 216.633.2092 - Euclid, OH
Lets shake things up at your home today!

Indeed!

Aug 15, 2011 01:16 PM
Ellen Caruso
Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty - Glen Head, NY

Shar, I wasn't sure where this was going, but I'm glad the spirits brought me to your blog before I was going to bed. We often take for granted our lives. Although we are probably close in age, I NEVER HAD the youth that you did. Our biggest adventure was that there was a house of Devil Worshipers several blocks away. And if we peed outdoors, it was only because we went camping and roughed it. LOL

Thanks for your photo essay!

Aug 15, 2011 04:32 PM
Sally Weatherley
EXIT STAGE RIGHT - Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Home Staging, Home Stager Vancouver, B.C

Shar - The only thing missing are the tumble weeds!  What wonderful photos.  Love the eeriness of it all.  It looks like a beautiful place to grow up in. 

Aug 15, 2011 07:18 PM
Shar Sitter
Rooms With Style - Minneapolis, MN
Home Staging and Redesign Minneapolis/ St. Paul, M

:) Roger

Okay, I would rather live in a Ghost Town than by Devil Worshippers Ellen! Yikes. It was a good place to grow up as a kid in a way. But I am glad we moved away when we did too as it opened up a whole new world to me, literally.

Oh the tumble weeds are there Sally. Growing up they rolled through town all the time. I am not sure it was a 'beautiful' place, ha.

Aug 16, 2011 12:29 AM
Cara Marcelle Mancuso
Golden Girls with SW Desert Homes - Tucson, AZ
Call a Marana neighbor, I'm THERE!

I love this!!!  I Do always drive by old buildings and wonder at their history and the stories that took place there.  Thanks for sharing a little more of your own story - and adding those beautiful photos as well.  I grew up on five acres in a rural setting - loved it!!!

Aug 16, 2011 04:30 AM
Shar Sitter
Rooms With Style - Minneapolis, MN
Home Staging and Redesign Minneapolis/ St. Paul, M

Thank you Cara.....after taking the photos when I was back with my Mom I started thinking how different it really was to grow up there.

Aug 16, 2011 11:08 AM
Anonymous
I grew up in a ghost town

Good stuff Shar.   Berwick is just as I remember viewing it, on a drive through there about 1996....with your sister.

Aug 16, 2011 03:15 PM
#22
Shar Sitter
Rooms With Style - Minneapolis, MN
Home Staging and Redesign Minneapolis/ St. Paul, M

Modern times David? Are you saying I'm not that old? LOL  I think people just moved away as there wasn't much there, trying to better there lives like our family did.

Okay.....who are you that knows my sister?? HHmmm.....which sister?

 

Aug 16, 2011 03:19 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Shar- whenever we're on our road trips I always sonder about the small towns we see and what life is like.  I grew up in Houston so that's all I know.  I loved the pics and thank you for letting us into this part of your life.

Aug 17, 2011 07:21 AM
Shar Sitter
Rooms With Style - Minneapolis, MN
Home Staging and Redesign Minneapolis/ St. Paul, M

You are welcome Kathy...it was fun for me to go back and remember. Growing up in Houston you probably didn't have to go to the town pump to get your water every day! LOL

Aug 17, 2011 07:56 AM
Laura S. Baker
First Weber Inc - Lake Mills, WI
Realtor (920) 728-4118, First Weber Inc

An amazing story Shar, just goes to show that there are indeed many degrees of normal.  And by the looks of your subscribers,.... we all share a lot of "normal"!  LOL!

Aug 17, 2011 08:17 AM
Shar Sitter
Rooms With Style - Minneapolis, MN
Home Staging and Redesign Minneapolis/ St. Paul, M

We all have degrees of normal Laura...and most of the time I don't think there is such a thing!

Aug 17, 2011 08:50 AM
Shar Sitter
Rooms With Style - Minneapolis, MN
Home Staging and Redesign Minneapolis/ St. Paul, M

I took my Mom up to a neighboring town seven miles away where she taught as they honored her. We drove through our town on the way and I was able to take pictures and see the house where I grew up. Kind of cool.....kind of sad.

Aug 17, 2011 03:41 PM
Shar Sitter
Rooms With Style - Minneapolis, MN
Home Staging and Redesign Minneapolis/ St. Paul, M

Richard, I did not find out who #22 was unfortunately. I have stepped it up a bit don't you think? :)

Aug 30, 2011 04:23 PM