This is the spring time view of the sunset from our front porch. A year ago, we did not have this view. The hill and trees in the distance, as well as the side of the mill, were blocked by ten or more years worth of scrub and brush.

The change is the result of the cleaning up of the mill property. It was purchased by the state parks, and all of the outer buildings that had collapsed in the the two fires were removed, dead and dying trees were cut down, and a lot of earth was moved and grass planted. The result is, in most ways, aesthetically pleasing.

As we sit on our porch and neighbors walk by they comment on how much better our view has gotten. I reply in agreement and hopes that things will continue to improve. But there is a very real part of me that wonders what was lost when the earth movers, back hoe's and dump trucks took away bricks and dirt and metal. There are many things that inspired me and are now my posessions that came out of the mill, what else was there to inspire others?

Within the year the building you can see in the middle ground is also scheduled to go. It would cost to much to repair and until then it is a lawsuit waiting to happen. That may inspire the sad looks and comments of my neighbors. We all identify with the mill building. Bynum still sees itself as a mill town. Why is that building valuable while the others were not?