Barn Guestbook Archive: April - June 2000

Bob and Kathy Frydenlund email me! - Saturday, April 01, 2000 08:49:48 AM
Check out http://www.roundbarn.homestead.com My wife and I have just finished writing a self published book this winter and we call it " How to Build and Love your own Round Barn "'. Last week we created a new website and are marketing the book through the internet. Please, come visit when you can, the reason for this e-mail is to ask how we can link our pages to your website. Also, If your interested in purchasing a book, just let us know by e-mail. Thank you for your time.

Don McLean email me! - Monday, April 03, 2000 03:08:09 PM
We own a 50x74 Pennsylvania Bank Dairy Barn which we believe to be nearly 200 yrs old. We purchased it last summer and have conducted some major repairs to the bank side sill as well as replaced some beams and posts badly damaged by termites. The lower dairy level has been remodeled to accommodate horses. We recently were visited by a couple who gave us much interesting information about the barn and farm. He was born and lived on the farm for 21 years. His father bought it in 1919 when he returned from WW1. He had been a POW for 3 months prior to the end of the war. He developed an award winning dairy herd which he maintained until 1958 when he turned 65 and retired. A later owner kept a few horses loose in the cow loafing area but little further maintenance was done until last summer when we bought it. Another reason barns were red, given by this farmer, was that a red barn could be more easily seen in a blizzard than a white one. Apparently our barn was white with green trim while it was a working dairy although it was red with white trim when we bought it!

Lonnie Schnauffer email me! - Wednesday, April 05, 2000 05:21:37 PM
Love this site. I love barns. I particularly love taking pictures of "Mail Pouch" barns. I live just north of Pittsburgh, PA. I've been in much of the eastern half of Ohio, the western half of Pennsylvania and alot of West Virginia. So many barns, such little time! I'm interested in sharing locations or even getting together and comparing pictures with you. Drop me a E-mail.

Squire Steffey email me! - Saturday, April 08, 2000 11:30:29 PM
Someone, recently, e-mailed me about books and articles (BOOKS, especially) on the Mail Pouch barns....alas, the e-mail was deleted with other things, much to my displeasure...would that person write back again with the info? Many thanks. Squire Steffey

email me! - Saturday, April 08, 2000 11:52:21 PM
Hi from northern Michigan. We have a banked barn with what you described as an "almost round roof" in the Seager Barn in Osceola County in your featured barns section. Our aunt told us she had seen it in a special on PBS about barns. We had heard someone from the State of Michigan had been around gathering information on old, maintained barns a while back and wonder if this show resulted from that. Did anyone happen to see such a special? Know where we can find out about it? Thanks!

James email me! - Sunday, April 09, 2000 05:23:21 PM
I just found the barn site and would like to respond to why a barn is red. I was told many years ago that the main reason was that to preserve the wooden side boards of the barn they coated them with the cheapest material that could be found and that was a red lead solution. This prevented decay and was very inexpensive. The idea caught on easily and the paint companies found that they could make it very cheaply and do a great deal of business. Later the story was formed that the red color was for danger, stop, don't go there. The reason was that usually a bull was housed in the barn and he was a dangerous animal and red was considered a signal of danger. This red material was all that was available before paint was invented. The inside of house were coated with calcimine before the advent of paint. Calcimine was too expensive and also did not weather as well as did the red lead solution. I am now 66 years old and remember some very good stories of barns. I do own a 132 acre farm with a very unusual built barn in that it is a complete balloon without any post or beam on the second floor. It was designed by the university of Wisconsin department of agriculture and was built about 1950. I have the barn in excellent condition and have used it as a stable for the past 20 years.I do have other stories of other barns I have owned in the past.

Robin Dorman email me! - Monday, April 10, 2000 09:05:30 PM
I just received a call froma gentleman from New Jersey who used to make a living dismantling, rebuilding and selling old barns. He has had major back surgery and can no longer do the work. He is having a fire sale. If you are interested in contacting him go to www.geocities.com/heartland/hills/4787 and look him up. It would be nice to see his hard work go to some who loves barns.

shandy email me! - Friday, April 14, 2000 02:13:28 PM
Hi everyone, i am doing a report at school and i was wondering if any of you could tell me why the traditional color of barns is red. I can't find the answer to this question anywhere. Email me if you know please. Thanx

B. Kahlbaum email me! - Monday, April 17, 2000 10:28:03 AM
I travel the lower 1/4 of Mich. and US-12 a lot; during these drive have oftain wonder why barns were painted red. I was pleased to learn that other share my curiosity. I agree with your reason for red paint being cheap.

Jay Fradd email me! - Monday, April 24, 2000 02:10:06 PM
I just wanted to say that I am an enthusiast of Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco Barns as well. It started when we used to go to my grandpa's in West Virginia, and there were three in a little section of Route 33. Ever since I have been fascinated by them and love taking road trips with my girlfriend looking for them. Although I am just 20 years old, I love to see the nostalgic barns, and am extremely happy to find any new barns. I found a lot of barns on Rt.26 near Marietta, which also has a lot of covered bridges as well. I would appreciate it if people could give me locations of their favorite Mail Pouch Tobacco Barns..THanks a lot!

ken epworth email me! - Monday, April 24, 2000 03:55:20 PM
old beams in barns should be sprayed with a wonderful product called Bora-Care. Usually you have to have an exterminator do it although it is entirely non-toxic for humqan or animals. It kill insects such as post beetle,carpenter ants,termites and mildew and prevents them from reoccuring. Best bet is two coats.This is really the only safe way to really do the job. Keeping a barn floor and beam ledges free of old hay will certainly help iinsect invasions as well. Any questions: ask barnman@sovernet.I own The Barn People in Vermont

