Latest News
FOB Picnic at Slate Run
Posted August 23rd 2010If you missed our first news posting below, or are anxiously awaiting more details about the FOB annual fall picnic, here's what you've been looking for!
Friends of Ohio Barns will have their picnic at Slate Run Living Historical Farm this year. This 1880’s farmstead has been restored and is operated by Columbus Metro Parks as a working farm. Farmhands and homemakers are in period dress.
Every farm animal you can think of is found in the barn or around the farmyard. Percheron horses, dairy cows, pigs, sheep, turkeys, chickens, ducks, geese and a number of other kinds of fowl make up the extended family on the farm.
The big barn, a granary and the summer kitchen are some of the timber frame structures that stand out among the dozen or so farm buildings. The root cellar is stocked with canned vegetables and the smoke house has several select cuts hanging from the rafters. A blacksmith shop, a broom shop and several tool sheds are loaded with all of the implements of farming in that time period. The windmill towers over the haystack.
The vegetable garden, grape arbor, orchard, corn field and sorghum patch are all showing signs of abundance as harvest time approaches. Onions are drying on racks by the summer kitchen. In spite of the world economy and the global financial crisis, Slate Run demonstrates that life on a productive subsistence farm can be separate and apart from the bigger mess
Slate Run is more than a working historical farm. It is 1700 acres of forests and fields and wetlands rolling over the glacial till plain. Extensive open water areas and the edge between forests and field provide an abundance of wildlife habitat. A spotted fawn grazes along the roadside. Green and great blue, and night herons can be seen stalking along the marshy borders. Footpaths roam over and through the wooded hills that are old glacial deposits.
Other timber frames at the park include the entry to the historic farm which was raised by a workshop of the Timber Framer’s Guild a decade ago and a shelter house recently built by Amish craftsmen.
Slate Run Metro Park is conducting a Pickaway County barn tour the day of the FOB Annual Picnic. FOB members are welcome to join the tour which begins at 10am. The tour will join FOB for the barbecue lunch at one of the parks shelter houses.
All in all it seems like the best thing to do is plan to spend an entire day at this outstanding natural, agricultural, and historic Ohio treasure. Slate Run farm hands have agreed to put up some hay with the use of the hay-track and horses as a demonstration for FOB picnic attendees. It’s a great place to bring children and grandchildren. Lots of opportunity to interact with the animals while adults get distracted by various and sundry scantlings overhead.
The FOB picnic starts at noon but life on the farm starts at sunrise, the barn tour begins at 10 and the wetlands are crawling at all times.
The time will be from noon to 5pm, plan on bringing a favorite covered dish and individual serving pieces, we will supply the meat and drink! For directions and more information on the park, check out www.friendsofslaterunfarm.org
FOB & the Timber Framers Guild to restore/raise historic frame in Upper Arlington
Posted July 31st 2010Join us September 17th through the 27th for a timber frame workshop with Friends and the Guild to restore and raise a historic barn frame in Upper Arlington, Ohio. UA is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio next door to the Ohio State University. We will be working together to restore the last working barn in UA into a 4-season multipurpose building on the newest UA park site, Sunny 95 park. The Community Foundation of Upper Arlington has raised the funds to make this project a reality, and it will be a marriage of an old and new timber frame on the site. The 10 day workshop will have volunteers from all over coming to raise a new frame and repair/restore the original 20x30 ground barn, the last known timber framed barn in UA.
The completed facility will provide UA with a unique gathering place for receptions, meetings, weddings, educational programs and outdoor concerts. The culmination of the workshop will be the hand raising of the original barn on September 26th. Please make it a point to join us for the workshop and the raising!
To register for the workshop, check out the Guild's website. The park address is next to Sunny 95 radio station, 4401 Carriage Hill Ln. Upper Arlington, Ohio 43220.
Hope to see you there!
Join us at Slate Run Metro Park for the FOB annual fall picnic!
Posted June 17th 2010September 18th is the date for our fall get together, this year at the beautiful Slate Run Metro Park in Pickaway County, south of Canal Winchester. This park is a living historical 1880's farm with operations true to that era of farming. The Timber Framers Guild built an entrance info building on the site in 2000, so it will be a day of interest to all! They park is even planning a small tour of nearby barns that we may be able to participate in. There are park shelters where we may have our lunch gathering... details are still being worked out. The time will be from noon to 5pm, plan on bringing a favorite covered dish and individual serving pieces, we will supply the meat and drink! For directions and more information on the park, check out www.friendsofslaterunfarm.org
2010 Barn of the Year Winners
Posted June 17th 2010
At the spring barn conference in Wooster our 2010 barn of the year winners were announced. For Agricultural use, this years recipient was Barb and Loren Lang. There barn is in Big Prairie, Wayne co. It is an 1890's bank barn that was purchased in 1999 and restored by Josie Miller. It is currently used as a productive dairy barn, with livestock in the basement and hay storage in the loft. The craftsmanship in this barn is amazing!
For Adaptive re-use this years winners were Marcia and Brett Urian. There beautiful blue bank barn, located in Wooster is also a 19th century barn restored in part by Christian & Son Inc. and repainted the original barn blue. It has been adapted for a new life as a retail center and will soon to be rolling out some sure to be excellent wines!
Upper Arlington Barn restoration given the green light!
Posted June 17th 2010Enough money has been raised to give the UA barn project the go ahead for restoration and raising this fall. The hopes of a Labor Day event seem very unlikely, but there is a very good chance it will happen late September / early October. Stay tuned for the latest developments.
2010 Lifetime Members
Posted June 17th 2010
This year, three folks of Friends became lifetime members, Brett & Marcia Urian, Sarah Werling and Jack Shumaker.
