Milo Textile Company Mill, Milo O c t o b e r 2 0 1 8 6 3 vanishing Maine allen monroe, milo historical society Ruins Beautiful By Sofia Voltin “I f that house could talk, what stories would it tell?” Kimberlee Bennett, author of Paddling Southern Maine, asks as her kayak floats past a dilapidated cabin on the water’s edge of Upper Pleasant Pond in Richmond. Bennett is known as Maine Kayak Girl across social media. As she explores and documents the waterways, she finds her- self face to face with Maine’s ruins. There’s something about a building in disar- ray—its roof caving in and walls buckling—that sparks curiosity among us, including Bennett and the local explorers she guides. “I wonder So much of the history behind these fading buildings is lost to time—but not all. who lived there, if they loved the water as much as I do, and if they appreciated hav- ing a place on the water. I also see them and feel some sadness. I think about how that came to be. Why were they not maintained or cherished?” These disintegrating vistas echo piercing cries from the heart. Exploring and photographing aban- doned, man-made structures is known as urban exploration– “urbex” for short. The beauty of nature re- claiming these structures touches thou- sands in the online groups dedicated to the celebration of these forlorn places. “When you see an old, abandoned house