Union Hall: Ground Zero

This is Ground Zero in Union Hall. The fields and woods have been cleared and only the shell of the old house remains. By the end of the coming week, the house will be gone. Way in the distance, to the left of the heavy equipment, are the beige buildings of South Lake Plaza.

All that remains of the barn is a smoldering pile. Last Tuesday, when I was on the lake with my friend Sally, I looked in the direction of Union Hall and saw a cloud of smoke. I knew they'd burned the remains of the barn. The debris pile actually consisted of barn remains and stumps from the logging-out of the surrounding woods. When the wind is right, I can smell the smoke from my house, two miles east.


The smoke smells just like the wood fires I remember from my grandparents' fireplace more than 50 years ago.