The Whetstone/Kim Manahan

By Kim Manahan (Whetstone Staff Writer)

Moldy bagels on the second floor of one of the empty houses fill a plastic bag.

An old Wolverine football helmet sits at the foot of the dust-covered stairs.

In the next couple of months, the three houses in the 100 block of North Governors Avenue that holds these objects will be torn down – and, if all goes well, they will be plowed over and replaced by parking spaces.

It will be a grassy area at first, said Eric Nelson, Wesley College’s vice president of finance. “Then parking, if it’s approved by the city.”

On March 8 and 15, the Dover Fire Department used two of the houses for “real world” training for members in Engine Company and Truck Company Operations.

The Boys and Girls Club used to occupy 116 N. Governors, and Wesley Athletics occupied the one next over until moving to Queen Street last year.

On the second floor of 116 is a mural signed by several children, and in the next room, a refrigerator with an ancient form of Kraft grated cheese.

“The two southern most properties have been owned by the college for decades,” Nelson said. “The one furthest to the north was bought by the college about two years ago.”

On the inside of the northern building among the trash is a newspaper from 1978, along with an empty box of tampons, old clothes and broken glass.