A.Ginter email me! - Wednesday, April 26, 2000 08:16:40 AM
e-mail me! I am looking for older pictures of the Mail Pouch Tobacco barn located in Southwestern Ohio at 5777 State Route 128 (sometimes called By-Pass 50 or Hamilton-Cleves Road). It is about half-way between Miamitown, Ohio and Cleves, Ohio on State Route 128. It was painted on three sides. One side used to read Mello-Crown stogies and was painted over with Mail Pouch in the early 1960's. One side had a dot and circle and read Redman(?) or Bullseye(?). Has anyone seen pictures of this barn which show the sides? Thanks.

A. Tjorhom email me! - Wednesday, April 26, 2000 02:13:06 PM
My husband loves old barns and is interested in building a replica of the Canadian Pacific Rail Barn, Barn No. 7. This was one of a series of ready-made-buildings sold to homesteaders by the CPR company in the late 1800's. Does anyone have any idea where we could find copy of the original plan books in order to make this as authentic as possible?

Don email me! - Tuesday, May 02, 2000 04:03:14 PM
Can anyone tell me of a website that might have free barn plans? I would like to build a 24 x 24 barn. Also, how difficult would it be to dismantle an old barn? How badly will the weathered wood splinter? Don

Andrew email me! - Monday, May 08, 2000 07:43:13 AM
I am doing a paper on barns in Kentucky. I have one of two questions. (1) Can anyone tell me why the Kentucky barns were painted black? (2) I am also within my paper I am trying to find out the different types of barns that farmers used in housing tobacco. I am a 4th grader and need this information for a KY history class. Any information would be appreciated. Please e-mail me with any info. Thanks!

akeefe email me! - Thursday, May 11, 2000 07:36:54 PM
painted barns east of mississippi,west pine natural due to climate dry,less rot to wood.no need to paint beams were from fire charred trees.this was a natural preservative,wyoming mont idaho eastern or.nev less than9 in precipitation.this i learned wrangling for 4 yrs of col.now i see painted barns in mass.where ilive

Squire Steffey email me! - Thursday, May 11, 2000 07:59:39 PM
In case you haven't discovered it, there are 175 sources for Mail Pouch barns on www.google.com....I like this google!!!

Penny email me! - Wednesday, May 17, 2000 09:20:20 AM
I was wondering if anyone could tell me why barns are usually painted red. I think I know the history of that but I'm not sure!

L Martin email me! - Saturday, June 03, 2000 03:40:19 AM
The barn on our farm is rather worse for wear right now, but when it was originally built (in the early 1900's) it was red with white trim. My dad told me that the gentleman who built it also fashioned the handles and latches for the split doors. That same gentleman also built the two story addition onto the house. When my grandpa wanted the ceiling lower in the kitchen (then it's usual 10') it would have meant stepping down into the new bedroom upstairs. The barn builder wouldn't do it, because "you don't step down into the loft of a barn"... I always thought that was humorous.

sally email me! - Wednesday, June 07, 2000 11:52:12 AM
I am engaged in research on Sears Roebuck barns and farm outbuildings and would appreciate hearing from anyone who would be willing to share information on their Sears barn, as well as original paperwork related to barn or outbuilding purchase or building instructions. With thanks.

William email me! - Wednesday, June 07, 2000 07:19:11 PM
I live in Central NJ and am about to propose to my girlfriend. She grew up a city girl but always wished her family owned a barn. I'd love to give her the gift of a barn, even for just a day. If anyone out there can give some direction on how to rent or borrow a barn in either South Jersey or S.E. Pennsylvania, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Jeff Emrick email me! - Friday, June 09, 2000 07:39:37 AM
What a wonderful site you have. I am interested in what those round symbols sometime found on barns are called. I don't know enough about them to really describe them. I think they must be like a good luck symbol or something. Any ideas would be great. I do stained glass and would like to try one of those barn symbols in glass. Thanks ,Jeff

Ronny Roberts email me! - Tuesday, June 13, 2000 08:19:30 AM
I work for Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department near Charlotte NC. We have a barn on one of our properties that was built around 1950. The siding is in bad shape but the structure is sound. I am trying to find a funding source to replace the siding. If you have any ideas please help. Thanks in advance.

Neal Anthony email me! - Friday, June 16, 2000 01:41:40 AM
I love country barns, I have one here on the farm except its not holding hay or cows now, I have converted it into a place where a few of my friends (200) or more get together once a month a have nothing but a good time, we don't play much country music, we play pop etc., we have our own DJ, which makes the barn special, there's nothing like having a barn party view the web page at:http://web.infoave.net/~indigostar/

Dane Gustafson email me! - Sunday, June 25, 2000 10:00:23 PM
An excellent source for timber framing information is www.tfguild.org It is the home of the Timber Framer's Guild, devoted to the craft of traditional wooden joinery. Workshops, conferences, guild newsletters and magazine. Historical and new construction. The craft continues.

Buddy Patterson email me! - Tuesday, June 27, 2000 11:32:11 AM
Help! Trying to find a barn lettering system for advertising. Were told of a system that is a poly or styrofoan painted letter that is glued to barn roof. Ever heard of or know of a resource I might contact?

 

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