Barnraisers return to the Abode
to continue restoration of our Shaker barn.
Our Memorial Day “Barnraising” event brought with it such a sense of accomplishment and wealth of camaraderie that many of the nearly fifty participants were exited to return on the Columbus Day weekend to continue the work. Once again the weather cooperated with our plans. Brisk early autumn days welcomed a slightly smaller group to continue the work begun in May. This time we put siding on the north side of the barn, but the greatest (and hardest) part of the work involved restoration of the barn’s windows. This involved removing the glass, stripping off the old paint, sometimes rebuilding the frames and casements, repainting and reglazing. This was hard, repetitive work, and the volunteers tackled it with enthusiasm and ever increasing skill.
During the summer, the barn was struck by lightning. Heroic quick action on the part of witnesses, most of whom were part of the Memorial Day work crew, managed to extinguish the resulting fire that threatened not only the barn, but the whole community. By Columbus Day, the external damage had been repaired by the Abode’s regular staff and volunteers.
Once again, the volunteer labor counted as “sweat equity” against a matching funds grant from the State of New York. On Saturday night we celebrated three birthdays with three cakes and a dance party.
Now there is one side of the barn that still needs siding, and more work on the windows needs to be done. We will be announcing the date for the next barn event soon.
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