Page 54 - Demo

52Barn, Brown County (214-10)The way old barns were built has always intrigued me. Their oversized, hand-hewn timbers, mortised-and-tenoned, then pegged in place, were carefully crafted one at a time, then assembled during a barn raising by friends and neighbors or, perhaps, by a crew specializing in erecting large buildings. I%u2019m also drawn to the varied shapes of hand-made corn cribs and small outbuildings. To my eye and sense of design, some of them border on sculpture, with a pleasing balance of space, materials, form, and function. Often, when I look at these utilitarian buildings, I can sense the confidence of the builders who crafted them, and the satisfaction of the farmers who used them. Many were built to last%u2014not just for 25 years, like today%u2019s pole buildings, but for generations. And last they do, for long after their useful life has expired, they still stand, partially collapsed, riddled by termites%u2014yet possessing a quiet, well-worn dignity.