Thanks very much for being such great supporters of the organization!
Ohio Barn Conference 11 Barn Tour Photos
Posted March 16th 2010If you're thinking of attending this year's conference but you haven't signed up yet, you're missing out! We've posted photos of this year's Barn Tour barns on the conference page. Stop in and take a look at what you can explore if you sign up for the tour!
See the conference 2010 page for more information!
Barn Post, vol. 8 issue 3
Posted February 8th 2010
On the Friday evening of the 2003 Ohio Barn Conference in Chillicothe, some attendees were in town having dinner at the Cross Keys Tavern on Main Street when flames began shooting out of the third-story windows of the historic Carlisle Building across the street. For the next three hours we watched firefighters from Chillicothe and surrounding volunteer departments struggle to keep the building standing. Streams of water were directed from several teams of firefighters into different windows while smoke poured out of others. Pressure from the water hoses knocked stone crosses loose from above the third-floor gabled dormers. The stone crosses tumbled to the sidewalk and broke.
Read More... (pdf)
Friends of Ohio Barns Endowment Fund
Posted November 27th 2009Friends of Ohio Barns has established an endowment fund to help support the organization's various barn programs. The fund has been established through a partnership with Communities Inc. of the Columbus Foundation. The Foundation will manage the fund and future donations, helping to make the investment grow, and allowing us to withdraw monies for our projects as needed.
See more details on the Endowment Fund page.
Friends of Ohio Barns to be featured on Our Ohio TV!
Posted August 14th 2009Julie Davis from Think TV finished filming a segment about Ohio Barns for Our Ohio TV. She has interviewed some of our members for the piece, so be sure to tune in the week of September 12th and watch the show! Go to ourohio.org and click on the tv/video icon for a station and viewing times near you!
Photos from the Ohio Barn Conference
Posted June 8th 2009After ten years of celebrating Ohio's beautiful barns, we still manage to find interesting aspects of design or joinery work wherever we go. Here are a few examples from our spring conference bus tour in the Bluffton area...enjoy!
New Options for Supporting our Heritage
Posted March 3rd 2009Interested in donating to a worthy cause, and help save Ohio's Barns? Now there is a way to do it online! Through our affiliation with the Columbus Foundation, a state wide philanthropic organization, you can donate to Friends endowment fund established through the Power Philanthropy arm of the Foundation. Simply visit the Columbus Foundation and log in to Power Philanthropy to view our portrait and make your donation online! Under the Power Philanthropy logo, click on create a username & password. That page will open and you will see the Public Users access. Simply click on the sign up form, follow the directions and direct your donations to Friends of Ohio Barns Endowment Fund. Registration is quick, free, and secure! Thanks for helping out!
The Columbus Foundation
Friends of Ohio Barns 10th Annual Ohio Barn Conference
Posted January 26th 2009Come celebrate our 10th anniversary in the beautiful Village of Bluffton, Ohio on April 24th and 25th as we look back and look ahead in this two day event. Friday’s barn tour will give participants a rare view of some of the regions unique barn structures, and a chance to play barn detective! Saturday’s program will be at the Bluffton College, and will feature presentations, demonstrations, displays, and a silent auction. Fan favorites, the Barn Detectives & the Barn Repair Panel will highlight the event.
In an effort to reduce costs, but not the quality of presentations, this year’s conference is a two day event. We are planning a Friday evening meal get together after the bus tour. There are hotel rooms reserved at the Comfort Inn with a group rate discount. Don’t miss out on the early bird registration discounts!
Check this webpage for more information, and ways to register for the conference.
Donate to the Conference Silent Auction!
Posted January 26th 2009Part of the fun we have each year during the Ohio Barn Conference is of course, the silent auction. Friends encourage everyone to bring silent auction items for the Saturday event. The proceeds help us offset the costs of the conference, and still provide you, the members, with a quality program.
We hope you can contribute an item or two – something handmade, collectible, store bought, or something interesting you’ve found in your travels. The more you bring, and the better the items, the more exciting the auction gets!
If you can’t find anything to bring, at least come prepared to make someone else bid a little higher before walking off with a treasure!
Friends Board Member Elections
Posted January 26th 2009Friends of Ohio Barns will once again be seeking candidates to fill board positions of members whose terms are expiring. There are currently two open positions.
Responsibilities include participating in the annual barn conference, attending board meetings and conference calls, and representing Friends at festivals and events with the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing something to help save a part of Ohio’s rich agricultural heritage.
If you are interested in a board position, please send a short biography with your goals and ideas to:
Friends of Ohio Barns, P.O. Box 203, Burbank, Ohio 44214, or e-mail Friends. Remember, new blood brings fresh ideas, and keeps the organization alive with promise!
Accepting Barn of the Year Nominations
Posted January 26th 2009Do you know of an outstanding barn in your region? If so, drop us a line and get it nominated for the annual Friends of Ohio Barns “Barn of the Year Award”. The deadline for entries is April 17th, 2009.
The Barn Repair Panel is back for ’09!
Posted January 26th 2009Were back...!
The barn repair panel is ready and ready to take your questions and conundrums at the upcoming OBC X.
This is again your chance to get some free advice from some of the tops in their field! Please bring questions, but more importantly, pictures to share with us, and we will do our best to help. If you can put the pictures on a CD, they will project better for all to see and learn from.
If you send CDs in early, it gives the panel a chance to study your problem better, and maybe provide a more in depth answer! Feel free to send the pix to me, Ric Beck, at 7215 Kimberly Ct. Westerville, Ohio 43082