SMOKEHOUSE

If I asked my children today what a 'smokehouse' was...they'd probably respond that it's where a group of people who smoke are relegated to these days...since most people can't smoke at their workplace.

I would however mean...a building used for storing and curing meat.

Smokehouse...popped into my head today as I was 'google-mapping'.

Google mapping allows you to look down upon the earth from the satellites...and you are able to zoom in close on objects...seeing cars and even people...from outer space.

Today, I was looking at various places across the country...an old family cemetery I was interested in locating in Illinois...my old hometown of Owensville...and...outside of Owensville...the old farm that my sister, Joan, and her husband Elvin and their children, Diane and Kim, my niece and nephew, lived for most of my young years.

As I zoomed down on Joan's farm...I saw the old farmhouse...the silos...the machine shed...and the old garage. But missing...was a few of the other outbuildings that used to be there in my younger years...the hog houses were gone...and the big old red barn was gone. As I gazed at the picture, I recalled the old smokehouse that was at the back of the house. The smokehouse had been torn down long, long ago. I knew it was gone...but somehow it came back to mind as I stared at the old place.

The smokehouse was taken down when I was quite young. By the time Cindy & I were dating...and she began going to Joan's with me...it was already gone...so she doesn't recall it ever being there. But I do.

The smokehouse wasn't a 'functional' smokehouse when I was little...but was used more for storage. But I can still see it.

A smokehouse...isn't a modern day smoking bar. It was a usable building that had it's place years ago. But no longer. They are no longer needed, no longer used, and in my sister's case...no longer there.

But looking down on that old farmland...brought back many good memories...of a wonderful place in my young years...my sister's farm.


Dan