Family recalls the good times at an Athens home that burned down on Tuesday

ATHENS, Ala. (WAFF) - For decades, an Athens man and his family lived in a home right off of Hwy. 72. That is same home burned down on Tuesday night.

Only the foundation and bricks remain of the home but Jack Reid and his son Will Reid say the home acted as a fun getaway for the family to visit each other. They told stories of eating breakfast with cousins and playing basketball at the home.

This was until Will Reid’s grandfather and owner of the home, Bill Nelson, passed away in 2014. The family sold the property to someone who eventually financed through First Metro Bank. The bank does not own the property. As far as the family knows, no one has lived in it since.

The two men still feel a close attachment to the place. Will said he is always going to remember the house fondly, but Jack will not forget the last time he saw the home before it burned down.

“We had a mini basketball hoop that was there on the side of the porch, and we would sit there and throw a little nerf basketball, and tried to play a game of horse,” Will said.

“It was so sad seeing how everything was,” Jack said. “There were windows busted, and I walked around the side of the home to find a clothesline with some ratty clothes on it. it was overgrown, and it was awful. It used to be so pristine and pastoral. I got the heck out of town, got in my car, and left. I was sad. It was a happy place, it was a very happy place.”

Click Here to Subscribe on YouTube: Watch the latest WAFF 48 news, sports & weather videos on our YouTube channel!

Copyright 2023 WAFF. All rights reserved.