One of Genesee County's grandest of the old barns collapsed today.
A good portion of the yellow barn next to the Stafford Fire Hall on Main Road, Stafford, simply gave way about 1:45 p.m.
Stafford Fire Chief Bill Plaisted said residents heard a lot of creaking coming from the old barn -- probably built in the 1830s -- all this morning.
Firefighters used a thermal-imaging camera to ensure nobody was trapped in the structure.
Plaisted said the barn was likely headed for demolition soon anyway. The owner wanted to donate it to the department for a controlled burn for firefighting practice, but Plaisted said before that could happen, workers would have been required to remove the shingles from the roof.
"Looking at it now, that wouldn't have been safe," Plaisted said.
He also recalled a local resident telling him how years ago there was a basketball court on the second floor. From the second floor to the ceiling, it was so high, he said, that nobody could throw a ball from the floor up into the rafters. That's how big the barn was.
In April 2010, I took a photo of the barn (bottom photo in this post) that proved pretty popular. UMMC purchased a large canvas print of the photograph to hang in its new surgical wing (the print has since been moved to another part of the hospital). To view a larger online version (or to purchase a print of the picture, click here).
The yellow barn was, indeed,
The yellow barn was, indeed, a magnificent building in it's day. I'm not sure of it's complete history, but it was owned by the Kemp(f) family back in the 60's/70's.
When I was a teen, in the mid-60's, I had the opportunity of going thru the barn a couple of times with John Kemp (of Kemp - Rudgers gas station in Pavilion). That was before Charlie Dumbleton started Dumbleton's Auto Parts, and John had a LOT of car parts stored in that barn. He could usually find what you needed, and if not, maybe something that could be made to work with a little finagling.
John Kemp was a large, gregarious man. He loved people and always had a story, if you had time to listen. As a boy of 12, 13, I sat many a times in the back of Kemp - Rudgers station, on cold, wintry nights. They had a huge (octopus) heating system, with several stuffed-chairs/sofas around it. And usually the chairs were filled with grizzled, old codgers shootin' the crap about something - last falls' wheat harvest, the high price of gas (31-cents/gallon), and, ocassionally, something would be mentioned about this local wife or that local husband. Of course, at age 12, I could only guess what exactly they were talking about, but it was the WAY they said it, and then snickered, that was so fascinating. Kids are easily amused, aren't they?
Sure do miss the 'old' days!
Oh wow, Ed. That's a great
Oh wow, Ed. That's a great story. I still get my car maintained at K&R. Jim sure makes one feel right at home when you go there. I'm sure my Grandfather knew John Kemp. Love the old memories you have as a child. Funny how we can remember so vividly things that happened in childhood, and not what happened two weeks ago!