No Dial Tone

Some unremarkable photos here, nothing special technically or artistically, just a big fat blah in every way. If not for the subject that is. There’s the magic. Look at this place, look close, a cute little house in a small Saskatchewan town, sealed up for many years. Peer inside, the cupboards are full, dishes neatly put away. We fully expected the old phone to work. Picked up but of course there was no dial tone.

Still it feels lived in. Right? I can smell a pie in the oven. It’s our grandparent’s place and they just stepped out to the garden. That’s it. That’s their couch. That’s their kitchen table where we enjoyed many fine meals. That’s their curtains! They’ll return.

Then snapping back to reality – it hits us, no one lives here. It’s been empty of life for some time. In the corner, packed boxes tell of a move out planned, cut short. There’s a stack of old records, books, piles of electronics, vintage radios and stuff, and more modern media players, all awaiting a U-Haul that will never come. Old people, the former residents here, have this habit of going away unexpectedly. The reaper takes another and with no one wanting the possessions, it was all simply left behind and the house locked up tight.

Then the winds blows. The daydream’s over. A look at the watch, we gotta go – we only had a few minutes here. One last over-the-shoulder glance before stepping out the door and turning the key, more thoughts of those who lived here. The time capsule is locked up again. And is silent.

Check out this place!
Peeling Paint and Lace Curtains.

Short Subjects: reports that for any number of reasons are brief in nature. They might be updates to older articles, previews of posts planned or not yet published, brief snippets of things that don’t fit in anywhere else or subjects that are so obscure that information on them can’t be found. Or sometimes we just ramble on about Lord knows what.

If you need any more information on what we talked about here, by all means contact us!

Date of adventure: April, 2017.
Location: Saskatchewan.
Team BIGDoer was given permission to enter the building.

Abandoned House SK

Picked up the phone expecting a dial tone.

Abandoned House Saskatchewan

In an abandoned house, with everything left behind.

Abandoned Home SK

They started packing up…

Abandoned Home Saskatchewan

…but never moved the stuff out…and here it remains.

30 responses

  1. Jenn says:

    This is fascinating. I have never explored a place like that. I bet it has that same distinctive smell like all the small town museums. Not a bad smell but an old smell lol. I bet you know what I mean.
    I have a similar looking flower sifter like the one in the cabinet.

    • We’ve been in a few intact places like this, but of all, this one takes top prize. Yes, that smell of old. The place was neat and tidy, but still it was there. I do know what you mean. We have a casserole dish, inherited from Connie’s Mom, just like the one on the top shelf.

  2. Ivy-Jean Horn-Vanden Dungen says:

    Wonderful capture of days gone by…

  3. Doug Kelly says:

    I think we have the same glasses in our china cabinet! Damn I’m old!

  4. Wendy Freedman says:

    Wow, so sad and nostalgic.

  5. Roy R. Hartzler says:

    You have some wonderful pictures of days gone by. some of them break my heart to see them abandoned. I also really enjoyed the railroad photos.

  6. Lynne Harcourt says:

    An old flour sifter! I`ll bet it saw many a loaf of bread, buns, and cinnamon rolls!

  7. Faye Desranleau says:

    People don’t just move away they run away and leave everything behind.

    • In fact, in rural areas it’s not all that uncommon. Old timers, typically, move away to the old folks home, or pass on, and with the kids living in the big city, no one wants the house or contents and it’s all simply left behind as was seen here. We’ve been witness to a number of places like this.

  8. Peg Strankman says:

    Oh my heart is broken.

  9. Connie Biggart says:

    My fav is the white glass orange juicer in the top left corner, my mom had the same one.

  10. Barrie Geosits says:

    Incredible!

  11. Dave Armstrong says:

    No way! Really?

  12. Chris Cullen says:

    Someone liked Petro Canada 88 olympic glasses!

  13. Alice Merkel says:

    Have seen many like this look like they just left clothes and all.

  14. Lorne Berglund says:

    The Olympic glassware from petrocanada. Grandma had those too.

  15. Wow! But yes it is sad to see. We have visited other places with similar situations and stuff in the cupboards, dishes on the table. Like they went to work and never came back! Thanks for sharing

    • Yes, that vibe. One day they’re here, the next, gone. There’s an almost Twilight Zone feel to these places. Eerie and a bit unnerving. We’ve seen a number of “intact” abandoned houses, but this beats them all. There’s not a thing out of place and it’s still neat and tidy.

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