Yesterday as I wrote about Grandpa going hunting each Thanksgiving, I had a strong mental image of his barn. I spent lots of time in and around that old barn.
It was a Quonset barn which sat about 100 yards almost due west of the house which sat on a hill overlooking Running Water Draw north of Olton, Texas. The soil was poor and thin and was underlain by caliche which could be a problem at times, such as digging a cellar, or a post hole.
The doors to the barn slid to either side along a steel rail which had been damaged at some point prior to my becoming acquainted with the old barn which must have been built some time in the early 50's. Because of that damage and subsequent repair, the doors didn't move smoothly and because of their very nature of hanging from rollers that ran along the rail, tended to move in and out rather than stay in the sparse guides along the bottom. They didn't run in a track on the bottom, but Grandpa had welded a couple of metal guides, the middle one having been reinforced with a small amount of hand-mixed concrete which kept it steady and I suspect was designed to make it difficult for a thief to get in by prying out the doors.
In the middle, an old chain ran through two holes, one on each side, which had been punched through the tin with some tool that left the holes with jagged edges. They had been worn smooth by the chain which had the patina of continual use running through them. When closed, the doors were secured by a Master padlock through the chains. I recall Grandpa's keychain having many Master padlock keys upon it but, he knew which one was correct for the barn by the number. As I grew older I was proud to be entrusted with a duplicate of that key so that I could access the barn any time I needed.
To the left of the sliding doors as you faced the barn, was a normal entry door which would have gone directly into the shop had it not been secured on the inside in a manner that was semi-permanent in nature. It ended up behind the sliding door on that side when the main doors were open. The only other thing of interest on the front of the barn were the electrical wires leading in from the utility pole which sat near the corner and the insulated wire coming out below them that ran to the electric fence which ran over the old gate to the corrals which was at the corner of the barn on the left. It was the only opening into the corrals between the barn and the old loafing shed which provided shelter for the livestock housed therein.
As you entered the barn, the smell of dust and hay filled the air. There was the hint of rodent smells and oil as well. To the left sat the shop which was a wooden sided structure built into the corner of the barn. To the right of the door leading into the shop was a wooden ladder which led up top where sat an air compressor. There was also old junk stored there. That junk varied through the years, but my earliest memories were of an old propane stove and a few pieces of old harness.
To the right of the ladder, tacked to the wooden side of the shop were the deer antlers and turkey beards and at one time a full turkey tail and a deer skin. Suspended from the antlers were bridles and bits and hackamores and spare reins and other pieces of tack.
Behind the shop on the left side of the barn ran a slab of concrete. The rest of the barn had a dirt floor which was permanently powdered from the lack of moisture and the continual traffic which pounded it to a consistency much finer than flour. On that slab at one time had been a couple of grain bins. Through the years they had fallen into disrepair and eventually were torn out. My earliest memories include a time when the first of the bins contained shelled corn which was used for the cattle. Sometimes the chickens laid eggs inside those old bins.
Prior to my coming along, Grandpa had a number of milk cows. He no longer had any except an old Jersey cow which he kept for the milk or as a nurse cow for orphaned babies from his beef herd -- at least within my span of memory. I have herd many stories from my mother of having to milk those cows when she was growing up. I had the experience of helping my uncle milk the Jersey a few times. She was kept up in the lots and we milked her under the shed.
Continuing beyond the grain bins on the slab, there were a few pieces of old equipment stored. They were covered by a fine coating of dust and many were from a time before automation. There were quite a few pieces of chicken related equipment. I don't know what you call them but, they were for the chickens to build their nests in which made it convenient to gather eggs.
The barn also had double sliding doors at the back which were permanently chained and very difficult to open due to the accumulation of dirt and weeds behind the barn which required clearing if they were to be opened. The back of the barn was to the west from which prevailing winds continually added to the stockpile of dirt and weeds.
In front of those doors sat an old silage cutter. I recall it being used when I was very young. Grandpa used to always cut silage which was put into a pit out behind the corrals. It was quite an event when during silage harvest everyone helped either running the cutter, the wagons which caught it, or the tractors which packed it into the pit. I also recall riding on the old ford tractor with one of my uncles feeding silage. The tractor had a large scoop on the back which was used to move the silage to the feed troughs for the cattle. It was very heavy when full and he would have me sit on the front of the tractor as added weight to help hold it down where he could see where he was going. The front of the tractor would come completely off the ground and he would have to steer by using the brakes on the tractor. I always thought it was a lot of fun.
In the back right corner (northwest part of the barn) there was almost always a large stack of hay. I helped stack that hay a few times and helped feed it many times. It was almost always alfalfa hay in small square bales. Grandpa kept top quality hay.
Along the north side of the barn was other equipment including old irrigation motors and various small implements. There was more old harness suspended from baling wire along the inside of the wall and even an old cotton scale and a balance scale and other items from days past. Near the front, just inside the door was a huge pile of re-bar electric fence posts and in front of that were many oil cans. The oil cans were generally Amalie oil in 5 gallon cans used for the irrigation motors. There were also a couple of 55 gallon drums of oil for the gearheads on the irrigation pumps.
Also on the north side sat a couple of racks with saddles on them. The straps were always neatly placed up over the seats and the blankets laid on top. A couple of curry combs and brushes were tucked into the boards on the wall which were attached to the frame of the barn.
There are lots of good memories tied to that old barn....
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