Gone and soon forgotten

I was west of Rensselaer on Wednesday and noticed a bare spot in a field. I was expecting something else--this is where the old South Newton Township School once stood. A couple of years ago I had pictures of the ruins and even a little of its history. I rarely pass this spot, so it might have been leveled as long as two years ago.

 The old ruins were strange looking and I am sure many people wondered what had been there originally. Now they will no longer wonder--they will probably never notice that anything is strange about the site--much like people pass the site of the old South Marion School (it was on 700S between 450W and 400W) without realizing that there was once a large building on the small hill.

Coming back, I saw something that is rather unusual for this area--an irrigation pivot in use. It has been very dry and there no rain forecast for the immediate future.

I have been told that the reason there are pivots in our area is for seed corn production--it is a form of insurance that is too expensive for ordinary crops, but not for seed corn.