At The Bam
- By ANN DEVLIN
Staff Correspondent
Pinks, purples, oranges and yel-
lows blend into the snow-covered
ground. The red-orange sun dips
below the white horizon. Where, you
may wonder, is this winter land-
scape located in the heat of
summer?
It’s in “The Barn’ on Market
Street in Lehman. Stranger still,
this scene is actually a rug — a
hand-woven rag rug.
Dorothy Baker, owner of ‘‘The
Barn” sells unique, hand-crafted
items for the home. The most popu-
lar products are hand-woven rag
rugs. They come in solid colors,
multicolors, and designs — like the
“Winter Landscape,’’ mentioned
above.
The . rugs are custom-made by
Dorothy and her helpers. All rugs
are cotton or cotton blends and are
30 inches wide by any length you
desire. Room size rugs are made by
hand-sewing the strips together. The
rugs may be either fringed or bound
on the ends, and stair carpeting is
available.
“We guarantee satisfaction,’ Dor-
othy says proudly. When customers
order large rugs, Dorothy insists on
seriding them a foot long sample so
the customers can make changes
and see what they're getting.
One visit to The Barn will assure
you there is more to buy than just
rag rugs. The Barn offers an inter-
esting assortment of shag rag rugs,
hand-stenciled items, pillows, pot-
tery, placemats, napkins, and can-
dles. The rugs, placemats, and nap-
kins can be custom made to
coordinate with each other or with
the drapes and wall color of your
home.
Dorothy creates her own designs
Rag rugs
for the hand-stenciled items. Naomi
Nuss, who is ‘‘skillfully trained,"
according to Mrs. Baker, does the
stencil cutting and applying. The
hand-stenciled rugs are available in
designs such as tulips, field flowers,
mallard ducks, sandpipers, birds,
and wild roses. Mrs. Baker claims
the hand-stenciled items have cre-
ated a lot of interest.
Steneil equipment can be pur-
chased at The Barn for those who
are trained in the art of stencil
applying. Dorothy is interested in
starting stenciling classes for the
public this fall. If interested, call
The Barn at 675-4232.
Mrs. Baker’s business, which
started as just rag rugs almost four
years ago, has now blossomed into a
home decorator’s paradise.
As Dorothy explains, originally
The Barn was just a mail-order
business. Gradually, however, local
people heard about it and now
patronize it quite regularly. Most of
Dorothy's transactions are still
through the mail, as she deals with
Marine Private First Class Jack
Lewis Givens Jr., United States
Marine Corps, graduated from
recruit training at Parris Island,
South Carolina.
He is the son of Jack L. Givens
Sr., and Beverly Ann Stuart Givens,
315 Bunker Hill Road, Kingston
Township.
After spending 16 days with his
parents, Private ‘Givens has
reported to Marine Corps Base,
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, for
advanced infantry training school
and is stationed at 3rd Battalion
Sixth Marines.
He is a graduate of Dallas Senior
High School Class of 1982. Prior to
enlising in the Marine Corps last
January, he was employed by Sub-
urban Publishers, Exeter.
Private Givens, is the grandson of
Mrs. Iris Jones Givens, E. Bennett
St., Kingston.
Private Givens’ sister, Mrs. Char-
lene Lynnette Givens Ford, has
completed the four year course and
recently graduated from Valley
~ Forge Christian College, Phoenix-
ville, Pa., with a Bachelor of Sci-
ence Degree in the Bible. She was
PFC JACK GIVENS
also awarded an Evangelical Teach-
ers degree.
Following the commencement,
Mrs. Ford was honored at a dinner
party hosted by her parents, Jack
and Beverly Ann Stuart Givens,
Bunker Hill, at Collegeville Inn.
While in college, Mrs. Ford was a
member of the Chapel Choir. She is
a 1980 graduate of Dallas High
School.
Her husband, Laurence Allen
Ford, of Indiana, is a 1983 graduate
and now I get
all the local
- news
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Name
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MRS. CHARLENE FORD
of Valley Forge Christian College
with a Bachelor of Science degree.
Whiel a student, he was a member
of and traveled with the Concert
Choir. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ford are
co-leaders in European Outreach
Missions and received degrees in
Pastoral Ministry.
Mr. and Mrs. Ford celebrated
their second wedding anniversary
on May 22. At present, they are
residing on the college campus.
Mrs. Ford is the granddaughter of
Mrs. Iris Jones Givens, E. Bennett
St., Kingston.
gn
er
CNY Welcome
: Baby
~~
The recent arrival of the newest
member of your household is the
perfect time to arrange for a
WELCOME WAGON call.
I'm your WELCOME WAGON
representative and my basket is full
of free gifts for the family. Plus lots
of helpful information on the
special world of babies.
Call now and let’s celebrate your
baby. 675-0350
Hetome gon
out-of-state decorators for the most
part. Mrs. Bakers’ rugs have been
shipped. as far as Hawaii and
Europe.
Items from The Barn have been
displayed in out-of-state decorator
show houses. More recently, Mrs.
Baker participated in the Decora-
tor’s Show House in Sutton Hills
sponsored by the Junior League of
Wilkes-Barre. The Barn exhibited
rag rugs in the kitchen, stenciled
rugs in the laundry room and rag
rugs for the pool house.
