Wayne barns: Beautiful symbols of bygone days

Documenting a disappearing way of life

By SANDY LONG

WAYNE COUNTY, PA — What do a library administrator (Molly Rodgers), an arts professional (Tamara Murray), a barn restorer (Paul Weatherall), two photographers (Michel Legrand and Robert Townsend), a retired farmer’s daughter (Linda Dix Lee) and a humanities scholar (Roger D. Abrahams) have in common? A love of old barns and a reverence for what they represent: the indomitable spirit of America and its agricultural heritage.

The striking, if sere, structures seem to symbolize a way of life that is uniquely American. “The old barn represents our shared history, with an emotional, not just an economic element. It’s a symbol of what we don’t want to see disappear, but indeed, are at great risk of losing,” said Rodgers.

In an effort to document the most at-risk barns still standing in Wayne County today, this team has been collecting information and taking photographs of old barns throughout the county. Funded by a 2006 PA Humanities Council grant, the project is a cooperative effort between the Wayne County Library and the Wayne County Arts Alliance. The creation of a website at www.saveourbarns.org was also funded.

The photos have been assembled into a traveling exhibit that appears at the J.B. Park Farm Museum located at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Honesdale, through Saturday, August 11.

Committee member Linda Dix Lee was born and raised on a Wayne County farm in Pleasant Mount. Her family is still connected to the farming industry through her brother who operates a dairy farm in Wayne County. Dix Lee has watched with increasing distress as farms disappear throughout the county. “Farmers can’t afford to stay in the business. Young farmers can’t afford to open farms, with skyrocketing real estate prices and falling milk prices,” said Dix Lee.

“Through the project, we’re hoping to bring attention to the urgency of this situation, to make as many people aware as possible, that we are losing these structures along with the way of life that they represent,” said Dix Lee. “The rush is on to preserve these farms.”

As happened with Dix Lee’s father’s farm, sometimes the buyer possesses the resources to preserve the farm and restore or maintain its structures. But far too often, a barn is simply razed and burned—a practice Dix Lee considers one of the worst outcomes, since barns can be disassembled and their parts salvaged for uses such as repairing other barns or constructing new homes or buildings. Today, some artists and craftsmen prize the aged wood and its rich beauty for use in creative works.

Phase two: Preserving the past one story at a time

Rodgers administers the grant that funded the first phase of the project. According to Rodgers, the committee hopes to continue the project by capturing the stories of generational farm families. To complete this phase, volunteers are being sought to collect interviews from willing farm families. The oral histories will be archived in partnership with the Wayne County Historical Society. “Those stories will go away soon, too,” said Rodgers. “The question is: can we capture them before it’s too late?”

Part of the challenge in preserving a farm-based way of life lies in the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Today’s farms might sell a broader mix of vegetables, fruits, baked goods, cheeses, ice cream or unique new fibers such as alpaca, while offering other farm amenities like pick-your-own patches and corn mazes. Other farm structures are being preserved as antique shops, art studios and even homes.

Rodgers still smiles when she relates the story of how a barn that she and her husband owned years ago in Hawley, was dismantled and relocated, piece by piece atop Volkswagen busses, by Rip and Judy Bodman. The local artists created a spacious studio out of the recycled timbers, giving the old barn a new future as a creative space in Blooming Grove.

“We obviously can’t save all the barns. But we can document them,” said Rodgers. “We want people to contact us with information about barns that they own, or barns that they see as they drive through the county.”

These icons of rural life offer living lessons in architecture, history and farm life. “People care about these structures and their landscapes. They foster a sense of community pride and help to connect us to our past,” said Rodgers.

For Dix Lee, the effort to salvage what remains can’t happen soon enough. “We can’t change progress, but urban areas are creeping closer all the time. One day, we’ll wake up and say, ‘Why didn’t we work harder to preserve these farms?’”

To report a Wayne County barn for possible documentation, to volunteer to conduct interviews or to be interviewed for the next phase of the project, contact Rodgers at the Wayne County Public Library at 570/253-1220. Visit www.saveourbarns.org for more information.

See them before they’re gone

The “Save Our Barns” photographic exhibit appears at the Wayne County Farm Museum on the Wayne County Fairgrounds through Saturday, August 11. Following the fair, the exhibit will be on display at the Newfoundland Area Public Library. It will return to Honesdale for a stint at the Wayne County Public Library.

In celebration of the ongoing effort to preserve Wayne County’s barns, an old-time music event is being scheduled at the farm museum on October 14th from approximately 3:00 to 8:30 p.m. featuring square dancing, bluegrass and fiddle music. The public is encouraged to attend.