Living History...

In the part of the country where I travel most often there is one frequent sight: old barns! When I first moved to the area I thought it was kind of cool, driving down the road and all of a sudden you see an old barn - and there never seems to be two that are alike. Years later, however, I have to admit that the novelty has worn off a bit and now when I pass one of these old "relics" my thought is, "Oh, just another old barn". The day I took this picture, though, things seemed a little different.

For some reason this particular barn seemed to stand out from the hundreds I have passed in recent years. Maybe because it was literally right along the side of the road and I was able to have a closer look. Then as I was taking this picture I realized: this barn was not in as bad a shape as some of the others I see. Some barns look as though they have not been used in years, while this one looked like it could have just been used earlier in the day. I was happy to see how this barn was kept up a little better than the others. I think part of the reason that most of these old buildings all blend together is becasue they are usually surrounded by trees and have caved-in roofs with broken doors. It's a little disappointing.

As I started to think about it I realized that a part of this area's history is just being left to crumble. Even if the barn was used by a simple farmer who grew a modest amount of crop, it is still a part of an industry that is changing by the day! Small, family farms seem to disappearing, and without barns and other structures standing in one piece any evidence of their existence is vanishing as well.

What happens in a few years when those half standing barns have completely fallen to the ground?

How will people know that at one point in our collective history families had to grown/raise their food in the backyard?

Now, I'm not suggesting we go out and save every free standing barn in the country, that would be next to impossible. What I am suggesting is that we start with a better appreciation for what we do have in our towns...instead of just passing by without a glance, stop for a second, and actually take a look at the living history still standing - whether it be a barn or some other structure. Once that happens, maybe the rest will fall into place...

That's the Golden Perspective...what's yours?