[LEFT][FONT=&]Built by the entire family in rural southern Wisconsin the summer of 1918. Many seasons have passed since then. The entire family died from the Spanish flu with the exception of the father in late September 1918.[/LEFT]
[i]
[b]
[b]The family smoke house still stands also.
[b]
[LEFT]My prior post highlights the open hearth and smoke house from the homestead.
[b] The stream being in close proximity was the reason for building there.
[b] This hole was used for bathing and washing clothing.
[b] It supplied drinking water and food for the settlers.
[b] It was the life blood of the homestead.
I have taken many photos of it through the seasons to try to capture why they picked this area.
You move out into the middle of no where to get away from the rat race. You carefully pick a building site. This hole is just downstream of a feeder that has a huge spring feeding it. This hole stays unfrozen year round because of the feeder.
Your best plans are thwarted by the Spanish flu. As if life was not going to be hard enough anyway with the long frigid Wisconsin winter you are dealt an illness which was much more prevalent in the big cities.
Their dream of living off the land in a place obviously far away from others was short lived. They had a dream and now it is a yarn to be told and held reverent. [/b][/b][/b][/b][/LEFT]