The Big Yellow Victorian House

Analyzing a place or an artifact in my tiny township of Commerce seems like such an arduous task. Anyone who knows of Commerce knows it's dead-set in the middle of nowhere. A friend drives me home one day and he later explains to everyone that "it was like driving her to Egypt." I couldn't have said it better. But as much as I bash this far-away-from-civilization township, I still enjoy this place that I've been residence of for more than four years. A few years ago, Commerce was abundant with lakes, trees, wildlife (deers, squirrels, ducks, geese, skunks), but as four years has passed, a lot of the trees have turned into stores. Commerce is well on it's way to being another commercialized city, striving to live up to it's standards that lie behind it's name. While I despise the distance Commerce is to other fast-paced suburbias of Detroit, I'd take 2007 Commerce over a futuristic-materialistic Commerce.

So as I analyze an artifact in my township, I think of this township as it is now, and hopefully how it will be for a long time (preserving it's trees and animals alike). A Victorian house I've set foot in since I was an 8th grader is the first thing that pops into my head. The Victorian house owned by my best friend, a house I've grown to think of as my own. Spending many nights on the couch in the living room, often hearing creaks either from the ghosts or from the floorboards. I've never closely analyzed it's history, rather just hearing the stories of the house but never taking time to see what it's all about. So for this paper, I will take time to ask Mr. and Mrs. Baker about the runaway slave stories. I'll ask the residents of the Longs Farm, I'll research online.

But I just don't know how to make it interesting! Where do I begin? Is it even that interesting? What can be my "nikki's window"? It's the big yellow Victorian house that everyone in Commerce knows about. If you're in Commerce, you're bound to pass it, so why not know a bit more about it! Hopefully, next time I just won't dismiss it as my best friend's abode, but rather a historical monument!