Barn Plaques Make Special Keepsakes

Barn Plaques Make Special Keepsakes AG WORLD 32-3-23 Dorrel Harrison's barn plaques give people who love old barns a way to display and honor them. Made of wood rescued from dilapidated barns, the plaques make a unique wall hanging or mantel decoration. They have special meaning when they are custom handcrafted to resemble a specific barn. "People have a special attachment to barns. They want something that will evoke fond memories," Harrison says. The retired upstate New York teacher started making the barn plaques two years ago, after moving to Scottsburg, Ind., to be near his son. In New York, Harrison had made covered bridges for wall dÚcor out of barn boards. His son suggested he try barns in Indiana. "One of my first barn plaques was a Nebraska barn made for Sand Creek Post and Beam Co.," Harrison says. "I have also recently done a wall plaque of Beck's Mill, which is a mill in southern Indiana, which is being restored." Harrison has created about a dozen different barns measuring about 8 by 10 in. on 15-in. long barn boards. The roof styles vary, and he sometimes adds cupolas, silos and/or weathervanes. He's done all types of barns including tobacco barns. "The hardest part is when there is more detail," Harrison says, such as adding artwork on the side of the miniature barns. Harrison bases his patterns on pictures in books as well as from photos he's taken. Last year he sponsored a Classic Barn Contest in Scott County, Ind. Barn owners had to meet certain guidelines, submit applications and pay a $2 entry free. Harrison photographed all the entries, had a committee select the top six and put them on a poster for county residents to vote on. Citizens voted, and Harrison gave the top two winners barn plaque replicas of their barns along with other prizes donated by local businesses. He's holding two more contests this year in neighboring counties. Along with interesting architecture and history, people who own the barns often have interesting stories, Harrison says. "I'm hoping to make a brochure and maybe set up a driving tour to attract tourism," Harrison adds. Barn plaques start at $69/plus shipping, which can cost as much or more than the plaque itself. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Handcrafted Barns/Covered Bridges, Dorrel Harrison, 4887 S. SR 3, Scottsburg, Ind. 47170 (ph 812 889-3369; hdorrel@joimail. com).

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