The donation of a nearly 100-year-old barn was a welcome addition to the Lamont Ag. grounds after it was moved there on Oct. 30 from Kelly Mitchell’s farm.
Ag society board member, Jason Glover, who coordinated the move through his company KG Enterprises, said Mitchell’s donation was generous.
“Kelly Mitchell bought some property by Aldon Auto that had a barn on it,” said Glover.
“He would have liked to keep it, but the way the zoning works, he couldn’t. There wasn’t a lot of room to build, and he wants to build a new structure there, so he donated the barn to the Ag. Society if we wanted it.”
Glover said the barn, approximately 30 feet by 40 feet, was first built by the Dlugosz family in the 1930s and is still in great shape.
“Those old buildings are built better than anything ever nowadays. It’s built out of handmade beams and big solid lumber,” said Glover.
“It’s all finished on the inside, so it’s strapped and stuff. If you can get to them before the roof gets too bad and it starts to sag and get weak, then they’re phenomenally strong.”
Glover said with the help of Terry Carter and his telehandler, in addition to help from Battle River in lifting power lines, they were able to get the barn lifted and onto a trailer before trav-elling slowly and approximately one kilometer to the Ag grounds.
Glover said plans for the barn include partial storage and office space in addition to using it to expand their concession.
“(This donation) is huge. To build that building you’re somewhere in the $100,000-$200,000 range. We’re going to have to put some money into it, of course, to restore it and keep it up. It’s a huge improvement for the grounds that we couldn’t budget for in years,” said Glover.
“I’m a huge fan of the old buildings and the kind of settlement era. It’s fantastic to see some-thing preserved instead of destroyed and then continued on in its own legacy.”
READ THE FULL STORY IN THE NOVEMBER 12 EDITION OF THE LAMONT LEADER
Jana Semeniuk
Staff Reporter
