Memory Vault

Abandoned Silo
Abandoned silo

The image may invoke or imply a number of things. But this abandoned silo found along the Verona Segment, Ice Age National Scenic Trail, is a memory vault for me. You can see the ladder on the roof by the open hatch and another coming up the side from below. Ladders are for climbing, right? So that is what I used to do. Our family farm had a very similar silo. There were also rungs on removable doors inside the chute you see on the left of the old silo. Climbed up and down that route, too.

You’re looking at a concrete block silo likely built in the late 40s or early 50s. The concrete blocks were tongue-in-groove so they’d lock together usually with the help of mortar. Rolled steel rods were wrapped around the whole thing and tightened with a type of turnbuckle. Early models used steel roofing but that quickly gave way to aluminum. The chute also is aluminum. (go to page 2)

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