American Barn Stories: Barn Quilts & More

This third episode from the Wisconsin Public Television-aired American Barn Stories and Other Tales from the Heartlands series looks at a couple of ways that decaying and rapidly disappearing old barns can be salvaged—both in cosmetic and practical terms. Old barns were made from “rough stuff,” meant to withstand weather extremes while providing storage and shelter for animals. Bent, grey, shrinking lumber is inevitable in old barns and is a part of their charm, but it requires effort to keep the structures from collapsing. One answer is to try to interest Americans—most of whom no longer have a connection to farming—in barns again, using methods such as “barn quilting,” in which sharp-lined colorful patterns are painted onto large squares of wood and then assembled into much larger mosaics on the exterior sides of barns. The second half of the program follows several barn-salvation projects in Wisconsin, Iowa, and elsewhere, as creaky old barns are carefully lifted and transported by truck to new locations (or renewed by caring neighbors), as well as an old-fashioned barn raising using large horses. Serving up a solid slice of Americana, this is recommended. Aud: P. (T. Keogh)