Home is where the heart is. But what happens when someone wants you to have a change of heart about your home?
Take Albert Clemens Sr. He is an 85-year-old who has lived in his beloved abode for 60 years, many of which he shared with his late wife. Although his property is under attack by an unknown vandal who clearly wants him to leave by plaguing the outside of his house with raw eggs and other items — including cans of tuna fish — he refuses to leave. He is standing his ground and is cooperating with police to find out whom this dastardly delinquent is.
Yet, sometimes it’s someone with power that wants you to leave your home, which creates a bigger challenge than scraping dried yolk from your front door.
One elderly couple in China has been faced with this particular predicament. The government wanted them to leave in order to build a highway. The couple refused, saying that they couldn’t pay them enough money to leave their beloved nest. So the government did something crazy to them and – unfortunately — they are not alone…
The Chinese government built the highway around their home.
Luo Baogen and his wife insist on living in the half-demolished building in the city of Wenling, in Zhejiang province, China because they believe that the relocation compensation offered by the government was not enough to cover their relocation costs.
So they stayed in the home that they love. As cars drive around it, as the couple remain living inside.
Property owners in China that refuse to move to make way for development are known as "Nail Householders," which refers to a stubborn nail that is not easy to remove from a piece of old wood and can’t be pulled out with a hammer.
There are many Nail Houses in China, yet homeowners refusing to leave is not solely a Chinese phenomenon.
For instance, there is Edith Macefield, an 84-year-old woman who refused to leave her house of 50 years — even when she was offered a million dollars to move out so developers could build a mall in its place.
Edith made the developers build around her home. Edith Macefield, even in her prime, was quite the firecracker. Born in Oregon in 1921, Edith lied about her age in order to join the service and support the war effort in England. When it was discovered she wasn’t 18, she had to leave the service, but Edith stayed overseas to care for war orphans until her mother became ill and she returned to the States.
One of the many reasons why Edith refused to leave her house was because of her mother. “My mother died here,” she said. “On this very couch. I came back to America from England to take care of her. She made me promise I would let her die at home and not in some facility, and I kept that promise. And this is where I want to die. Right in my own home. On this couch.”
This is Barry Martin, the construction chief of the building that quickly sprung up around her. He became close with Edith and for two years he would nurse, clean, feed, and run errands for her.
Edith passed in 2008 at the age of 86. She died in her house just like she wanted. Locals that were inspired by Edith mourned her death by leaving flowers on her fence. She also left her house to Barry, who wrote a book about it.
Edith’s legacy has touched many people. When the writers for the Pixar cartoon Up caught wind of her story, they attached balloons to the roof of Macefield's house as a promotional tie-in for the film, in which an aging widower's home is similarly surrounded by looming development.
Her efforts also inspired a Seattle music festival called “Macefield Music Festival.” It is dedicated to preserving Edith’s fiercely independent spirit. A local tattoo artist created a design in honor of Edith and her house and the importance of “holding on to things that are important to you.”
What would you do? Would you take the offer and move, or would you stand your ground?
It's definitely happening more and more.
For more details about Edith's story, watch the video below.
Please SHARE this incredible story with everyone you know and help save this house!
