Lane Closure

The 38th story in the Falling Into College series by Richard Lobinske. The story occurs in mid-February 2001.

Summary
As Lindy starts preparing for the wedding, she learns that the mortgage to Casa Lane has been paid off. Amanda tells her how the place was a commune in the sixties. She came to Lawndale looking to buy a used kiln from Lawndale State University and discovered the commune had bought it. Wishing to get away from home, she moved in and later met Vincent, a news photographer who’d showed up to take photos for a story on the commune. Vincent shows her numerous photos of the years at the commune, including Summer, Wind and Penny as babies and learn that Amanda nearly died giving birth to Penny. By the early seventies, the commune was fading and the old leader announced he would close down. Amanda and Vincent manage to get a loan to buy the house by lying about their income. To help pay, Vincent accepts work with American Geographic to be a traveling photographer. Because of the lifestyle changes, Trent and Jane received far less attention than their older siblings.