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Eventually, something had to be done. If he couldn't throw the cans away, then recycling was Milkovisch's only option. Now, to most people, recycling would mean dumping the cans off at the local sorting facility and collecting a few quarters. But John had a better idea. By 1968, he had already begun to demonstrate a knack for distinctive home improvement. Milkovisch was paving over both his front and back lawns in concrete – he said he was tired of mowing – embedding rocks, bits of metal and other items as he went. He created mosaics in the pavement and erected woodwork inlayed with marbles. |
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The additions continued until John's death in 1988, though his son Ronnie carried on his father's work for a short time, completing some beer-can fencing. Today, the house is pretty much the way John left it, though the labels are fading badly and the occasional aluminum chain comes free. Luckily, after John's wife Mary passed away in 2002, the house was acquired by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, a Houston organization dedicated to preserving folk-art projects. At present, the Beer Can House is closed to visitors, but plans are on the table to restore the site and eventually open it as a museum. |