From the outside, The Barn looks
like a calm, serene country retreat.
But actually, there is a lot going on
inside. Mrs. Baker receives 30 to 40
requests for literature each day.
The paperwork keeps her so busy,
she employes anywhere from two to
five weavers, ‘depending on how
busy they are.
Part of Dorothy's success can be
attributed to advertising. She
worked in an advertising agency
most of her life and realizes the
value of an ad. The Barn is adver-
tised in national home decorating
publications such as ‘‘Colonial
Homes" and “Country Living.”
The Barn evolved after Dorothy
retired from the advertising busi-
ness.
“I was retired for about two
weeks, but couldn't stand it,” she
said. That's when she was inspired
to start weaving rag rugs. Dorothy
noticed that rag rugs were popular
in home decorating magazines, so
she decided to learn how to weave
them. Although she had never
woven rugs before, she picked up
the craft quite readily. She had
always been interested in the arts,
and has taken art classes and done
watercolors in the past.
“Lots of times people have hob-
bies they can make into small
businesses,'’ says Mrs. Baker. “I've
got a lot of satisfaction and pleasure
out of this,’ she adds.
The decor of The Barn reflects
Mrs. Baker’s home decorating inter-
ests. The wooden walls and natural
atmosphere of The Barn make a
perfect setting for the earthenware
pottery and cotton rugs. Dried flow-
ers and woven baskets also blend
right into the rustic surroundings.
The setting of The Barn is also
ideal for the Baker's other business
— Back Mountain Wood Stoves.
Mrs. Baker's son, Gary Baker, is
Handmade
also responsible for the success of
both ventures. \
Even on vacation, Mrs. Baker
can't stop thinking about business,
She recently took a trip to France,
enjoys her work so much she °
couldn’t help looking for interesting
ideas to bring back home. “I found
lovely cotton prints on handbags
and carry-alls in Southern France,’
says Dorothy with a glint in her eye.
Who knows what beautiful, unique
items will turn up next in The
Barn?
Mrs. Phyllis Hiller, Valley View
Park, Dallas, announces the
engagement and approaching mar-
riage of her daughter, Holly Peters
to Jeffry Hirst, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Allan Hirst of Hutchinson, Kansas.
Miss Peters, daughter of David
Peters, Tunkhannock, is a graduate
of Dallas Senior High School and
Temple University with a Bachelors
degree in Mathematics. She is pres-
ently a Research Assistant working
on a Ph.D. in Mathematics at Penn
State University, University Park.
Mr. Hirst, a graduate of Kansas
University, is presently a Graduate
THE
Assistant also working on a Ph.D. in
Mathematics at Penn State Univer-
sity.
The wedding is set for August 18
at Eisenhower Chapel, University
Park. The couple will reside in
Toftrees Complex, State College.
The following area residents have
anounced births recently:
A daughter to BETSY AND
MICHAEL TRIBENDIS, RD 5, Box
350AD, Shavertown, on July 6 in
Nesbitt Memorial Hospital, Kings-
ton.
A son to ALLISON AND BRUCE
DANOFF, 133 Warden Ave., Trucks-
ville, on July 5 in Nesbitt Memorial
Hospital, Kingston.
Polaroid
sponsors
contest
Attention, proud parents. Is there
a budding Richard Avedon or Mar-
garet Bourke-White at your house?
Polaroid Corporation is looking
for the best in children's instant
photography for Young Expres-
sions, its third annual photo compe-
tition for young people. Boys and
girls in kindergarten through 12th
grade are eligible, and those whose
pictures are selected will receive a
new Polaroid instant camera.
The 50 winning photographs will
tour children’s museums and art
centers around the country as part
of Polaroid’s Young Expressions
exhibition.
Judging criteria will be original-
ity, creativity, and visual appeal;
subject matter is open. The current
exhibit features a variety of themes.
Previous winning photographers
have climbed trees, poked their
cameras down man-holes, and
crawled on the ground alongside
family pets to get their unusual
pictures. Other youngsters relied on
tried-and-true subjects, such as sun-
sets and siblings, but captured them
with a warmth and freshness that
delighted judges.
Entry deadline for Polaroid’s
Third Annual Young - Expressions’
Photo Competition is September 15,
1984. Entries should be taken with a
Polaroid camera, (any model), and
submissions must include the
youngster’s name, address, age, tel-
ephone number, school and school
addrees on a separate piece of
paper. Mail entries to Young
Expressions, Polaroid Corporation,
575 Technology Square, Cambridge,
MA 02139.
A son to DEBRA ANN AND KEN-
NETH KERTESZ, 30 Harford Ave.,
Shavertown, on July 5 in Nesbitt
Memorial Hospital, Kingston.
A daughter of DENISE AND
CHRISTOPHER YANCHIK, RD 3,
Lot 26, Dallas, on June 29 in NPW
Medical Center, Plains Township.
A daughter to REBECCA AND
THOMAS PARRY, RD 2, Box 195,
Dallas, on June 30 in Nesbitt Memo-
rial Hospital, Kingston.
¢
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