AS the process, the slow process of starting to get a foothold on what exactly to do, to start the restoration of the 200 old Abolitionist residence, and underground railroad site, I am discovering something new almost everyday, both about the history of the house, its utilization and own different lives its held and the power of the residence to the local residents own memory and testimony
of their lives and/or that of their former generations, including some 80 and 90 year old lifetime residents of Mt. Pleasant, Ohio who are still able to discuss and speak of their own recollections and understanding of the Lundy.
As such, the work being done, at this very early preparation stage, is starting to attract some attention n town and its creating an interest from observers and folks stopping by, to watch the slow but steady early stages begin to take shape, in relation to the Midwest Center taking the first steps towards restoring the old National Landmark home, to its original status.
And all such personal recollecctions and stories are important, and even perhaps, essiential to gaining a better understanding of the structure, how it came to be in its present form and what are some of the myteries it has kept secret for at least a generation or more.
With the Discovery last Friday, by myself and an out of town preservationist contractor, of the very large but well disguised closet floor trap door, where the home's fugitive slaves were hidden thru, probably for forty years, I began once again, to realize that his seriously damaged but proud structure, is no ordinary old home and no mere home renovation project.
And then, today, we had the more pragmatic structural discovery of a brick lined front lawn area patio, which is still in tact, made possible thru the direct commentary of a personal statement made this evening by a long time neighbor of the former old family prior ownership, the same area brick patio, which has been hidden for at least twentyfive years, was both dug up and found to be present pretty much totally in tact.
After being on site for the past 90 days, and walking over this area of the front lawn, it was amazing to realize that part of weeds and vines i've been walking over, actually were mere cover of a very well defined brick patio type of formation which was placed there a long time ago. Stunning to me, the very brick work despite years of weeds, grass, topsoild, roaddirt and vines, was still obvious and still very much in tact, once the debris was shoveled and swept.
This small but significant discovery directly resulting from a Mt. Pleasant's neighbor declarative statement about what they knew had been on site, years ago, helped encouraged me, this weekend, to keep on keeping on... Knowing there are more hidden secrets of the Lundy, ready to be disclosed and unveiled....in the not too distant future, it inspires one to keep digging, keep cleaning, to keep exploring and just patiently observing the Lundy as if she were an old old ship, waiting to give up its deeper hidden mysteries.
Its also, literally like digging up an archealogical site of both antebellun and early 20th American history and soon, that very well may be what will be requested and sought, officially by me ...for the site, itself.
After hearing from the various people stopping by, its clear, a very important part of Mt. Pleasant even on a very emotional level for some, has for too long, lay dormant and been allowed to fall into serious disrepair and neglect, threatening its very existence as this is written.
Its rather sad and is stunning that the town allowed this to happen to such an amazing residence but to a large degree, the people in town, seem to respect private ownership so, that they felt it wasn't their place to try to attempt a 'rescue'....from its former absentee private owner, despite its extreme historical relevance and purpose and witness to American history.
Today, I m very pleased, that local people in town, are both paying attention and starting to feel comfortable enough with an 'outsider' so they come up to speak and share their own stories about the home and what it means to them, to see it being bought by someone who cares enough to try to restore the same.
The town, hopefully feels that this new homeowner, is one that intends to not only rescue their otherwise, very unique national landmark honored residence, as best he can, from the ravages of time and serious elemental exposure its been thru, but also, to raise it up, along with the amazing historical but largely forgotten little antebellum village own landmark status, placing the same, back on the map, both in Ohio ...and for the entire world to see, God willing...
Its been a solid if not at times, pressing, complex and somewhat bumpy, if not, difficult road even to start this process, this summer.
Hopefully, however, the meaning and depth of the experience will only grow even more richer and deeper, as time goes by and as the project, begins to take true shape. The house immense structural repairs needed immediately, which will require lots of expertise to fix and even more money than the entire property is valued at currently, easily.
Yet, this weekend, the townspeople approaching me and sharing their encouragment with me, has mattered and has made a certain difference. I wish to say thanku to those of you who have been both willing to stop by and give some signs of hope and inspiration. And Thanku for sharing your own narratives about the home and what it meant in relationship to your living in Mt. Pleasant. and finally, i wish to extend a special thanku to Rev Smith and his family, for his lifetime of devotion to his faith, his community and now...to one very long haired, kind of wired, outsider,...who he finds as his latest "new neighbor"...in search of both the good shepard's extensive oral history [and a bucket of water], ....on his otherwise own very historical street and address .
