NO ONE WANTS TO BE FORGOTTEN. WE ALL WANT TO LEAVE SOMETHING BEHIND AFTER WE'RE GONE, EVEN IF IT'S JUST A MEMORY. BUT THE FIRST STEP TO BEING REMEMBERED IS MAKING SURE WE DON'T FORGET, WHILE IT'S OUR TURN ON THIS EARTH.
Mike: Knowing where you came from affects where you're going is one of the profound things that we need to learn about our country.
'REMEMBERING' IS PART OF MIKE GALBRAITH'S PROFESSION. HIS STATION WAGON IS A FAMILIAR SITE ALONG THE BACKROADS OF LAGRANGE COUNTY AS HE CRISSCROSSES EVERY TOWNSHIP, DOCUMENTING HISTORIC BUILDINGS.
Mike: One of the things that I evaluate is the presence of all the outbuildings so I look at this and I see that's an English style barn, barns have different styles.
MIKE IS PART OF A STATEWIDE EFFORT TO DOCUMENT EVERY HISTORIC STRUCTURE AND SITE IN EVERY COUNTY IN INDIANA. THE INFORMATION WILL BE USED FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND TO GUIDE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. MIKE EVALUATES EVERY BUILDING BUILT BEFORE 1966 FOR ITS HISTORIC IMPORTANCE. THIS LITTLE HOME WAS BUILT BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.
Mike: It retains its original wood clapboarding it retains its original wood windows it retains some of the original barn and farm outbuilding elements.
SOME OF THE STRUCTURES MIKE STUDIES ARE SIMPLE…OTHERS ARE QUITE GRAND. AND OTHERS ARE PART OF SOMETHING LARGER. THIS IS WHATS LEFT OF THE LITTLE TOWN OF ONTARIO, INDIANA..FOUNDED IN THE 1830'S BY NEW YORK ABOLITIONIST NATHAN JENKS. MUCH OF THE ORIGINAL TOWN STILL STANDS.
Mike: Also from looking at the windows the wood 12 over 12 over 12 and the front door with the Greek revival style surround, dates this pretty conclusively to 1840. I think that Indiana's history is something that quite naturally needs to be preserved. We're leaving a tangible record that we mattered and we did something.
MIKE GALBRAITH ISN'T JUST STUDYING OLD BUILDINGS, HE'S UNCOVERING A STORY, OUR STORY…WHERE WE CAME FROM…HOW WE BECAME WHO WE ARE. AND JUST AS IMPORTANT, HELPING US TO REMEMBER NOT TO FORGET. ERIC OLSON REPORTING OUT IN YOUR COUNTRY.
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