One man’s garbage

[TomK]

This is a marvelous thread...MJ and I are on the largest piece of a 200 acre original farm of old here on the Big Rideau...we have a tad shy of 74 acres...the rest is all divvied up amongst cottage properties and a few other permanent homes down on the waterfront...the original farmhouse is out close by the road and was severed off with two acres to the original owner of the whole thing back in '60...he lived there til he passed on but sold off the rest...he drank a wee bit...lol...anyway, the farm has a creek valley runing right thru it..down to the lake ..it drains the swail across the road and overtime has cut quite the valley..that dropoff into the creekbed was the old dumping ground for the folks on this land prior to a municipal dump..it served them well...we have been here since '12 and I have been cleaning up derelict fencing and lots of junk in the fields and fencerows but the dump here is unbelievable....the place is a treasure trove of artifacts from days gone by ..MJ has recovered really interesting glass ware and pottery of all sorts..there is old machinery there, household items of every description, liquor bottles of virtually every old distillery going, you name it...it had to go somewhere I : guess and out of sight, out of mind wasthe axiom of the times...now we know better (I think) ..but its interesting...

[Shnookie]

Oh, I forgot to mention that we do have a dumping pit where others have tossed their garbage - it's called an old straw bin in the barn. Pretty sad, actually. We would need one of those High-Hoe claw machines to get all the stuff out - mostly old roof shingles as far as we can tell. So I would say that those who started dumping in the old straw bin were everyone who came after the original owners.

I read in a Harrowsmith magazine that you can use old asphalt shingles, the larger pieces, as an underlay for paths in your yard. You lay them down so they overlap a bit, then cover them with gravel or some kind of mulch. I have some old shingles here and I'm considering putting them under a raised flower bed to keep the gophers from being able to dig such big holes in it. I plan to put them down with small spaces between to allow for drainage. I haven't done it yet. I like the path idea.

[windwalkingwolf]

Awesome idea! Also, if I ever come across a free rock tumbler (ha!) I'd love to turn some old brick and dinnerware/bottle shards into decorative gravel :D

[baronrenfrew]

I read an article in Reader’s Digest, guy and family were getting burnt out living and working in Paris- so they scraped together 500 000 francs (article from the 90’s), and bought a derelict old castle. there had been historical plans to rebuild it but (it had last been used as a barn) quotes were nuts - 1 million francs to dig the moat alone. so the guy gave up his big job for electric company in the city - got a local job reading meters, wife got a nursing job in local hospital. 4 hours per day - 5-9 every morn working on the place - first the roof of the chapel, then living space in the castle. he spent a year alone on the moat - digging it outwith a shovel and pitchfork - it had been used 10 years as a municipal garbage dump - dead cows, old bicycles etc.

He went out of his way to study buildings of the same era so his repairs were “period correct” including all stone work. He became known for his work, the kids made money goving tours as dad fixed the place with his own sweat and cash, no gov’t gave him grants (other than for the chapel roof).

After 8 years of work, a gov’t agent showed up with a summons to appear in court. He was charged for
not using licensed “historical” contractors. So he toured the talk shows, radio
and tv and numerous written articles, showing the ludicrous court fight because he singlehandedly saved and repaired a historical building rather than letting it collapse in ruin.

After years in court, the judge had to side with the law, as he hadn’t used proper contractors.

He was fined one franc.

(I have since looked for the article again, haven’t found it yet).

[windwalkingwolf]

I read an article in Reader’s Digest, guy and family were getting burnt out living and working in Paris- so they scraped together 500 000 francs (article from the 90’s), and bought a derelict old castle. there had been historical plans to rebuild it but (it had last been used as a barn) quotes were nuts - 1 million francs to dig the moat alone. so the guy gave up his big job for electric company in the city - got a local job reading meters, wife got a nursing job in local hospital. 4 hours per day - 5-9 every morn working on the place - first the roof of the chapel, then living space in the castle. he spent a year alone on the moat - digging it outwith a shovel and pitchfork - it had been used 10 years as a municipal garbage dump - dead cows, old bicycles etc.

He went out of his way to study buildings of the same era so his repairs were “period correct” including all stone work. He became known for his work, the kids made money goving tours as dad fixed the place with his own sweat and cash, no gov’t gave him grants (other than for the chapel roof).

After 8 years of work, a gov’t agent showed up with a summons to appear in court. He was charged for
not using licensed “historical” contractors. So he toured the talk shows, radio
and tv and numerous written articles, showing the ludicrous court fight because he singlehandedly saved and repaired a historical building rather than letting it collapse in ruin.

After years in court, the judge had to side with the law, as he hadn’t used proper contractors.

He was fined one franc.

(I have since looked for the article again, haven’t found it yet).