Old Barns.

[Adam Helmer]

I recently was approached by the Northern Tier Cultural Alliance (Pennsylvania) and asked if they could inspect my barn here on the farm. The Alliance is cataloging old barns because they represent an era of our history that is fast fading away. While driving around this county, I see many barns falling down due to lack of use and maintenance.

My barn was built circa 1856 and has the typical wooden pegs holding the beams in place. The roof is in great shape and the building is painted red. A hay hook runs on a track up at the ceiling for when loose hay was placed in the mow before the advent of square bales of hay. Nowdays the big round bales left in the fields until needed have left many old hay mows empty.

It was 22 years ago today, May 17, 1988, that I bought my farm of 60 acres; half fields and half woods. I like rural life and would never move to any other more urban place.

Adam