The North Annex on Grant Line Road, current home of the Floyd County Youth Shelter, is in the news – and rightly so, if you ask me.Every time I visit my mother in Georgetown, I drive past the despoiled site of the Collins-Yenawine house. The structure’s sad destruction at the hands of an arsonist in what remains a ludicrously “unsolved” case vibrantly illustrates an entrenched attitude of destructive and oft times condescending Philistinism toward our area’s past.*
It’s just my opinion, and no one’s put me up to saying it aloud – but this sort of “Groundhog Day” cultural amnesia in Floyd Couty should be addressed just as vigorously as racism, sexism and other manifestations of violence against people, especially when it occurs among elected officials, whom we ostensibly trust to discern higher community bars than that typically defining those who are in it for the money alone.
If you are inferring from these words that I believe the overall stance of certain local public officials in the matter of the North Annex to have been one analogous to Philistinism, then you are quite correct.
Numerous red herrings are being tossed liberally in all directions, among them the fraudulent charge that preservationists care more about buildings than kids (the Youth Shelter might plausibly ask why it has taken this long for government attention to be paid to its efforts), and my own personal favorite, the bromide most often deployed by used car salesman, who assure you that demolition offers “absolutely the best deal in town.”
Perhaps. It also might be the case that on a corridor blighted by Wal-Mart, we're missing another prime example of the high cost of low price.
Following are excerpts from three recent Tribune articles, all written by Chris Morris, that tell the story of an effort to raise consciousness about the North Annex.
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Retired teacher hopes to save North Annex
Vic Megenity remembers how the old Floyd County courthouse and post office were torn down to make room for new structures he called unsightly.
He doesn’t want to see the same thing happen to the North Annex along Grant Line Road.
Group makes pitch to save North Annex along Grant Line Road
Larry McAllister had heard enough. As a group of local historians and representatives from the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana discussed ways to save the old North Annex, home of the Floyd County Youth Shelter, McAllister quickly interrupted.
“I’m not here to make any enemies, but this is so frustrating,” said McAllister, Floyd County Council president. “It’s like all of a sudden this is being brought up. I’ve been at this four years ... I hope you understand how I feel.”
With that, McAllister left the Tuesday meeting at the North Annex, which had been organized by retired educator Vic Megenity, vice president of the Floyd County Historical Society.
Floyd County leaders asked their opinion on saving North Annex
The youth shelter has been housed at the North Annex, 3005 Grant Line Road in New Albany, since 1982. However, the building was constructed in 1878 and wings were added to the structure in 1939.
The Floyd County Commissioners, along with the County Council, approved a plan last year to build a new youth shelter on the same land and tear down the North Annex once construction is completed.
However, questions have been raised in recent weeks about the history of the North Annex, which is the only historical building left along Grant Line Road, according to Vic Megenity, vice president of the Floyd County Historical Society.
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Readers may debate the merits of the case at their leisure, but there is one point that should be made clearly and loudly.
There is ample documentary evidence that local historical preservationists were seeking to make their opinions on the future of the Annex known through letters to Floyd County Council members and Commissioners as early as August, 2004, and into May, 2005.
You will note that the vote on the North Annex’s future occurred last year, which if memory serves, was 2007.
Do the math, Mr. McAllister. Neither has this issue come up at the last minute, nor was its mention restricted to personal communications.
A better question: Why weren't you paying attention when it did arise?
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* Props to First Harrison Bank, which proposes to reconstruct the some semblance of the house as part of ongoing development at the site.
One of the more goofy comments I've heard came from Randy Stumler, who said maybe we shouldn't try to save it since it was a poor farm and we shouldn't be proud of that.
ReplyDeleteDivision Street School was a segregated school for blacks--should we tear it down since segregation isn't something to be proud of?
Good catch Annie. I thought pretty much the same thing when I read his remarks.
ReplyDeleteHow about the City Council room?
The biggest problem the Annex has is the alarming lack of maintenance performed by the county. If that's how they intend to maintain new construction, whatever they might build will be in the same shape soon enough.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, the shelter's a money maker, right? The government letting slumlords freely operate is one thing. The government being the slumlord is something else entirely.
It's no wonder they want to tear it down. As Stumler suggested, it's evidence of a dark period of history.
I noticed the same thing, it's the sweeping of history under the rug that gets us in trouble.
ReplyDeleteWhile we may not want to dwell on parts of history it's important to remember what happened.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I saw this in the paper last week I was hoping that you would highlight it. That morning I had a discussion with another local blogger about one of the key players and the story highlighted my point.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do not know enough about the history or the condition of the building to have an opinion on whether or not it can or should be saved. I do know that we have lost way too much of our local history and its architecture and maybe should be given a second look.
The only problem I see is the basic problem with the city and the county. There are a handful of elected officials (many of them have been in too long) that seem to know what is best for our community and once they decide what "WE" are gonna do, they do it.
There is a value in historic buildings above and beyond their percieved or actual value. Every attempt should be made to protect these types of structures. Local leaders need to be more creative when it comes to finding a use or a way to save a part of history, whether the history is good or bad. With that said, the structural integrity now is the most important piece to the puzzle. Some structures have simply not been maintained properly to warrant their salvage.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I visit my mother in Georgetown, I drive past the despoiled site of the Collins-Yenawine house. The structure’s sad destruction at the hands of an arsonist in what remains a ludicrously “unsolved” case vibrantly illustrates an entrenched attitude of destructive and oft times condescending Philistinism toward our area’s past.*
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that home has been flattened. . .although it did appear they took it down brick by brick. . .
So it would appear now that, by example and action, for the most part there are those who remain in constant elected positions who not only seem to not care about our future as a community, but clearly do not care about our past as well?
ReplyDeletePerhaps if it is torn down we can make way for yet another "big box mart" and drive what surviving family businesses there are out of of town!
I know for a time before Flyd County Government took ownership, my Paternal Grandfather owned at least a part of the building and unsuccessfully tried running a number of odd businesses out of the building. But that was LONG ago, so memory can not recall the details. All I know is it is a piece of our history, poor farm, government center, it needs to be saved.
I think too little has been questioned about the lack of maintenance to this building over the years.
ReplyDeleteThe shelter director commented in the Tribune, "We've got grass growing in the gutters." Do you know why grass grows in gutters? Because the gutters are full of dirt. And why are the gutters full of dirt? Because they haven't been cleaned out for years. And why haven't they been cleaned out for years? Whose job has it been, who has been getting paid, to supposedly maintain this structure?
Why has mold grown--have water leaks and roof problems been allowed to continue without proper repair?
Does anyone feel comfortable with our Commissioners making a $7 million decision if they cannot oversee the proper care of an existing building?