It has been five years since the house on Orchard Street went down into Legend

A legend which now defines the city of Merrillville

A legend whispered about by neighbors, afraid to come out of their homes.

A legend gossiped about by teams of men and women who roamed the streets of Merrillville with flamethrowers on their backs.

A legend that was reluctantly recounted to federal agents by those who were in the house when it melted in on itself.

It should have been an easy matter to bury a legend and shovel dirt on the top.

Because a legend was just a story that wouldn’t go away.

But there was something else on Orchard Street that wouldn’t go away either.