“You may say that I am just another outdated old man
complaining about progress and the changes of time.
But, you see, I have well considered that possibility myself,
and am prepared to submit to correction by anybody who cares
about a community, who can show me how the world is
improved by that community's dying.”
from Jayber Crow
by Wendell Berry
Last year we went through the town of Krydor, we spent
most of our time at the church, a link to those photos will
appear in Part 2. I noticed the boarded up stores then and so
we came back this summer to look around. There are signs of
life, the community hall is maintained, the church kept up,
there are recycle bins. But as you can see the main street consists
of boarded up stores and vacant lots. My brother in law pointed
out that most have metal roofs so some attempt has been made to
maintain them. Founded in 1911 the town now has 25 residents.
As you drive through you see houses that have been abandoned
and a few with signs of life or an RV plugged in indicating some
seasonal occupation. As I said to my wife, it would be very
eerie to be a child in such as town at night, with all these dark
overgrown homes and the vast dark prairie sky above.
Demographics can be as relentless as any tsunami. A few
years ago the rural high school I attended closed after 112
years in Harrow ON when the decision was made to consolidate to
large towns. This immediately affected local businesses and the
sale of town lots.
A link to other photos and some very interesting
comments about the community of Krydor.
"There was a river under First and Main,
the salt mines honeycombed farther down.
A wealth of sun and wind ever so strong
converged on that home town, long gone.
At the north edge there were the sand hills.
I used to stare for hours at prairie dogs,
which had their town, and folded their little paws
to stare beyond their fence where I was. "
from Prairie Town
by William Stafford
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