Barns

A little while ago I was talking to an old-timer who grew up in Underhill. We were reminiscing about the old days here in town. He went back further in time than I do. He was asking about the barns on our property. Well, the house is gone and the big barn is gone. I think it collapsed from the weight of snow in a big storm in the 1960s. Gael had a Citroen in it. The little barn is the only one still standing. I can remember how excited we would get when we discovered someone’s name or initials written on a board inside.

I’ve started to take notice of barns in my wanderings. Some have been lovingly restored and painted, some have not. Then there are the ones that are falling down in a heap. So sad to see. They were probably well maintained at one time. The owners got too old to take care of them, died, or they got to be too expensive to keep up. Property taxes came first. Some were taken down and replaced with newer ones, usually on a farm.

Just thinking about the barns here in Underhill. On one stretch of road, two were taken down and replaced with new ones by farmers, one just collapsed, and two were destroyed by fire never to be replaced. I’ve seen old photos of barns, usually with the family standing and sitting in front, often with a dog and sometimes a horse.

On occasion, an old-timer will remember the barn and family and share such interesting stories about the people who lived there. I remember back in the ‘60s, there was a big storm and tin roofing was flying everywhere. A day or two after that, folks were going around picking up the roofing that landed in the fields. Some belonged to them; some didn’t. Recycling, for sure.

Once in a while, I’d hear about a small barn being moved from one location to another. That would have been interesting to see. A lot of sweat, blood and tears went into the building of these barns, and I find it quite sad to see so many of them disappearing, never to be replaced. I have a photo of our big barn that is now gone that I took many years ago. No one would even guess that there was a barn standing in that location if you didn’t grow up here.