Conservation needed for homes, too

I awoke this morning to the sounds of military tank treads and ground shaking thuds. Was I dreaming? Did I forget to put out the garbage? No. The fenced-off house behind mine was being demolished.

The giant orange excavator was daunting. The house's fate was sealed. The metal roof folded like paper. The chimney bricks turned to powder. The siding looked like used twist-ties and the windows burst, relieved of their duty to protect the interior from the elements. The spirit of the house rose to the sky mixed with plaster dust.

The metal monster tore, ripped and stomped the material to bits and then gathered it all into the foundation like a bird surrounds itself with nest material.

As I watched from my kitchen window, a two-level house was reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes.

I knew the family that lived there. As clouds of dust rose into the air, I couldn't help but think of it as memories, moments of a family "goods and bads," a history being erased.

I'm not a fan of teardowns, as you might suspect. All too often, I pass through neighborhoods of cozy looking single-level homes interrupted by a "wort" of a two-story mini castle. I remember the two Victorian homes sacrificed for the Memorial library on Dunton street, albeit well before preservation became a "thing." I remember the Lustran home on Dunton and Elm recently passed into history for another building and many others.

Renovation is one thing, total destruction is another. Conservation should apply to more than the environment and wild life.

DeLynn Winkelman

Arlington Heights