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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-07-18, Page 13•": features and entertainment Servin over 24,000 homes in Listowel, Wingham, Mou Forest, Milverton, Ariss, Arthur, Drayton, ' Har ston, Moorefield', Palmerston, Bloomingdale, Br slau, Conestogo, Elmira, Heidelberg,. Linwood, aryhill, St. Clements, St. Jacobs, Wallenstein; Wellesley and West Montrose. Wednesday, July 18, 1984 w ey raised more than t by Marion 1. Duke There's nothing that draws a crowd in farming -country like a barn fire — unless it's a barn raising. This past month Robert and Marilyn Mitchell and their family of RR 1, Listowel experienced both these events. It is something the Mitchells will never' forget. Neither will their neighbors, nor scores of strangers who happened by. The Mitchell barn was completely destroyed by fireon the night of June I. "The neighbors were already at the barn chasing out the stock by the time we got there," said Marilyn Mitchell, Despite the willing hands, hoWever, 80 sheep', 90 pigs, five kittens, one goat and two ducks, "Donald 'and Daisy", perished in the fire. The next day was one M the worst days of our life," Mrs. Mitchell said. She decided to keep the children, aged eight and 10 years, home from STARTING HIGH—A worker, stan- ding on the uppermost beam of the barn, pulls the cord to start a chain saw in order to trim framing to fit. school. From time to time during the day they would come and enquire about their pets, the goat, the kittens and Donald and Daisy. "We would tell them andthey would go away and have a little cry. It was heart -breaking." Marilyn Mitchell adds that in the wks immediatley following the fire thildren had trouble sleeping. But life Must go on and the Mitchells had an indication the night of the fire that their life wasn't as bleak as it appeared at that moment. , "That night Alvin Martin from across the road came over and very quietfy • said to me that if we wanted to rebuild' the same kind of barn, then maybe he could be of some hlp," Marilyn Mit- chell said. Alvin B. Martin of AB Farms Ltd. of RR 1, Listowel is a Mennonite and during his lifetime he's been involved in "maybe a dozen or so" barn raisings. His offer of help wasn't idle chatter. What happened within the next three weeks, as far as the Mitchells are concerned, was a kind of miracle. The day after the fire Donegan's Haulage of Listowel cleaned up the,, rubble. Then the foundation for the new barn was poured by Bill Kuntz of St. Clements. After that Marilyn Mitchell was never sure how many people would be at the farm to help with the barn. "Most days We had around 30," she said. Provisions •. Any farm wife, even a woman as out- going as. Marilyn Mitchell, would be concerned about feeding that many hungry workers every 'day, but Mrs. Mitchell said she never had to worry about food. "It just kept arriving. Every day people would call me up asking what I needed, orwould just drop over with casseroles, pies — you name it." The women bringing the food; like the men building the barn were a mixed lot — old friends, Mennonites; new friends -- none of them strangers once insf e the, Mitchell gate: , After a While, 'said Marilyn, he stopped worrying about food. • "I'll tell you what happened one day. In the morning a woman phoned me to say she had Made two casseroles I could have. I wasn't expecting anyone that day so I told her to put them in her freezer, I wouldn't be needing them right away. Then Alvin called and told me he was bringing a gang of about 20. I told • him that was alright, there woulcl. be enough food. I knew I .had enough because the woman with the casseroles told me they would feed about 24. Now that's an example of .the • Lord provideth. The food was there before ro f `,',W4,144M1? • Ca, -U41'% BARN RAISING IN PROGRESS.—It workers with the aid of a crane raised the need. And it's been like that every day." • - Marilyn told her story about the casseroles standing between her kit- chen and dining room on the big day of the barn raising, Wednesday, June 20. The house rivalled the barn itself as a scene of activity. The dining and kit- chen tables were piled high with WATCHING THE WORK—The barn raising at the farm of Robert and Marilyn Mitchell of RR. 1, Listpwel on June 20 drew a crowd of onlookers that outnumbered the men working on the barn. Neighbors from the area assisted Mennonites in the barn raising. While the men worked on the structure, the women prepared food for dinner and supper. was mid-morning of June 20 when the final side of the Mitchell barn just platters of meat, pies, cakes, tarts, casseroles 7- as Marilyn said, "you name it". Presiding over the stove, covered with bubbling pots and pans, was Mrs. ' Alvin Martin. The women planned on .feeding "at least 6Q" for dinner and supper, but it was nothing new to Mrs. Martin. Like her .,husband, she has lost track of the number of barn raisings in which she's been involved. "Bill I can tell you one thing, I've seen three of my own," she said. Crowds to Watch Back outside the goings-on were more interesting than most country fairs. A steady stream of people and cars arrived, parking along the high- way andin the Mitchell front yard. Many people not only carried cameras to record •the event, but brought their own lawn chairs, ohyiously prepared to stay a while: Watching the men working on the barn, many people remarked they couldn't tell who was Mennonite and who wasn't.. But they knew