Well I guess if you're from Indiana, ya gotta paint a barn! I started this painting back in August. I made a few changes and I'll live with it like this for awhile but I have a feeling I'm going to go back in and make some more changes. This barn sits at the corner of State Road 252 and Nineveh Road. I've been passing this barn since the early 1970s on my way down to mom and dad's cottage on Sweetwater Lake. This past April (2009) I was on my way to Sweetwater for the annual, "opening" of the Ah Kum On Inn. It was time to get out the lawn and deck furniture etc. It was early spring so there was a hint of green in the trees but the grass was already a vibrant shade of green. Since it was morning, there is nice shadowing on the side of the barn and on the barn roof the from chimney. It won't be long before we repeat the ritual... and I pass by once again, the "Nineveh Road Barn".....
A few of years back my son and I went to Story, Indiana in the hills of Brown County to hear an outdoor concert. It was a perfect August evening and the concert was held on a stage built out from an old barn in a hollow behind the old general store that has now become a terrific restaurant and inn. When I was a kid growing up in Indiana, I used to hunt, fish and camp at Burr Williamson's place just a few miles from there. This was back in the 1950s. We would hike thru the woods down to that general store in Story to get candy and anything else a few quarters would buy.
However this night, almost 50 years later, most folks brought a blanket and sat outside underneath an August moon. There was a roaring bonfire casting flickering shadows into the woods that surrounded us. In addition to Ramblin Jack Elliot... we heard a local singer/songwwriter by the name of Tim Grimm. He sang a song he had written called , "Better Days" about a farm family and farm life. I really liked this song so I decided to learn it and record it myself... The song reminded me of my Grandma and Grandpa Schuyler's farm in North Judson, Indiana. It was the Schuyler Dairy. I put a few photos of the farm etc. towards the end of the song ........ Now, Randy Jackson might say, "it was a little pitchy" and he'd be right but, what the heck!!!
Turn on your sound and CLICK ON THE PLAY BAR above to see the slide show and hear the song.
1 comment:
I very much enjoyed looking at your work, Jim. You're quite skilled. I found your site while searching for genealogical information. Your reference to Burr Williamson's place popped up. I'm the daughter of Burr and Goldie's daughter, Donna. Some of my best memories are of the hours I spent at their home in Brown County. I went to High School in Fullerton, so I loved seeing two old stomping grounds represented in your work. Best, Susan (York Morris)
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