A Giant Comes Down

My first emotional response was sadness. Not that the barn was going down so much; it was happening so fast. I know that it needs to occur.

I think it is just another stage in the process of grieving Dad. Dad was once a strong man and then he got old and weak. It is just sobering to think how life is so temporal. Like men, strong, good, useful barns get old.

I am also reminded that something that takes a long time to build and such care is poured into, can come down so quickly. It is not a new lesson—just something that we never get used to in life.

Dad was a good dad and he loved his barn. We have many good memories of living and enjoying the farm, but all of our barn memories are tied to Dad.

It was easier emotionally when we started examining the project and observing how it was happening. The siding is all coming down very quickly.

Just four friendly men and this one machine are doing all of the work.

The work goes fast at this point. During the short time that we watched much was accomplished. Here is the north side.

The men are going to put the sign in the little garage for us to keep but I don’t know who will want it. My first hubby, Dale, painted it and we gave it to Dad as a Christmas gift in 1979.

I asked the men working if they were afraid to walk in the barn for fear that it would fall on them. They said that the barn was solid and would not be dangerous for a few more days. They chuckled when I said, “Really? We have been afraid to walk in the barn for over a year!”

I asked how old they thought the barn was. They did not know for sure but showed us a carving on the wall—J.R. 1922. Dad bought the farm in 1954 at an auction from Rufenachts so we will need to ask that family if they know who J.R. would have been.

By Tuesday or Wednesday, the roof will come down. The workers will get as much of the roof as possible with the fork and then take two large beams. Everything will fall to the center of the barn. If any of you are near the Archbold, Ohio area, I think that would be interesting to see. Perhaps the workers enjoyed an audience or were sympathetic to the feelings we had about seeing the barn come down. They told us we were welcome to come out whenever we wanted. The process of sorting and cleaning will take probably two weeks. That is the slow grunt work.

Here are a few more pictures.

Good-by barn.

Postscript

Here are some other old blog posts about the farm and Dad written in the past year.

Bone Cold
Not a Barn Dance

A Humble Walk

Now and Then

Literally and Figuratively

Press On

Don’t Blink