it— Lancaster Firmiim, Saturday, March 17,1979 As I write this, I'm sitting on a padded chair in a heated office, but I'm not convinced that this is more comfortable than a hay bale in the dairy barn or a place near the old potbelly stove down at the machinery shop. I like the secure, warm, and satisfying feeling that the barn and shops offer. The winds of March may be giving us one last blast of Winter, but indoors we can feel as snug as a bug in a rug. I've often stood by a window of the barn, staring out at frozen mud, electrical wires dancing in the wind, naked trees bending to the will of the storm, and loose sheets of tin flapping on the roof. And I've felt the Those old places never did impress bone-chilling gusts try to bore their me as a place of business, but they way through each and every crack sure had an atmosphere that was around the windows. It's a cold, uniquely their own. They were more uninviting scene. 1 than a place of business. They were a To realize then that I’m standing in gathering place - where tales were a barn warmed by 40 Holsteins and told and tobacco was spit. What's scented by the pleasant odors of hay, more, they were a nice warm place to straw, silage, the cows themselves, * kill a little time if you were so in and even manure -is most satisfying. dined. It's a nice place to be, especially Big picture windows, shelves filled when it’s cold and windy outside. super-market style with lots of goods, We were always reminded of the and nearly spotless floors just don’t warmth of the barn every time we have the same flavor as the old carried milk to the adjoining milk stores that were warmed by potbelly house. We’d set one of the full stoves and unshaven farmers in buckets down, push a sliding door to overalls comparing Spring plans. The the side, and be greeted by a blast of farmers, soiled wooden floors and wind that chilled the cheeks and sent wood-fired stoves have a character - a cloud’of lime to the opposite end of all their own. In some places the the barn. We always tried to close that door as quickly as we could to keep the cold Jrorri intruding any more than absolutely necessary. The family dog and a whole herd of barn cats liked the stable too. They all had favorite resting places on the straw or hay that was stacked by the wall and ready for use that evening. Talk about warmth and comfort, those four-legged friends of ours were the ones who really had it made. ' > - Not to be forgotten on a list of favorite places in the Winter time is the feed store or farm machinery dealership that still has a foot in an age that is rapidly disappearing. service wasnjj always' the bbst, but 'and’ drug stores. (Sophisticated the place was warm nonetHefess m ' equipment, with high price tags is on more ways than one. display,' and, computer terminals The trends of modern farming and agribusiness are causing some of the old "personalities" of the business to go by the wayside, I’m sorry to say. More and more, the warm stan chion barn is being replaced with cold free-stall units. The thick stohe walls and heavy timers are gone on many farms. They had character and warmth. Two-by-fours and sheets of tin are cheaper, but they also lack the comfort and security feeling I used to know. Farm stores are looking more and more" like automobile dealerships have taken the place of parts books that were a yard or more wide. Gone ■ is the overturned bar/el by the stove where ofd-timers had for- years battlecTfor dominance in the world of checkers, political opinion, and tractor colors. It goes without argument that these new, modern places of business are probably more efficient and impressive. But like many of those new barns, they haven’t yet acquired that unique character that offers a special sense of belonging because thaVs what we have known all our lives.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers