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National Barn Alliance conference coming to KansasBy Doug Rich
Everyone who grew up on a farm has fond memories of the barn on that farm. Those memories probably include something about hay and hot summer days. If you are interested in old barns and their restoration for future generations to enjoy, there are two events this summer that might interest you. The National Barn Alliance will be holding its annual conference and tour in Kansas this year. The conference is scheduled for June 10 to 12 in Atchison, Kan., and will include a barn tour in Doniphan County on June 12. This will be the fourth national barn conference, and it is being hosted by the Kansas Barn Alliance. Sally Hatcher, a member of the KBA, said previous conference sites included Pleasant Hill, Ky.; Kutztown, Pa.; and Albany, N.Y. Conference sessions will be held at the Atchison Heritage Center. Charles Leik, NBA president, and Susie Haver, KBA president, will welcome conference attendees on June 10. This will be followed by a presentation on northeast Kansas history. On the second day of the conference there will be sessions on rural revival and barn preservation, a Kansas barn survey, giving old barns a new job, barn adaptations, and marketing family farm products. The guest speaker on June 11 will be Darrin Rubino, Ph.D., from Hanover College in Madison, Ind. Rubino uses dendrochronology to date historic buildings by studying the timbers used in construction. The tour on June 12 will feature six byre and buff barns in Doniphan County. Additional stops include a repair project by Trillium Dell Timberworks, the George Putnam Washburn courthouse in Troy, and a pre-1859 home in Troy that was visited by Abraham Lincoln during his presidential campaign. If the national conference and tour don't satisfy your curiosity about barns, you can get a head start by attending a Timber Frame Barn Repair Workshop June 6 to 10 in Doniphan County. Sally Hatcher said the KBA, the Kansas State Historical Society, Trillium Dell Timberworks, Doniphan County Certified Local Government, and the Staudenmaier Family Trust will hold a hands-on barn repair workshop near Troy, Kan. Workshop attendees will be repairing an 1870s barn. Scheduled repair work includes sill repair, bent alignment, restoration of post integrity, repair of girt, replacement of siding and battens as needed, sistering rotten rafters, joist repair, and other items. This workshop, which is partially funded by the Historic Preservation Fund, will be limited to 20 participants. If you have appropriate tools for the job, bring them along. Appropriate tools would include: a hammer, carpenter's pouch, pry bar, nail puller, measuring tape, hand saw, circular saw, sawzall, impact driver, chalk line, and steel toe shoes. Trillium Dell Timberworks is one of the largest timber frame shops in the Midwest that uses traditional handcrafted joinery. Trillium Dell Timberworks has done numerous barn restoration projects including the pre-Civil War Gindler Barn in Collinsville, Ill., and an 1880s red pine frame barn near Dekalb, Ill. The historic beef barn at the University of Illinois was dismantled and re-erected at the Piatt County Museum in Monticello, Ill., by Trillium Dell Timberworks. If you would like to learn more about king posts, quoins, and straining beams, consider attending one or both of these barn restoration events. Editor's note: For more information on the conference, tour, or workshop, go to www.kansasbarnalliance.org or contact Sally Hatcher at sdhatcher@ks.rr.com or Susie Haver at maggiejunes@yahoo.com. Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304 or by e-mail at richhpj@aol.com.
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