Every day on my way to work, I drive past an old farmhouse. Adjacent to the highway and among an area filled with industrial parks, one would think this farm seemed out of place. But it’d been there for over 100 years, and seeing it so often in my everyday life, it had a way of fitting in.
Every October, there were big signs advertising pumpkins for sale. More than once I thought it would be nice to buy a couple pumpkins from them. Maybe I would have if I were outgoing enough to pull off the road and walk up to someone’s home. Or maybe I would have if, you know, I actually carved pumpkins. Whatever the reason, I wish I had.
Because this morning the farm was gone.
A few springs ago, there were many hand painted signs along the highway that read SAVE OUR FAMILY FARM. The city wanted to build a bridge over the highway and remove the last set of lights in a roughly 30 mile stretch, which is apparently what’s happening right now.
I was conflicted then, and I’m still conflicted now. At what point should the greater good of society come before an individual family? Sad story aside (Mrs. Fischbach is in her 90s, and farming is what her family knows), when does it become okay for the city to take someone’s property? Is the answer based on a necessity to expand? The number of accidents at a particular intersection? I don’t know what the right answer is.
It had been so long since the signs were up that I had completely forgotten about it. I didn’t think twice when traffic cones were in place and the street lights were missing yesterday evening. But this morning I drove by and took a double take at the spot where… Hey wait, wasn’t that house there? I must have zoned out. I’m confused because the road’s torn up. It had to have been there. *cranes neck* Oh, shit! It’s gone!
Whether the decision is right or wrong, I’m sad that it had to come to this. Also, I don’t know the extent to which the farmed operated, but it’s a shame to lose a family farm when corporate farming and Big Ag are so corrupted.
I’d post before and after pictures of the farmhouse, but I don’t have any. Instead here are some local news links concerning the farm:
- http://www.startribune.com/local/north/111500644.html
- http://brooklynpark-brooklyncenter.kstp.com/news/news/brooklyn-park-family-fights-save-farm/92044
- http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2010/12/27/brooklyn-park-farm-highway-169-county-road-30-intersection/
I wish the Fischbach family the best in this new stage of their lives.