the' driving force behind the barn raising had to be Mennonites. They are the only farm group left that excels in what'was once a common practice in agricultural Ontario. At first sight the barn work looked almost haphazard. Men, appearing to range in age from. early teens to past middle year, pounded nails, hauled on ropes, sawed boards and clinibed to the top of the structure with remarkable ease. Standing at the very top on a beam about a foot across, a man motioned to a companion on the floor. A chain saw was tied to the end of a hay rope and the man on the beam hauled it up. Onlookers held their breath as the man, standing freely on the beam, non- chalantly took two or three pulls to start the good-sized sgw. They didn't start breathing again until the motor caught and the man proceeded to trim a roof support to fit. By mid-morning, with the aid of a crane, men on ropes hauled into place the last side of the barn. The large ropes were soon coiled neatly and two of the large coils were loaded onto each shoulder'of a young man of huge proportions. Off he went toward a truck, carrying his two coils as easily as the two men ahead of him carried one each. On the sidelines Alvin Martin grined. "This is the first one they've let me build in the lastl0 or 15 years," he said. "Ba'ck in the thirties, forties and fifties it was more common than it is today. But we've 'got three barns going up today — one near Dorking, one up on the other side of Mount7orest and this west of Molesworth. By the end,of covered with steel siding. • one." Now past the climbing and poundin Mr. Martin was content to oversee th work of the Mitchell barn raising, bu from time to time deliVered a new sta of cut lumber tolhe site. The materialfor the framework' o the Mitchell barn, he said, had come ,from two other barns. Besides being experts at building new barns, the Mennonites are experts at dismantling old ones', carefully storing away the large hand-lieWn beams to be used whenever and wherever necessary. Alvin Martin was pleased with the way the work was going. On the two • previous days a gang of Old Order Mennonites worked on the lower level of the barn. Despite the rain of one night and heavy fog of Tuesday mor- ning, the workers from the Gorrie- Wroxeter area put the job a day ahead of schedule. "We didn't expect to be doing this until tomorrow," Mr. Martin said. There was no one at the Mitchells to record the work of the Old Order Mennonites. All Mennonites shun publicity but members of the Old Order are especially strict about not being photographed and those familiar with their way of life respect their feelings. But watching the barn raising, one can't help but get the impression the event is as much an occasion for the' Mennonites as it is for those coming from near and far, to watch. It is an opportunity for not only good work, but fellowship. The Mitchells have a player piano and Marilyn Mitchell reports that after coming in and sitting down to supper at the end of their first day of work, the th ing day the structure was -• Order Mennonites gathered around at piano. "We had a good old fashioned hymn- ,".shesaid. Dinner Timer ° By the time "dinner time" is hollered • ut at 12 noon sharp, the roof rafters are in place. "We'll have the roof on within 48 hours," predicts Alvin Martin. Within minutes of the "dinner time" call the hammering has stopped and the barn site is vacated as the men flock to the front yard of the house. There they take turn's washing up at a big galvanized steel tub and solemnly pause with heads bowed as Alvin Smith asks the blessing. Then it's on to the food table to fill their plates and head for a seat under the shadetrees. It's a well-earned meal andrest. The • men have been working Sinee early • morning. Marilyn Mitchell reflects, "We've had a financial los, yes. But how do you count that against this'? The neigh- bors, the support? We've friends we never knew we had." By mid-afternoon the next day most of the steel siding is on the barn and it is "almost exactly thesame shade" as the barn that burned, says, Marilyn. wipe has kept a careful record of each day and reports that. on the big day of the raising over' 200 people signed her guest book. A, "Today I've had about 65 'people sign." Marilyn Mitchell has also recorded the barn raising orrfilm. "I have it all. I took pictures of the other barn when we covered it four years ago. There's only one thing I haven't got and that's the fire. I thought of it that night too, but I decided it was just too terrible. Now I wished I had taken a picture. If I hadn't wanted it, 1. could have thrown it away." " The men had worked on the barn the day before until sur,iper time at six o'clock and were back on the job early Thursday morning. Relaxing with Marilyn and a few other women in chairs on the lawn after cleaning up after the noon meal, Elizabeth Drudge of RR 2, Wroxeter laughs, "We were just having breakfast this morning and I said, John, you'd better get over there, they're already at it " The Drudges live about two miles from the Mitchells "as the crow flies", and, says Elizabeth, "We could hear the pounding." Then Elizabeth Drudge echos the comment heard often during the barn raising, "We read so many bad things. Things like this really restore your faith in mankind." GOOD NEIGHBOR—Alvin Martin, a neighbor of the Mitchells% organized the barn raising. A Mennonite, Mr. Martin says he's lost track of the number of barn raisings he's been involved in over the years.