Through An 'Old Timer's' Eyes
By Howard 'Mac' McDonald

Many, Many years ago when my father would take us for a Sunday drive, my brother and I would amuse ourselves by reading the road signs. There are still a lot of billboards that are used to get your attention but they are not as amusing as the old Burma Shave signs.

The Burma Shave signs were painted on boards about twelve inches wide and each one usually only had a couple of words on each sign. They placed them a few feet apart and as you rode along you would read them one after another. In the old automobiles to keep cool, the driver usually drove with his side window open and his elbow resting on the window frame. The roads in those days were narrow and the on coming cars would pass by rather close.

I particularly remember one Burma Shave sign and the jingle went like this, "Don't Stick Your Elbow Out Too Far. It Might Go Home In Some One Else's Car." The last sign said, "Burma Shave." The "Burma Shave" signs are a part of history but "Burma Shave", the shaving cream, is still on the market. I have a can in the medicine chest.

Pepsident Tooth Paste had a jingle on signs like Burma Shave and the words of wisdom that they expounded were, "Brush Your Teeth With Pepsident And You'll Wonder Where The Yellow Went." Tee shirts and bumper stickers seem to be where the catchy phases are today, but I remember all the barns that had one whole wall with an ad for "Mail Pouch" chewing tobacco.

Old barns have always fascinated me and today on some that are still standing you can still see the faded "Mail Pouch" signs. Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern in her barn and ended up burning the whole city of Chicago to the ground, so the story goes. The fire killed over 300 people and destroyed over $200 million in property.

The Amish really have some impressive barns. Unlike their counter parts of our world, their barns are painted white. The traditional color for barns is red and where this tradition came from is a mystery to me. If the Amish have a barn destroyed, the Amish community get together and they have a Barn Raising. The Amish erected these structures usually in one day. I would like to go to one of these barn raising just so I could experience one of their meals.

Allegheny County use to have the largest free county fair in the world. Back in the late thirties, my grandfather used to take me every year. He was a horse person and we toured all the stock barns looking at the horses, cows, pigs, sheep and any other animal that happened to be housed in the barns. There must have been at least 20 barns and we didn't miss one. Later on when I was in high school, we had football camp there and the team was housed in one of the barns. This all occurred at South Park.

U.S. Route 60 passes through the Blue Grass country in Kentucky. This is where thoroughbred race horses are bred and raised. These horse farms have some of the most spectacular barns ever built. They are kept immaculate and nothing like the old dairy barn that I use to have to clean. These farms even have swimming pools where the horses are exercised. I guess swimming really helps these animals to get in shape.

Years ago in Switzerland, the farmers use to build their living quarters over top of the building where the animals were kept in the winter. The body heat from the animals was used to help heat their house. Not a bad idea if you don't mind the smell. No matter how deep the snow got, they could always get to the barn when it was milking time.

Playing in the hay loft was always a lot of fun. The new hay had a fragrance that made you feel like you were in a very special place. Some times the hay was not cured properly and would be put in the loft while wet or still green. This was a no no as it would mold and ferment and an action called spontaneous combustion would take place and burn the barn down.

Besides the farm house kitchen, the barn was always the center of attraction on the farm. At harvest time the grains were stored in the granary and the silos were filled with insulage. This was the winter feed that kept up the milk production. Harvest time was also a time when dawn to dusk was a common work day.

Barns come in several different shapes and the roofs are either gable, gambrel, or Gothic styles. A gambrel roof is the type that is on the Christmas store next door to the Cabin Kitchen. Barns should be built on a rise so that the rain waters drain away from the structure.

When I first came to Cameron County and use to make inquires about different roads, I was told that the Singing Bridge was in Rich Valley and the pavement went as far as the "Round Barn." The Round Barn was pretty famous but I never got to lay eyes on it. I now know exactly where it was located but it burnt down before I saw it.

The Round Barn was built by a man named Joshia Howard, it was built as a dairy barn. Mr. Howard was a man of wealth and he owned a large house that stood where the Emporium Arms stands today. An errant cigarette butt in a trash can in one of the apartments caused its demise. Seems that buildings that had anything to do with Mr. Howard always met the same fate.

Across from his big house on Fourth Street was a field where Mr. Howard use to exercise his horses. He ran them in a circle and years later when the dwellings were constructed there, they named that street Howard Circle. I always thought that they named that street for me as I have been going round in circles for years. (That is supposed to be a joke).

On Route 155 going towards Port Allegany there was a round barn on the left side of the road just past the village of Wrights. Seems like round barns are not meant to be as it burnt down. Some years later a new round barn was build on the same location and yes you guessed it, it was a victim of a fire. At the present time there is a round house built there and I hope that it doesn't suffer the same fate as the barns did.

A lot of barns along the highways have been turned into antique stores. There is one on Route 255 as you are going north towards St. Marys. I don't believe that it is open anymore. The building is in such bad shape I believe it is not a safe place. Antiques are old and so are some of these antique barns. Antiques you can buy and take home but old barns must stay put.