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More barns can be found here.
That first picture always reminds me of Dad playing his guitar or banjo and singing this song. Of course, I've said that before.
Slow down and enjoy your surroundings.
3 hours ago
Saturday, February 20, 2016
The Barn Collective
I'm not sure if The Barn Collective has any rules aside from posting barns. I could have asked ahead of time, but I'm pretty sure you won't mind me posting these drawings from my dad.
Like our brothers before us, when my sisters and I were little girls, a favorite after supper activity was to sit around the table with Dad and draw. Dad made drawing fun. His people and animals were stiff and awkward looking, but he drew the best trains, ships, and barns. Thankfully, some of them have been preserved through the years.
I think most of the time Dad drew whatever came into his head at the moment, but I believe this particular drawing was actually from a farm owned by one of his grandpas or an uncle. I used to know, but my memory fails me now. I once copied it in pen and ink for a high school art class.
As a child my father spent many hours "on the farm." His paternal grandpa owned a place on Creek Street in Penfield, NY and his maternal grandfather and uncles had farms in and around Angelica, NY in Allegheny County. He dreamed of being a farmer himself when he grew up, but his dream never came to fruition. Instead he and Mom bought a little ranch style home in a small tract of houses and stayed there for 50 years. He might not have had animals, other than cats and dogs, but he had a magnificent vegetable garden.
I never lived on a working farm but loved our trips to visit Uncle Joe Shafer on his dairy farm in Caneadea, NY. There was a barn full of cows, a bunch of chickens, some cats, and a pack of hideous hounds. Uncle Joe let me taste fresh milk from the cooler in the milk house and I loved Sunday afternoon walks in Aunt Sharkey's flower garden. There was always corn on the cob for supper and plenty of attention from the older cousins. And somehow I learned to love the smell of cows even if stepping over the trenches in the cow barn was a bit treacherous.
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More barns can be found here.
That first picture always reminds me of Dad playing his guitar or banjo and singing this song. Of course, I've said that before.
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More barns can be found here.
That first picture always reminds me of Dad playing his guitar or banjo and singing this song. Of course, I've said that before.
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What a great memory of you and your dad. That time spent around the table drawing together was a real gift. And the notebooks are a treasure.
ReplyDeleteYes, every drawing is a treasure as well as the memories. He is sorely missed.
DeleteWhat warm, fuzzy memories you must have of sitting at the table with paper and drawing materials! And it's great you still have some of the drawings!
ReplyDeleteWarm and fuzzy. That might be how I'd describe most of my memories with Dad.
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Oh, Martha. I am such a sentimentalist and that video brought me to tears. The pictures were wonderful and the words to the song so poignant. When he sang about the angel coming to care for the place it broke my heart. I can;t help but wonder if it was the story of his life. I am going to research it and see if I can buy some of his music from iTunes. The story of your daddy and his sketches also touched me deeply. I have started doing this with my only granddaughter and it is SO meaningful. I have posted her sitting in my bed sketching just recently. I do this all the time. It is so therapeutic. For you to not have her lived on a farm, you certainly know all about it and what the life of a farmer really is. Loved the sketches and cannot think of a better way to end an evening meal that to sit at the table putting the pictures from one’s head onto paper. So glad you still have some of them. Maybe in the future more of them will reappear. I surely hope so. genie
ReplyDeleteSome things in life are priceless in value. So many of them are memories. You will bless your granddaughter in ways you can't even imagine and for the rest of her life.
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Rules? I hate rules, but love to break them...all is good. Interesting about the farm on Creek Street; a neighbor's daughter and son-in-law have a small produce farm on Creek Street. Caneadea and Angelica areas I frequent often. What wonderful family treasures you are sharing. Bring on more please.
ReplyDeleteUncle Joe lived walking distance from the Genesee River, probably on East River Rd.as I recall once walking to a store with Sally Sue or Sharon. After the floods of Hurricane Agnes the river bank was washed away and there was the nightmarish sight (to a small child anyway) of the bridge jutting out over the water but going nowhere as the bank had been washed away.
DeleteOn second thought, Council House Rd looks more accurate. The barn has been added to but the old milk hose looks to still be there. On my next drive to Allegany County, I'm going to drive past there.
DeleteWhat a grand post - love the drawings and the stories. As an adult we rented a farmnhouse - got the barn too and our kids had such fun in there - we rented out stalls to people with horses and there was even a pond in the pasture where we could ice skate in the winter - in Kansas. I enjoyed this post so much.
ReplyDeleteThank you, JoAnn. There is a little piece of me that would love to acquire a few animals and another part that isn't sure she wants to head out to the barn when the subzero temperatures close in in February. ha ha!
DeleteWonderful that you've kept the drawings along with your memories---treasures.
ReplyDeleteThey are wonderful to have.
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Wonderful that you have these drawings and are willing to share them with all of us!
ReplyDeleteThe only thing more wonderful would be to have them gathered into a children's book with a story to go along.
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I love these drawings. What treasures they are now. So glad we have several.
ReplyDeleteMe too. We should collect them up and print a book for next Christmas.
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