KATIE ANDRES

Under an impossibly blue sky, warmed by the rays of long-awaited spring sunshine, I stood on the shoulder of Scottsville-Chili Road today and watched a Wells barn take its dying breath, its timbers ripping in protest as the CAT machinery slashed repeatedly with its giant claw... Due to its formidable construction, this barn was able to withstand the harshest of elements and a changing landscape for more than one hundred years only to be toppled by circumstance, modern machinery, and human hands... I read documented details about this barn's early history from the self-published book of Bob and Judy Pratt and soaked in emotions from Kate Morrison's blog post about this property once owned by her great-great-grandparents. Although my husband and I researched multiple ways to dismantle and relocate this barn ourselves, the cost involved prohibited us from moving ahead with a feasible plan.