Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.
Sorry, no promotional deals were found matching that code.
Promotional Rates were found for your code.
Pointer installed the quilt square in the most stable spot, the west corner of the building. Working alone, he managed to get it straight and level, no small fete!
Pointer installed the quilt square in the most stable spot, the west corner of the building. Working alone, he managed to get it straight and level, no small fete!
If you’ve ridden down the west end of Court Street, or visited LouAllen Farms, or just been riding around the county looking at the blooming trees and emerging foliage and enjoying the sunshine, you might have notice the beautiful artwork on some buildings, especially barns.
These works of art were donated to barn and building owners absolutely free of charge by the generous folks who work with the Alabama Barn Quilt Trail (alabamabarnquilttrail.org). It’s not often that you run across an organization that wants to give you something for free and it really has no strings attached, but this one does just what they say.
The only real qualification is that the barn be seen from the road without sightseers having to drive onto your property. This is because the barn quilt squares will be part of a barn quilt trail all the way through Alabama. Working with the help of a grant from the Alabama State Council on The Arts which supplies the sheet metal and paint and other supplies, a cadre of talented artists and dedicated people who fell in love with the idea of this project make it possible.
Last fall the historic Farmer’s Gin on Court Street near the high school and ball parks got the first one to be placed in downtown Moulton, although there are several already hanging on barns throughout the county. The Gin now belongs to the City of Moulton and there have been meetings held to try to insure that the building is put to good use rather than become another casualty due to ‘progress’.
Permission was given and the sign was designed to fit the building by Carol Carraway Terry, a local artist who uses projects like this as a way to give back to the community where she was born and raised. Terry designed the cotton boll on a purple and black background and her sketch was transferred to a pattern and cut out on sheet metal by designer Dale Robinson, and his wife Lisa, along with charter member of the group, Regina Painter, and other volunteers then painted the square. Sometimes the waiting list is as long as two years, but people are always surprised and pleased with the results.
According to Robinson, there are now barn quilts in every state in the country as well as each Canadian province. “It is the largest grass-roots public art movement in the country,” said Robinson proudly, and rightly so. The alabamabarnquilttrail.org site says that there are now 156 blocks up in Alabama at this time.
When the quilt square was ready to mount, the project was turned over to Collis Pointer, owner of Pointer’s Lawn and Tree Care who also does contract work for the city. It was due to Collis Pointer’s dedication that the Patriotic flags bearing pictures of Lawrence County Veterans have been installed each Veteran’s Day and he has helped with the lovely baskets that are hung in the summer. Not to mention the Christmas decorations and lights!
Pointer volunteered his time and equipment to place the Farmer’s Gin Square on the metal building, no small fete considering that he was working with only one other operator and had to find the right spot to support the weight of the sign plus a metal frame he crafted in his shop. “The frame gave the piece more stability,” he explained. Counting the construction of the frame and the instillation of the piece, he spent approximately eight hours of his own time on the project at no cost to the city. His efforts have been noticed and appreciated by people who have commented on the sign and how it has enhanced the gin.
Another recent addition to the Lawrence County Barn Quilt Trail is the beautiful quilt square mounted on the barn of Dana and Vickie Yarbrough who live on the Old Hillsboro Road. The square was a special project done because of Dana’s bout with cancer. The quilt design was discovered by his oldest daughter, Robin Randolph, among some of her late grandmother, Marion Yarbrough’s belongings.
“We were never sure if they belonged to her or to her mother,” added the youngest sister, Abby Yarbrough Marquis.
After submitting a photo of the barn, taken from the road and a photo of the quilt square, Robin was notified that the square had been accepted and work started on it at an accelerated pace. It was delivered before the holidays but the area was too wet to install it until recently. It was installed by a friend of the family and is now listed on the Alabama Barn Quilt Trail.
The old barn means a lot to this family. The Yarbroughs have three grown daughters who have watched their dad come and go from the barn for as long as they can remember. “He has always been so proud of his cows and his land,” says Abby. “He worked so hard to have what he has and to give us what we needed.”
The 90-year-old barn, purchased from Mr. Ed Holland, has been in the Yarbrough family for about thirty years and is now providing a place to play for the fourth generation. It is both sentimental and practical, and is still in use. The three daughters have fond memories of playing in the barn. All recall bottle feeding spring calves, and feeding hay to the cows in winter.
Their dad is their hero, a local painter, he often worked in the mornings painting houses and then in the afternoons and evenings at a plant in Decatur. The barn would be their common ground when he was home, he was always there, so they were there tagging along and helping him just to get to spend some time with him.
For Dana, the gentle sound of rain thrumming rhythmically on the old tin roof always provided him with a peaceful place to work. His wife, Vickie, says that sometimes she thinks he loves that barn almost as much as he loves his family. “He always says that it’s more like a hobby to him,” said Vickie.
The barn is another thread in their family’s memories, a place where all was safe when they were younger, before cancer. “One thing this cancer hasn’t done is tear us apart,” said Abby, “If anything it has brought us closer together.”
These old barns were built to last, and it’s sad that so many of them were allowed to weather away or were torn down in the name of progress to make way for more storage units, strip malls and parking lots.
They are not simply storage facilities for hay and animals; they are a part of the fabric that makes up farm life. They are havens for school children to come play and do chores in early mornings and late afternoons, and they bring families together in the best possible ways, working, teaching, laughing and loving.
The quilt squares are also symbols of security and warmth, reminders of the loving hands that made them to keep their children warm on cold winter nights before central heat made rooms less frigid.
By bringing attention to the barns with the quilt square project, there is hope that more of them will be saved for future generations.
Volunteers to keep the project going are always needed. If you are interested in helping to paint the squares or install them, please contact alabamabarnquilttrail.org
All materials will be supplied.
Information about the Alabama Barn Quilt Trail from their website. The Alabama Barn Quilt Trail is an agricultural tourism project designed to promote travel and community pride by encouraging the public to explore our roads, farms, businesses and historic towns. Barn Quilts are part of what has become known as “The American Quilt Trail Movement” featuring colorful quilt squares painted on barns and buildings throughout North America. It is one of the fastest-growing grassroots public art movements in the United States. Tourists come to discover the quilt squares on thousands of barns and buildings scattered along driving trails throughout the nation.
This public art project assists applicants wishing to be a part of the Alabama Barn Quilt Trail with erecting traditional barn quilt patterns hand painted and mounted on barns and buildings throughout Alabama. The Alabama Barn Quilt Trail is promoted through their website, social media and other forms of media and is enthusiastically supported by community organizations including Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Alabama Farmers Federation, and others.
The benefits to our community and its small businesses include:
•Providing an economic benefit from tourism for businesses and farms on the Quilt Trail
•Promoting preservation of our historic barns
•Honoring the agricultural roots of the state of Alabama
•Creating public art and paying tribute to the uniquely American history of beautiful quilts
We wish to thank the Alabama State Council on the Arts, ALFA, and the Alabama Farmers Federation for their generous support!
Forms to fill out to apply for the squares can be found on the website www.Alabamabarnquilttrail.org
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Would you like to receive our daily news? Signup today!
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.