As this project progresses, hopefully in a meanginful and timely manner, for the urgent status of the house's sake, itsef, I have a belief, that the town itself, will begin to feel a kind of revival or at least, a certain cartharis, of some measure...in that its own once former amazing honor and pride is being both truly assessed, significantly valued and assisted, and recognized and even hopefully, fully then restored...all done, in and thru this unique and critical sojourn in relation to the physical restoration project, of an urgent nature, of this nationally significant 200 yr old Lundy home
still standing, by some grace of heaven, on Union Street, Mt. Pleasant, Ohio.
For me personally, it will be a true joy to not only see this residence restored but the town itself, much more secure and revived in its spirit, knowing that a critical component of its heritage has been preserved for posterity sakes,
I seek also for my own sense of understanding of Lundy and hope in some small way, help to preserve not only the home, but the huge yet mainly forgotten serious christian witness and genuine contribution Lundy personally made to the American human rights struggle which in turn, impacted all such struggles, worldwide, ever since, starting right from the living rooms of this old, special structure, filled today w/ the dust and decay and nelgected aspects of the last 100 years
....as we revive and restore it, the very history and legacy of Lundy himself...stands a genuine chance to be brushed off, taken out of the dusty grave of history, and placed in its proper perspective.
It is with this effort, we want to lift up the amazing solitary life of one man and honor his powerful witness and endless devotion to the cause of the oppressed, the poor and those in chains, all done, in a pioneering manner, starting right from the ancient forrests and hills of southeastern Ohio
....lighting a spark, under this nation, right from this southeastern Ohio River border town region....from within Mt. Pleasant and these surrounding rolling hills,
where once it literally, lead the nation in making genuine the Gospel's call to treat one neighbor with love and respect granting people, all people as much if not more than any other such village, their own God given dignity and human rights as promised in this nation's founding document for all persons;
in this manner, this sleepy, forgotten, mainly quiet village, located high up on the hills, six miles from the Ohio River, literally led his nation, fifty years before the civil war on race relations and as such, was easily, almost 150 yrs ahead of the rest of the nation, in how it both viewed, and advocated and then most importantly itself, allowed and lived their faith walk, in genuine concord with the freedman among them, and in doing so, they demonstrated, in a very rare manner, right beyond the Virginia's border, the true meaning of brotherly love between the wide varying white and black culture, being true to their religious practices and principles, every early on, in this nation...as much as any community ever did, or has, ever since.
All the power of the witness of the southeastern, Ohio antebellum era abolitionists, among which, Ben Lundy began publishing his Genius of Universal Emanicipation at this very site, at this very residence, would in time, literally help initiate and then lead this nation into and thru and beyond, its most fundamental primary internal constitutional crises, leading the nation into civil war and all that has followed since, in terms of the definition of what exactly is the measure of personal, political and social human freedom for all peoples, worldwide, from all who ever came to this nation's shores.
AS U2's Bono recently said, at his last concert in nearby Pittsburgh,
"America, you 're not just a nation formed on genetics, on culture on legacy.....you're much more than that....you're an idea..."
and we have this amazing call of history, and this amazing persons, and his very own early narrative which began right on this very site, to be dusted, off, rebuilt, revived and then added once again to not only the knowledge of the local region and Ohio's but rather, once and for all, to and for, all the nation's itself.
Its literally an honor and a proud work.....to be involved with and it is literally, something of a spiritual revival, showing once again...america is more than politics, more than discussions about debt and spending...and what present day political party is on top, or what celebrity is getting married to whom.
What america is essientially beyond the market place for all major corporations of the world, ...is that its the home....of the struggle of a political idea, that once begun here, was made to be corrected and "more perfect" as Lincoln himself noted, .....by a man named, Benjamin Lundy, who almost 200 years ago....lived here and raised his young family for several critical years...and while doing so, he wrote and published a paper, ....the Genuis of Universal Emancipation, which would inspire the power and nation and young would be president, to ....come to understand those very words and put them
into effect and reality.
what Lundy while writing late at night, from within this historical residence, the same, led to a human rights revolution
that has yet to be fully ....and completely finished....today...both here and around the world...
we need to honor this young apostle of freedom's pioneering christian Quaker effort and we need to take all immediate urgent care and steps, however we can, to both make sure, this house survives today and that its legacy is preserved for all the nation if not the world, to have and to learn from within...and to better understand, what happened here....made the difference to the entire nation
and to millions of people, forever and ever.
