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"Reduce, reuse, and recycle. They're easy words to understand,
but not always so easy to implement into the hectic lifestyles of
today's American culture. The constant need for new, and better 'stuff'
leads people to discard many things that have a unique value. As for
us wildlife, we generally use only what we have in our immediate environment
— and that certainly makes life less complicated. On the other
hand, humans can really have a big impact on our ability to survive,
simply by not following the three simple words I began with. Check
out one Pennsylvania resident who got tired of bulldozing things over
for human expansion and decided to put the three R's to use..."
— Woodchuck
Barn Saver
By Linda Oatman High
The American barn is an endangered species. In 1920, there were more
than 6.5 million barns in the United States; now the number is less
than half. Victims of decay, fire, collapse, bulldozers, and suburban
sprawl, barns are no longer a taken-for-granted part of the American
landscape. The Midwest once had 10,000 barns painted with tobacco
ads; a few hundred remain. Many children have never seen a barn, except
in books or on television. But there are those striving tirelessly
to preserve a part of Americana that for more than 200 years has stood
for hard work, harvest, dust, sweat, and the American spirit.
John High is one of those whose mission is to save the barns. At dawn
each weekday, High climbs into his battered pickup truck, driving
to sites from one to three hours from his home in Lancaster County,
Pa. — to take apart barns piece by piece, saving them from landfills
and bulldozers, burn piles and burial. "I want to save every
barn I possibly can," High says. "There are so many torn
down because I didn't get to them in time. It's sad."
In 1990, High left his job at an excavating company — where
he bulldozed old houses and barns to make room for developments —
and began The Barn Saver Project, saving the buildings he'd always
hated destroying. Starting with an 1880's vintage bank barn (built
into a hillside), he began taking old structures apart, board by board,
saving the flooring, siding, windows, doors, roofing, beams, joists,
hardware, and even the contents — from lightning rods to pig
troughs.
"Everything," High says. "I save everything. There's
value in every piece." For barns that will be reset elsewhere,
he carefully preserves the integrity of the building by drawing up
a blueprint and using it to number each piece of wood. The barns live
on. One of the barns taken down by High — a log structure —
is currently in storage at Valley Forge National Historic Park, where
it will be set up as part of the park’s museum. Other barns
have traveled as far as California and North Carolina.
"Pennsylvania barns are living on in North Carolina," says
Wayne Yonce, who has purchased barns from High and reset them in his
home state. One of the barns is used for storage at a golf course;
others are being used on working farms.
"It's a good feeling to know I'm preserving part of our heritage,"
High says. "These barns belong not only to our past, but to our
future."
High's Barn Saver Project strives to lessen the environmental effects
of deconstruction. Using mostly crowbars, hammers, and his hands ("I
take them down in the opposite direction from which they were built,
top to bottom."), he not only saves barns with old—fashioned
elbow grease-rather than swinging a wrecking ball and operating a
bulldozer— but he saves landfill space. His methods also preserve
air quality and land from being damaged by careless demolition. "I
feel very lucky to be doing something I love, that's also useful to
our environment," High says.
Not all barns are rebuilt. "It's amazing how many different people
use materials from my jobs," High says. He's donated material
to school plays, churches, Scout groups, and other community organizations.
In 1999, he donated the wood used by artist Barry Hoch to build a
new manger and stable for the old nativity scene in Nazareth, Pa.
High also is concerned with the protection of wildlife on or near
job sites. He's removed birds' nests from houses and barns about to
be deconstructed, carefully moving them to nearby trees where eggs
have successfully hatched. He's also contacted beekeepers to bring
down hives from barns ready for dismantling.
In the 10 years High and The Barn Saver Project have been in operation,
more than 200 barns and houses (and their contents) have been kept
alive. One of those was the barn of Kathy and Yogi Bayer. "The
barn removal was a great experience to watch step by step," Kathy
says. "The work involved in dismantling is nothing we would ever
have known if we hadn't seen it with our own eyes. They made memories
for us to share with others for years to come." To document those
memories, Kathy and her husband made a scrapbook, with step-by-step
photos of the disassembling process. "Our barn now lives on,
all over Pennsylvania, in living rooms and rec rooms and kitchens,"
relates Kathy Bayer.
The Barn Saver Project is in the process of expansion, and High is
looking for a barn or warehouse in which to store materials. The barn
will also serve as the Barn Saver Art Barn, with artists crafting
from materials saved from deconstructed barns. (High’s youngest
son Zach, at 13, has started his art projects: Vintage magazine ads
— salvaged from his father’s job sites — highlighted with glitter
and displayed on barn boards. Zach’s business name is "Barn
Saver Glitter Art by Zach." Zach’s had donations from the
Art Institute Glitter and Kimmeric Studio.) The Art Barn also hopes
to offer works of art from The Dumpster Divers, a group of Philadelphia
artists working with recycled materials. Art classes for children
will be available, featuring art made with recycled/reused objects.
But that's in the future and the heart of John High’s work is
still saving barns that otherwise would be lost. "It's rewarding,"
says the man who has twice won the honor of being named Pennsylvania
Worker of theYear by the Dickies Workwear company. "As the old
saying goes, 'they don't build them like they used to.' Houses today
are put together with toothpicks."
John High is now offering a slide show, appreciated by teachers and
librarians for its unique environmental/recycling message. High’s
wife Linda Oatman High is an author of books for children, and she’s
written a book "Barn Savers," based on John’s work.
The Highs often travel together to schools, libraries, and historical
societies. The book "Barn Savers" was lauded by the American
Librarians Association, winning "Top of the List, Best Picture
Book," and John’s work territory has expanded. Business
is booming.
"Antique timber framing is an ancient art that is preferred by
those planning a distinctive home, addition, or floor," says
Brad Smith, owner of Rockwood Antique Timber Framing. "It’s
also the most environmentally friendly."
Reprinted with permission by Linda Oatman High, Narvon, PA
Some photos compliments of the Barnsaver website, listed below.
Thank you to Linda for her submission, and thanks to both John and
Linda for their dedication to the environment!
For more info, check out:
 The
Barn Saver, segment from GreenWorks Television Production, Choose
to Reuse
GreenWorks Television
Production on Environmentally-friendly
art, featuring the "Dumpster Divers" mentioned in Linda’s
article
Barnsaver
Project
New
Hampshire Barnsavers
Antique
Wood and Restoration
Specialists
in restoring barns for in-home and other uses
Period
Restoration Preservation Maintenance Consultation Services
Vermont
Barn Restoration
Barn
Owner Information Website
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