Barns
“Along with the World War II generation, the barns are dying out. I cringe at both. Solid red barns are symbols of a rural, family oriented, stable way of life. Barns filled with machinery and livestock, their haymows filled with fragrant bales.
“Old barns are pleasing to the eye. Ever notice that barns are a favorite subject of local newspaper photographers? I save them all.
“Barns alive with a horse’s nicker, cows chomping hay, the gruff grunt of a sow with baby pigs. A pigeon’s wavery coo, the whistle and beat of its wings in a startled retreat.
“The creaks and cracks of the barn’s joints on a windy day.
“In spite of an oily dusty machinery smell, a brand is a great cavern to play in. The giggles of two sisters jumping into a granary of oats a floor below. Their shrieks as they notice grasshopper parts mixed in with the oats.
“Minnie’s concerned meows and purrs as she supervises the sisters playing with her kittens, their eyes still shut.
“When the kittens get bigger, the sisters raid sparrow and pigeon nests in the rafters under the barn. The girls don’t remember if the cats were at all interested in the bird eggs, but they learn that lice lurk in those nests. The sisters quit stealing the eggs. . . . “
First published in The Dallas County News, June 26, 1997, the whole story about barns is in Chapter 2: Childhood on a farm in The Immigrant and the Outlaw: A Collection of Stories from America’s Heartland
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I’m not the only one who enjoys old barns. Photographer Joe Kenney often posts winsome photos of them on Facebook, along with other charming pictures.
Beautifully written and deeply nostalgic. Old barns really do carry a kind of quiet memory in their wood and creaks like pieces of rural history slowly fading but never quite disappearing. Your description brings that world back to life so vividly. Thank you for sharing this window into a simpler, more grounded time.
I love old barns! Too many in my area are being demolished for strip malls and housing developments or just left to rot and collapse. It’s such a sad sight.
Thank you, Liz. The old barn on our farm still stands, but it’s only being used to store some equipment.
At least it’s still standing!
Yes!
Barns and old pickup trucks. They are an evocative pleasure to behold. Though I’m from NYC, I love the look and the smell of them. I remember one day when I moved hay bales in my brother-in-law’s barn in Iowa. Although I near died from my allergies that day, I remember the aromas with pleasure.
Yes, to Pickup trucks! Sis Gloria and I used to head for the dried grasses corner of the Ag building at the Iowa State Fair just to breath in the aroma of the clumps of hay and clover being exhibited! Thanks, Bob!
I love barns. I had one built by Amish craftsman in the 70s. It had Dutch doors and a hay loft. It had two stalls for animals and a space for machinery. It also had a water spigot and electricity.
Wow. What did you keep in your barn, John?
I love old barns too. The one on my great grandparents homestead was destroyed by a prairie fire about 7 years ago. Until then it still stood. Probably built in the early 1900s.
It stood for a good long time. Darlene, I hope there are photos of it.
I have many memories of our old barn. It had cracks and holes in the walls. Wind couldn’t knock it down. Playing alone or with others was fun. We built tunnels and forts. Played Tarzan on the ropes. Shot birds and mice at night for the FFA pest hunts.
FFA pest hunts, wow! Jim, I love your old barn memories!
I love the old red barns with the Gambrel roofs. If they have a Mail Pouch tobacco ad on one side-even better! 🙂
Yes, especially barns near highways! Thanks for reminding me!
I do love all the old barns I come across. I was thrilled to be able to photograph the barns belonging to my great-grandfathers in South Dakota. Both still standing and in good shape.
What a great idea, Eilene! I wonder whether my Grandpa Neal’s barn is still standing.
We looked into putting a new foundation under our barn. It seems in the era in which it was built there was a kind of short-sighted frugality hereabouts that led to skimping on cement in the mix. The quote for jacking it up and putting a new foundation under it comes in north of $30,000.
Wow, Jon. I suppose that’s why a lot of barns these days are owned by foundations, with several people footing the bill to keep them standing.
I’ve never lived on a farm, but remember my paternal grandparents’ farm’s barn. It was enjoyable to go through for me and my brother. It’s nice that you have one, Joy.
Thank you, Tim. It was sold with the farm ground, but my sister still gets to enjoy seeing it everyday! She lives on a 3-acre corner of the farm and owns the grain bins and shed.
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