Barn Lover's Valentine

It was the evening before Valentine’s Day, 2007.  I had been looking forward to this night for two months.  I was going to be meeting an older man for the first time.  We were brought together by a newspaper clipping.  A phone call in December set the stage for this rendezvous at the Cracker Barrel near Hamburg, just off Interstate 78.  I was looking forward to getting to know this man who was an intriguing character with a distinguished voice.  “How will I know you?” I asked.  He described himself as he hung up the phone after our initial conversation.  I anticipated the thrill I would have in getting to know him better.

Throughout the day, I watched as the snowflakes fell more furiously toward the already snow-covered ground.  The inches were accumulating, and I began to worry that my meeting with this stranger was not going to be happen.  My apprehension increased as the forecast shifted from snow to freezing rain and ice.  I decided this date would have to wait.  I could hear the relief in his voice as we both agreed we were wiser to cancel our date than be caught somewhere on a snow-slicked highway.

Both of our spouses breathed sighs of relief as 80-year-old Bob Ensminger and I hung up the phones.  Neither of us would be venturing out onto treacherous roads this evening.  Our decision proved to be quite fortunate in hindsight after this winter storm closed Interstate 78 for days.  People were stuck in their cars with no where to go.  Bob and I would have been part of the pile-up of cars and trucks.

Our meeting on that historic eve was planned to talk about our love for historic barns.  Ensminger, who is the well-known author and expert on the Pennsylvania Barn, had sought me out after reading a news article in the Allentown Morning Call about the survey I had done as chairman of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.  As a result of a very unscientific sampling, the Center had received more than 1,000 responses from farmers and barn owners who wanted to tell us about their barns.  Our focus was on barns built before 1960.  As far as I was concerned, that was the turning-point year when metal buildings started to spring up on farmsteads.

The Center’s survey confirmed that Pennsylvania has a wealth of old barns of various styles, some several centuries old.  They are still in pretty good shape, for the most part.  The majority are still being used as integral parts of the farm operation, even though some feel these timber-framed structures are obsolete and no longer useful.  My goal is to keep them standing where they were originally raised.  They are still icons of our agrarian heritage, and can be an economic resource for the owners without dismembering the timbers and selling them for other uses.

The media picked up on the Center’s survey report and articles about Pennsylvania’s historic barns began to appear in major newspapers across the country.  Interested folks kept calling my legislative office to find out more information on how Pennsylvania was planning to save these rural landmarks.  I was asked to speak at a national meeting of preservation organizations in the fall of 2006, just before my seven terms in the legislature was coming to an end.  It was satisfying to know that my legislative accomplishments involving these wonderful old barns had captured the attention of barn enthusiasts from across the country.

This coverage is what brought Bob and me together.  My final day in Harrisburg had come and gone, but Bob’s persistence in following leads eventually tracked me down at my farmhouse.  He began the telephone conversation by saying “You don’t know me, but my name is Robert Ensminger!”  I nearly fell over when I heard this pronouncement from the caller.  This was the man whose book rested prominently on my living room’s coffee table.

As I propped myself up against the wall to keep from falling over from shock, I told Bob that I absolutely knew who he was and had both editions of his book. Bob said he heard I wanted to create a statewide organization to help preserve old barns.  I told him this was a huge dream and I was only one person and wasn’t sure I was up to the enormous task.  Bob offered to help me achieve this goal.  We agreed to meet soon.   I needed some time to wrap up commitments I had made before retiring from the legislature, attend my daughter’s graduation from Kansas State University, and get farm chores that had been put off for 14 years completed.  Launching a non-profit to save barns was not on my radar screen at that point.  We agreed to meet after the holidays and picked the evening before Valentine’s Day for our first of many meetings to organize the Historic Barn and Farm Foundation of Pennsylvania.

In less than a year, we have grown our ranks from the original duo of Ensminger and Miller to include volunteers from across the Commonwealth.  We have also attracted the attention of the National Barn Alliance, and will be co-hosting the national conference on historic barns in June.  From the 5^th to the 7^th, historic barn buffs will have the opportunity to learn more about these amazing buildings.  A full day of lectures will take place on Friday, followed by a dinner featuring centenarian author John Heyl, along with Ensminger and others whose experience is unmatched.  On Saturday, Bob and another HBFF director, Greg Huber, will be leading a tour of historic barns in the Oley Valley of Berks County.  Watch for registration details on our website: www.pahistoricbarns.org.

The HBFF of PA is a work in progress.  We’ve come a long way since the Valentine winter storm.  We’ve developed a standard survey form for folks to complete and return to record their barns and tell each structure’s story.  Bylaws and membership brochures added to our creative work load.  Our Board of Directors continues to grow and represent the diverse regions of our Commonwealth.

Despite a slight Valentine’s Eve delay, the Historic Barn and Farm Foundation’s road to recording the history of Pennsylvania’s historic barns is open and ready for barn lovers everywhere to travel in the months and years ahead.  Let’s make it a date for June 5-7, 2008 to meet in Kutztown, Berks County.  There’s no snow in the forecast!

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