Ohio Barn (upon discovering a barn on an ancestor’s forgotten homestead)
Fingers run down bent beams
To touch twisted nails;
Tracing swirled wood grain scenes
Revealed in faded paint by wind’s assail.
Eyes pursue sagging timber
Upward through broken stairs;
Searching vainly the chamber
For some trace of former owner’s care.
Ears bend to creak and groan
Of tired gates and door;
Swinging on hinges like lone
Leaves grasping limbs misdt storm’s roar.
Fivefold senses contemplate
Wood, steel, corrugated roof;
But long for only sensate
Touch, glance, voice, tangible proof
That ancient photos are true roots.
Jon Trainer
Here is a collection of barn shots. Included are pictures of an ancestor's barn I discovered in Meigs County, Ohio. You can still make out the name "Trainer" on the barn door. The Trainers settled on this homestead in 1835, built this particular barn in 1926, and finally left the farm in 1949. No one along my side of the family knew this place existed until I discovered it a couple years ago. What a find! I only wish I could talk to the men and women who made their livelihood within these walls.
Jon, have you had a search done on the property to see if it still has ties to your family? It would be an interesting thing if somehow the family still owned that farm!
BTW, nice pics!
Posted by: Doug | November 29, 2005 at 01:18 PM