There Goes the Neighborhood #11578

The Story

In cold winter snow, way back in the southern Pennsylvania jingweeds, sat this worn and old abandoned house without a single lick of paint. It was an overcast day and I was out rambling off the beaten path by the Maryland state line that crosses through the mountain ridges. In the front yard sat an interesting curiosity: a very dated and faded aluminum travel trailer in all its unglossy glory.

With the busted steps and no smoke rising from either chimney or stovepipe, all signs of life were missing in this picture of hillbilly heaven. Footprints couldn’t be seen in the cold snow. The stark winter woods covering the hill completed the dismal scene of abandonment with people long gone and a home left behind. This old house was clearly forgotten, but why and how? I guess that will never be known.

Even on this dismal winter day, here was a photographic chance to create something different with an unusual title. This was also one of the rare times I knew the name of the picture before the camera even came out of the bag. In my whimsical scenario, the old trailer threatened the property value of the house and land, and a story was born. To this day, this picture is still an old and fun favorite, still an inner chuckle.

This old abandoned house and trailer were found by chance during a snowy overcast day on a back road ramble, but I left soon after a dozen images were made. Apparently, this mobile home is still mobile because the next time through here a few years later, it was gone. That leaves its former partner even more bleakly alone. So…there went the neighborhood again.

Location: hillbilly heaven in rural Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Picture and story © Andrew Dierks