More than a Barn

For centuries the big red barn on Young Road outside of New Castle, PA has stood as a land mark for people. Whether making their way to Camp Agawam or down to Slippery Rock Creek; it was what people looked for. For the last 30 plus years it has been more than that. While the farm was more than the barn, it seemed to be the barn that countless teens, family members, and friends remember the most. During the seventies when Charles and Judy first moved their family there, it was Tillia’s Appaloosas, where they offered boarding, breeding and trail riding. Back then Camp Agawam wasn’t used as much as it is now and with the permission of the caretaker then, the Tillia’s cleared the majority of trails the boy scouts now use.
While many people from Pittsburgh and other areas would come out for an hour trail ride they also had teens from different Christian camps that would come and camp out on the farm and ride the horses. Most summers their horses would be seen riding through McConnell’s Mills and Hells Hollow where people would crowd around to see and pet them. Yet the farm was even more than that especially for those growing up around them that spent most of their childhood there at the farm during the summer months.
As the kids grew up it was where their kids and their kid’s friends and youth groups that would spend the summers there. With grand-kids aged from 25 down to 3 years old one could imagine the number of kids who have come through this farm and how many are still yet to come. Of course things did change over the years. The old machinery garage blew down years ago and Mom and Dad had a lake put in and a sand volleyball court but the one staple had always been that big red barn. As each grandchild grew a new group of kids would take their turns at using that barn as their fort or play friend. It was always there for them as a giant comforter, a place to retreat to during difficult times. As the years went by the horses were replaced by goats which could be seen following Dad around the fence lines as he checked the fence and as the younger grand-kids came along the goats began producing their 4-H projects, making January and February an exciting time as the new babies would arrive and each grandchild hurriedly made their way into that barn to choose their new project.
In the last couple of years horses had once again made an appearance on the farm. While they usually had at least one there throughout the years last year for the first time in many years there was a foal on the property. Neighbors stopped just to watch him run in the field; commenting on how great it was to see a foal on the farm again. A new story had begun yet again with that big red barn in the background. The old friend seemed to be enjoying new life yet again with another group of grand-kids running through it, playing in its hayloft, and just being kids. Another group of babies born in it and playing in it. Yes it seemed ready to stand for another 20 years to provide these new grand-kids a place to retreat to; a place to build friendships and mend heartaches but time had other things in mind. All these things ran through my mind Friday as I watched my old friend burn to the ground and as childhood friends came to show their respect and neighbors pulled up to offer help I realized just how much more than a barn old red was. It was our friend and confidant. It was our comforter, our secret keeper and character builder. It was a baby sitter, a shoulder to lean on and a place you could always turn to when life just got to you. While the road and landscape already looks lonely without it there, life goes on. New memories will be made by this new generation while those of us who are older will reminisce; it was more than a barn because it stood for those who live there and the lives that were affected by them.