Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 42

Herald Review. Page D4 Decatur, Illinois, Sunday, June 5, 1988 Maui0 I Ism Old hog barn now museum the museum "by word of mouth more than anything else," Minnis says. Extensive publicity when the barn was converted also helped. "We had friends who said they read about it in a Los Angeles newspaper," Minnis says. He enjoys explaining the history of each item to visitors.

"I started out with an antique wrench collection about 15 to 20 years ago," says Minnis, who retired from farming 12 years ago. The inside walls of the 10-sided building now are crowded with other items. They include harnesses and accessories, pliers, a gasoline engine, a desk from an old Taylorville school, pocket knives, brass keys, brass locks, doorknobs, marbles, cloth seed bags, washboards and arrowheads. Minnis says more than a dozen of the arrowheads were found on his farm, west of Sharpsburg. A stream one mile away apparently attracted Indians to the area, he says.

Photos by Steve Cahalan of farm artifacts in this former hog farrowing house near Taylorville. Ernest Minnis put his collection HIS UNCLE, Henry Minnis, built the three-story building in 1890 as a hog farrowing house. It remained a hog barn until Ernest Minnis retired. "Our daughter and I decided we had to do something to preserve it," Minnis says. "Because there's probably not another like it in the world." Barn Again! What: A contest for owners of older, historic farm buildings that have been rehabilitated.

Many of them have been put to a new use. Sponsors: Successful Farming magazine, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Deere Co. and Pioneer Hi-Bred International. This year's contest: Attracted more than 500 entries from 34 states. The 85 winning entries included four Heritage award win -i Dancers take to barn floor CLARKSON GRAIN'S BIDS At the close Friday, June 3, 1988 CORN DECATUR BEANS By STEVE CAHALAN Herald Review Farm Business Writer TAYLORVILLE The hog smell has left Ernest Minnis' 98-year-old barn.

It's been replaced by hundreds of farm artifacts. For his rehabilitation efforts, Minnis was one of 85 winning entries in a contest for owners of historic farm buildings. The retired farmer converted the hog barn into a museum in 1984. He and his daughter, Shirley Tomlin of Pleasant Plains, display their collection of old farm tools and other farm-related collectibles. His wife, Bonnie lives in a Taylorville nursing home.

"We have a guest book," Minnis says. He adds proudly, "About 600 people from 20 states have signed it" since the museum opened four years ago. Visitors are welcome any time, but many call ahead. "There's no charge," Minnis says. VISITORS HAVE heard about Janice and Merle Wentworth have 'mm 2.33 June 2.58 January Above bids are for grain truck-delivered to Decatur processors.

Clarkson Grain also operates a country elevator in Decatur which averages, moistures, offers reduced discounts, pays a premium for 1 corn, issues warehouse receipts and handles government corn. CLARKSON GRAIN 763-6412 800-252-1638 Converting the barn into a museum was the only thing they could think of, he says. Minnis had a contractor move the building about one city block, to where a new concrete floor had been poured. Minnis also added insulation and wood paneling. The barn was coated with redwood stain, and also has white trim.

On the Wentworths' lawn, frosty soft drinks, homemade pies and pork barbecue await dancers. Nearby is another important building a white outhouse that still functions. The Wentworths say their barn apparently was built in the early 1900s. Timber inside the barn is fastened with wooden pins. Merle's father, Clifford Wentworth, moved his family to the farm in 1939.

He moved from the farm in 1952. "I think Pop said he remembered all the (construction) materials being hauled out of Warrensburg on (horsedrawn) wagons," Merle Wentworth says. "The concrete was all hand-mixed," he says. The concrete walls are 7 feet high and 11 inches thick. The barn is 50 feet long and 34 feet wide.

The barn has housed cattle, pigs and horses. At one time, 500 laying hens were in the hayloft. The last livestock horses moved out in 1968. Merle remodeled the barn in 1982 so he could store 10,000 bushels of shelled corn there. "We had a little bit of a bumper crop that year," he says.

The barn was remodeled again in 1983 for square-dancing. The biggest task was adding concrete to level the floor for dancing. ServtceMASTER WARRENSBURG Once a year, the Warrensburg County Squares raise the roof at Merle and Janice Wentworth's barn. There's a lot of swirling, whooping and hollering when the Warrensburg square-dancing club holds a fall dance. The club, was formed six years ago, after Janice Wentworth got a group together to dance in the Warrensburg centennial celebration.

This year's fete will be Sept. 18. But the tickets have been sold out for months. "We have to limit it to 60 couples," Janice Wentworth says. "We get dancers from all around." The Wentworths hosted their first barn dance in 1983.

The barn always had been white, until the painted it red (with white trim) for the 1984 dance. "Barns are supposed to be red," Janice Wentworth says, smiling. The barn was one of 85 cited in a Successful Farming magazine contest. For dances, the barn's interior is decorated with clusters of field corn and Indian corn, as well as pumpkins and squash. Outside, an American flag is mounted near the hayloft door, just above the sign that proclaims "Janice Merle Welcome You." Invest in a Stable Opportunity ServiceMaster, with a network of over 3700 independently owned franchise businesses worldwide, has targeted the Decatur area for expansion of our Residential and Commercial Cleaning Services.

We will help finance the start-up of enthusiastic and committed individuals in both of these business opportunities. For more information, call Will Southcombe. 1-800-333-6678 ners, 36 Merit awards and 45 Recognition awards. Heritage award winners each received $1,000, Merit winners $100 and Recognition winners received a certificate. Winners are listed in Successful Farming's June issue.

Central Illinois winners: Merle and Janice Wentworth of Warrensburg and Ernest Minnis of rural Taylorville received Recognition awards. 8.38 8.63 PER MONTH Route 51 North Decatur Preferred Customer leeise 988 BMW 7351 a lofty view. No Small Print! No Money Down! Illinois Sales Tax INCLUDED! 60 Month Closed End Lease. 15,000 Mile Annual Driving Allowance. (7.75 APR Financing Available) THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE.

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