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Barn Again! Celebrating An American Icon

click here for Opening Gala photo gallery

BARN AGAIN! CONCLUDES IN MICHIGAN

A special thanks to all who attended the Smithsonian Institute Travelling Exhibition Service exhibit "Barn Again! Celebrating An American Icon" in its eight-stop tour across Michigan in 2004. The event concluded, appropriately, with a Barn Voyage party at the Stair Public Library in Morenci on Nov. 14, 2004.

This touring exhibit is part of a program designed to bring national exhibits to rural America. The exhibit's focus on the symbol of the barn as a representation of agriculture, past and present, makes it an ideal centerpiece for museums, libraries, community or cultural centers and ag-oriented nonprofit groups in rural Michigan to celebrate their farming traditions and heritage with local programs and events.

In conjunction with the "Barn Again!" tour, Michigan Humanities Council encourages recognition and celebration of local agriculture, barns and rural life by communities and organizations throughout the state under a "Down on the Farm in Michigan" theme for 2004.

The Library of Michigan’s selection of “Barnyard Song,” a colorful preschool book by West Bloomfield author Rhonda Gowler Greene, for its April 2004 “Michigan Reads! One State, One Preschool Book” program coordinates well with the “Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon” national exhibit tour from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. It means that even the youngest of Michigan’s citizens can make a connection with the time-honored symbols of Michigan’s agrarian past, present and future.

State Librarian Christie Pearson Brandau announced the selection of Greene’s book (Simon & Schuster/Atheneum, 1997) in late October, following on-line voting by state residents for their favorite among five candidate preschool books. The “Michigan Reads!” program is co-sponsored by the Michigan Center for the Book and the Library of Michigan; Gov. Jennifer Granholm is the program’s honorary chairperson.

The initiative aims to “encourage family bonding through reading, promote the value of reading early and often to stimulate learning and instill a love of reading and increase public awareness and use of Michigan’s remarkable libraries,” said Brandau, who also serves as a member of the Michigan Humanities Council. For more on “Michigan Reads!”visit the Library of Michigan pages of the History, Arts and Libraries web site, www.michigan.gov/hal or contact michiganreads@michigan.gov .

More books for all ages about rural life, traditions, barns and farming are found at Suggested Readings.

2004 visits of Barn Again!:

• Jan. 25-March 7 - Novi Civic Center, hosted by Preservation Novi -- contact Kathleen Mutch, 248/349-6774
• March 12-13 - Michigan Barn Preservation Network Conference at ANR Week, Michigan State University -- contact Vera Wiltse, 989/465-1216
• March 15-April 24 - Montcalm Community College Farmhouse, Sidney -- contact Debra Jones, 989/328-1243 (link here for a comprehensive listing of events). Exhibit hours: Mondays and Wednesdays by appointment; Thursdays from noon to 8 pm with guided tours at 1, 4 & 6 pm; Fridays from 4 to 8 pm with guided tours at 4 & 6 pm; Saturdays from 10 am to 6 pm with guided tours at 1 & 4 pm; and Sundays from1 to 5 pm with guided tours at 1 & 4 pm. Closed Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
• May 2-June 12 - Alger County Historical Museum, Munising -- contact Mary Jo Cook, 906/387-4308.
• June 16-19 - Kinross Heritage Days Festival, Kinross, hosted by Bay Mills-Brimley Historical Society -- contact Marilyn Gendzwill, 906/253-2158
• June 28 - Aug. 9 Port Oneida Schoolhouse, Port Oneida Rural Historic District near Glen Arbor. Host: Glen Lake Community Schools. Coordinator: John Scholten - 231/334-3061
• Aug. 15-Sept. 25 - Northeast Michigan Arts Center, Standish -- contact Gail Schmidt, 989/846-4577
• Oct. 3-Nov. 14 - Stair Public Library, Morenci - contact Colleen Leddy, 517/458-6510. Presenting sponsor: Bank of Lenawee.