Searching for our dream house, we never thought we wanted a place with a barn. We were looking for a house, not a farm with four buildings. Once we bought the farm, we knew it had hidden potential, but we never imagined the wonderful adventure we would have. Our historical barn entertains family gatherings, garden club events, weddings, square dances, men’s cookouts, hen parties and all sorts of hootenannies. The upper area of the barn called the haymow is where it all happens.
As you can see, there were lots of improvements to the barn. The hay loft had no floor, just a few boards thrown here and there. We took it all down and built a new loft, floor, stairs, and railings. We used rough-cut pine timbers, freshly cut from my cousin’s woods. He cut the wood with his own sawmill. We put up the black curtains to cover up storage. Behind the curtains are a couple of hundred chairs that were going to be thrown away, but someone rescued them and gave them to us. They have been very helpful, especially when we have activities in the barn. Also, our friends borrows them when they need chairs for their parties.
There were two wood braces that were attached to the floor about five feet out. Hubby thought they were in the way for any activity in the barn. He asked my cousin to move them. The braces were attached high on the side wall and out of the way. Also, half of the floor was replaced, which made for a nice, smooth floor. The other half has the original wood.
As we were restoring the farm, we found lots of stuff. Most of the stuff went to the road for the trash man to pick up. There was a lot of stuff that we recycled. There was also a lot of wood that was not worth saving, so we burned it. My son Matthew saved somewhat good old wood and piled it out behind the barn. Over the years people would stop in and ask if they could have some of the wood. We were glad to share.
There were also things that we just couldn’t throw away. We saved them, wondering what we could do with it. One day I get this idea to hang the things up in the barn for display. Mostly to get it off the floor and out of the way.
I had a neighbor who was my partner in crime who volunteered to hold my ladder while I hung the treasures. She was my helper who handed me nails, hammers, and items. She also would check to see if things looked good before I would crawl down the ladder. It took us a few days, but we were very pleased with our accomplishment.
When we were clearing out the attic in the house, we found a picture of a gentleman. It was all dusty, upside down on a board, way in the back. We asked people from the Twinsburg Historical Society if someone would know who this gentleman was. They didn’t. Leon thought it might have been the hired man who helped his grandfather build the barn. But he didn’t know for sure. I just couldn’t toss this picture out. So, I hung him in the barn. He watches over all the activities that go on.
