WERE YOU RAISED IN A BARN?

We were spending so much time in Commerce working on the property that we decided to buy the lot and barn next door to live in while we restored the house.  The Knights built the barn in 1924 after their first one burned. They reused some of the lumber, and some of the floor boards in the loft still have charred places on them.  Once again, we found ourselves doing major clean-up on the grounds before we could start repairing the barn, but the end result was well worth the trouble.

 Chad and Rick

This was after much clean-up had already been done.  As you can see we inherited a bus and an old car that had to be removed.

The barn had sunk down into the ground so much in some areas that it had to be jacked up about 2 feet!

Bois d' arc blocks are awesome!  Even though they had sunk into the ground, they weren't rotten!

Good-bye bois d' arc, hello concrete!

Our living area and a bedroom are in the loft.  We covered some "foot-sized" holes with license plates, so our grandkids wouldn't break a leg.  Our 2 year old grandson was a little leery about walking around in the loft.  He would step over every crack.

Obviously, there is good soil around a barn for growing things!  Must be the 100 year old manure.

Home, sweet home...for now.

...in the loft

  main floor bedroom

Our kids can really say yes to that proverbial question!

Were you raised in a barn?