Putting a face with a screen name

#11,078
#11,078
buckfama said:
It's in Hickman county. Not only was it the general store but it was the original county seat, jail, post office, and plow repair shop. Lots of history in that building.

I'm reclaiming the entire building. I take anything of us or value and clean it up for the land owner.
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That's awesome. Old places like that, u can almost feel the history, just walking inside. There was an old general store right beside my grandparents house in Rogersville, that always gave me that feeling when I used to walk inside, even the smell was nostalgic. I guess that place has been closed for over 20 years now, but the last time I was in Rogersville(both grandparents have been dead for over 5 years) the building was still there. I don't think it was near as old as the one u are working on, but I bet it predates WWII easily.
 
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#11,079
#11,079
The Dog said:
That's awesome. Old places like that, u can almost feel the history, just walking inside. There was an old general store right beside my grandparents house in Rogersville, that always gave me that feeling when I used to walk inside, even the smell was nostalgic. I guess that place has been closed for over 20 years now, but the last time I was in Rogersville(both grandparents have been dead for over 5 years) the building was still there. I don't think it was near as old as the one u are working on, but I bet it predates WWII easily.
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I miss the days of the old mom and pop stores. I stop at every one I run across. If they have a deli counter I always get a ham and cheese sandwich loaded with everything. I don't know what it is but there is nothing g better than on of those sandwiches.

That's another great thing about what I do. Im usually in rural areas so I still run across places like those old country stores. I know lots of folks make fun of country folks but they are some.of the finest people on Earth and I count myself lucky to have met some of the folks I have. The stories they share about the buildings and people.

Here is a funny one about Hickman county and how the county seat ended up in Centerville instead of Nunnley where it originally was.

Not sure about the exact date this happened but I know it was in the late 1800's. Nunnley was the county seat but Centerville was growing and the folks there wanted their town to be the county seat. The folks from Nunnley refused to give it up. They had built a new one on top of the hill behind the general store I'm taking down, a log structure. The county business had outgrown the room in the store. So after arguing back and forth for awhile and the Nunnley folks refusing to give it up the Centerville folks decided to take action.

They gathered together a group of folks along with several wagons. In the middle of the night they snuck down to Nunnley, dismantled the cabin and loaded it on their wagons and physically moved it to Centerville and reassembled it. Lol. Just went in and stole that sucker. So that's how Centerville became the county seat instead of it remaining in Nunnley where it originally was.
 
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#11,080
#11,080
I'm going to share one more story about a structure I took down in Sweetwater Tn.

It was a good sized barn back in it's prime. It was listing pretty bad to one side by the time the folks called me to take it down. As I'm looking over the barn deciding on a plan of action I noticed 2 old recliners in the loft. That's not something you see every day in the loft of a 120 year old barn. With no steps and only a couple sourwood saplings nailed together with limbs for rungs on a make shift ladder, it took effort and a purpose for for them to be there.

The story came as it usually does. The landowner is there and we are talking about what he wants done, if there is anything he wants to keep, that sort of conversation.

Eventually the subject of the recliners comes up. He said that he had a brother that served in WW II. He evidently saw and went through some pretty rough times over there, like a lot of those boys did. When he came home he was "shell shocked" as he put it. Nowadays it would be called PTSD.

Evidently he became extremely anti social and introverted, his demons refusing to give him any peace. He moved into the loft of that barn and remained there until his death. He stayed there for nearly 30 years, drinking and staying to himself. I guess the loft of that barn was the only place he could get any peace from the memories he carried from his time in combat.

There are always stories and memories attached to every structure that I take down. Some that do this type of work are just there for the money and could care less but to me that's just wrong.

Yes, I do this to make money and do.pretry damn good in that regard but it's the people and the places and the stories that make it worthwhile.

I'm always hearing "I remember playing down her as a kid" or "I remember when daddy would..." And I get a story about how he would make something or how he would do a certain task. You can tell a lot about a man on how his barn was built. Most are put together with care and thought. Notches fitting together so tight that you couldn't slip a dollar bill in between the joints. The way it was designed for use can tell volumes about how a man thought and planned if you pay attention.

A few seem just thrown together but those are few and far between. For the most part a barn was a big deal and a big part of their livelihood.

Like I said, to a lot of folks these old buildings are just a way to make money but to me they are the history of our communities and a symbol of a way of life most will never experience. Most are given to me free of charge because they have reached a point to where they are unsafe for use for livestock or even to store things in. So I come in and remove it and make that spot of land useable again. And I always stress to the land owners that express sadness that their barn will be living on in other ways besides just rotting into the earth and that seems to make it easier for some.

I can relate to the soldier that lived in the loft of that old barn. I'm an Iraq vet, professional firefighter for 10 years so I have seen my share of bad stuff. I guess that's why I quit and started doing this, it the peace I find in what I do. It's me, a set of hand tools and pry bars, my old truck and trailer on a job and that's it. Usually way out in the country in a field away from everything and everyone. Sometimes the landowner comes by and checks on things but for the most part it's just me. I camp on the job site and either bath in creeks or go to truck stops and take a shower.
I work when I want and don't when I need a break. It's hot and cold and wet and hot lol. It's extremely physical, especially when I get to loading large beams on the trailer by myself. If I do something wrong or don't pay attention I could be seriously injured or even worse... But I love every minute of it.

Not sure why I shared this but I guess it was to put more than a face with the screen name.
 
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#11,082
#11,082
CardiacKid said:
Sounds like a great and honest living that serves many purposes. Props to you, buckfama.
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Thanks man.. we are all just like these old barn. We all have our own history, some is apparent and some isn't but its there and makes us who we are. Some of us are lucky enough to find who we are as a person at a young age and are able to carry that throughout our lives.

Some of us go through things that change us a person and you recognize them and adapt or it eats you up. I thought I would retire as a firefighter but it didn't happen that way. I'm blessed to have found this. It's a hard life but maybe that's what God intended for me right now. Maybe this helps me grow past some things as a person, deal with things in a new way. I can't imagine doing anything else for a living.

Heck.. I even get to catch my own dinner sometimes like the guys on the TV show Alone. Lol
 
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