The Rural Voice, 1980-06, Page 11Barns, some old, some new
By Kendra Purdon, 15, R.R.3, Wingham
Barns, some new, some old, some
deserted. but many very much alive. In our
area a barn is a well known sight. Will it
always be so? We country kids are not so
thrilled with the word barn. When it comes
right down to it, it just plain means more
work.
I found the word barn originally meant
"a place for barley". The early pioneers
had to make sure that his valuable
possessions. his tools, his animals and their
feed were safety sheltered. From these
needs come the barn of a hundred years or
more, many of which are still standing and
can be seen around us. Forced to build with
the materials from the land mainly stones
and lumber from the trees. With a few
simple tools available but a standard of
craftmanship of the country from which
they came they built barns by hand that
ranked with the finest buildings of the
world.
Old barns are landmarks today and
manage to survive only because they were
so well constructed. When one considers
the exposure of our old barns to wind of
change as well as those other winds that
have blown against them for a century or
more it is a wonder that any are left for
those who would seek the secrets they
hold.
The successtul farmer has become a
businessman and the barn has become his
factory. Few of the structures being
created today will last the life time of their
makers and will be replaced as being out of
date or not paying their way.
North American barns of the last two
hundred years are landmarks of beauty and
culture, the simple and practical ex-
pression of people and their way of life.
Architects speak of the purity of line, of
scale of proportion of the barn and describe
their simple materials simply chosen and
artfully joined together.
Some barns have been built with nothing
but a felling axe, but the larger structures
were sometimes put together by men that
specialized in framing. The farmer plann-
ing to erect a barn would cut the timber
and haul it. Beams were often cut at least a
year ahead and allowed to season. Farmers
would supervise the barn raising board and
shingle the roof, hang the doors and build
the granary for the price of $1.00 per foot
according to the length of the barn. A 60ft
barn would cost $60.00 complete. Now
interior decorators are buying barn siding
and paying more than a dollar a foot for it
Barns are a vanishing landmark, rapidly
Why War?
being destroyed, burned or torn down. A
iundred years ago 85 out of every hundred
people in Canada and'U.S. lived on farms.
Today the same figures are true of those
who live in cities. It is possible that
millions that now live in North America
have never seen a barn let alone been in
one._In the forseeable future there is more
than a possibility that for many this kind
of barn will not be there to see.
Consider the humble barn -what a wealth
of experience and information it has held
for so many. Built by people who didn't
even know they were designers with no
thought of art or beauty. As you drive look
across the fields to that barn nestled
against the sunset or with animals
peacefully grazing. A beautiful picture I
think you will all agree. If the barn at my
home could only tell me of the people it has
known and their stories, the history of our
area! I think 1 could listen for hours. Barns
are relics of a good life and ought to be
remembered.
BY MILNE GREGORY,
12, R.R.3, Auburn
War is a very powerful thing. If it were to
be started it could wipe out the entire
earth. Many people don't really under-
stand war. It may help prove whose better
or whose the most powerful country, but
just how powerful will they be when no one
City slicker on the farm is left. War kills innocent people who don't
want to fight, but are sent with no choice.
You can stop it all along with your country
by thinking twice. You can talk thing over
rather than fighting. Remeber lives are
very important in our world to day. War
A bee stung me. Now don't ask where, `Would end it all. Why War? What does it
It ain't your business, so there.
BY JOANNE MORRISON, 10,
R.R.2, GADSHILL
One day, while snoozin' on the farm,
And doin' no one any harm,
One day, while bent to swat a fly,
Old Bowser bit me, dunno why.
It ain't no secret where I got bitten -
Right on the farm where I was sitten.
One day, while lying' in the clover,
A combine come and run me over.
So now I'm swathed and down up brown
A farm ain't safe to sit ye down.
prove, does it prove that a nuclear bomb
can wipe out a entire city or that the world
can end tomorrow. So Why War? Think
twice it could save a tomorrow.
BRUCE BARLOW, 15
RR 3, BRUSSELS
THE RURAL VOICE/JUNE 1980 PG. 9