Barn Razing

- Templeton barn demolished -

The big ol' chicken house has bit the dust. Anyone who has been by my place out here at Hobbs knows the long, rambling barn where my grandpa had an egg laying operation, and later on, my dad and uncle had a hog outfit. My grandma used to say "Let's go down to the farrowing barn" but I thought she was saying fire barn, so I always imagined it being full of flames.

I was a little weepy when I saw it being torn down. It's been there my whole life and I've spent a lot of time in the barn. I was flogged by a hen in there when I was three, I spent the night in there with my grandma and uncle one cold night when we had to keep a close eye on the pigs, and my and my grandma's names were written in the cement in 1966, when the concrete was poured.

Now that it's gone, though, I see that it had out-stood it's time. I was unaware of what an eyesore it was, and it's refreshing to see the trees that were behind. It had also become unsafe, with one side drooping, pulling the other side toward it. I can't wait to see the property once spring comes.

Joe Duncan, my Norway connection via Roscoe, has been telling me about the Arrowheadology website. You can go on the site and talk about your experiences and share pictures with other arrowhead enthusiasts. Joe has posted his own very old Paleo-Indian find under Gallery. It's estimated to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 years old. He found it north of Roscoe, near Cottonwood Creek.

Ricky Niell sent me a link to a page on his website Razzle Dazzle Art, which is a tribute to beloved Rotan citizen Norma Gibson, who recently died. Should you be in Rotan, be sure to go into the Thriftway grocery store and see how she used her talent to capture the essence of Fisher County in large murals that are displayed along the inside perimeter of the store.