“I had an article idea for you,” Chris Orange said. “Think about the old farmhouses you’ve seen, and how often you see lilac bushes.”
Chris Orange is the park manager of the Grand Kankakee Marsh County Park in Lake County, Indiana. As sharp as a new razor and a frequent inspiration for articles on this site, Chris is a walking file cabinet of Indiana lore. Also, he’s the brother of the co-founder.
Yes, I had seen lilac bushes frequently on the site of old farmhouses. I thought of several I had seen in a line, usually towards the back of the property. “I’ll bite. I assumed it was decorative,” I said.
Chris shook his head. “Trust me, they didn’t spend much time a hundred years ago bothering with landscaping. That’s a pretty recent thing. Lilac bushes—“
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Wow. I never knew this.
ReplyDeleteI never knew this either. But growing up, I took care of an old cemetery. Nobody seemed much interested and it didn't seem right to not tend to it and besides I had nothing better to do. The oldest grave was 1832. There were lots of huge lilacs, including one over a grave of a very young woman. Beautiful and fragrant in spring. This story gives great insight and meaning to my story.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe any of that for a minute. They were planted for their strong, pleasant smell, and their ability to attract bees...in large quantities. Bees are the farmer's friend, and are necessary for germinating crops. Don't believe the made up crap that nobody can prove. Outhouses! Really expect that to be believed?
ReplyDeleteI'm with you 111, some people will believe anything they read and people dream this crap up just to see who will read it
DeleteSMH
I believe it. Why not!
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that you don't believe that. Can you substantiate your unbelief?
ReplyDeleteEverybody that knows anything about outhouses knows a bag of lime was a part of the supplies to maintain an outhouse and control smell...and not just when a lilac bush was in bloom 4 months out of the year. If anyone has any common sense, they would wonder why someone would claim a lilac bush was planted around outhouses to cover up the smell. Lilac bushes are are in bloom only seasonally. The lime was for year round use and controlled the odors. Obviously the writer of this nonsense never used or has seen a real outhouse.
ReplyDelete