Barn Raising!

Although I’ve searched the Mormon family tree website, I can find no documentation of an Amish-Grossnickle connection; however, this weekend I felt the DNA connection with the raising of our tasting room barn. My good friends, John Clay and Steve Curley, helped as we assisted David Ciolek and his able bodied aide, Cody, in the setting of the major end beams for the barn, all done without aid of a crane. It was an exhilirating experience as we climbed ladders, swung ropes over beams, set diagonal braces, and fit it all together with an ingenious device called a “come along”. One can relive his/her childhood memories of Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs, but this time on steroids and played for real.

The real enlightenment came as it all did come together and fit squarely in place as we pounded in the beam pegs. Watching 120-year-old hand ax hewn beams dovetail together producing a structure as sound as it was when new, I quickly realized that the corner convenience stores of today will not be resurrected 120 years from now. In fact, the oldest structure in my town of Warsaw, Indiana, is the courthouse. I felt a real sense of accomplishment and feel that many of our tasters will recall, as I have, the nostalgia of a barn remembrance, and perhaps a grandparent or parent owner. Come visit.