Book captures the tragedy of the collapse of once noble, elegant barns in region
By David Frownfelder
The Daily Telegram (Adrian)
ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) — Old barns and the stories around them have fascinated Derek Brereton for a long time, leading him to capture images and stories of barns and rural society in southeast Michigan for a book titled “Old Barns and Country Skills.”
During the past several years, Brereton photographed barns throughout Lenawee, Hillsdale, Washtenaw and Jackson counties. In addition, he talked with people who bring a unique style to the area through their crafts, which, like many of the old barns, are disappearing, Brereton said.
The book is a culmination of four years’ work. Brereton’s aim was to capture the tragedy of the collapse of what he called old, noble, elegant barns in the region, and to show the preservation of old agrarian skills by some in the rural areas of southeastern Michigan.
“I wanted it to feel like a drive through the country,” Brereton told The Daily Telegram of Adrian. “I wanted it to focus on what’s not there: the family farm. They are disappearing as family farms are replaced by corporate farming.”
He calls southeastern Michigan “barn heaven.” Brereton got the idea for the book as he and his wife, Pam, commuted between Ann Arbor and Adrian — he for his work teaching at Adrian College and she for work in Ann Arbor. They enjoyed driving along back roads and seeing the old barns, which made them think of how life was in the 19th early 20th centuries and what an important part of life barns were.
“Barns were the main building connecting people to the land,” he said. “It was the anchor of the local culture in southeast Michigan. The barns were for the animals and the various agrarian skills. It played an important role in people’s lives.”
The Breretons are now retired and living in Adrian. While researching the topic and reading books about barns, Brereton found two types of books, neither of which he wanted to write. “I was meeting interesting people who were doing all of the skills that used to be done in the barns — farming, weaving, spinning, slaughtering sheep — and I wanted to connect that together,” he said. “The old barns are disappearing and many of the old skills are now being done as hobbies.”
The book has 17 chapters devoted to people milling wheat, training horses, dyeing wool, spinning yarn and so on. Brereton searched for a publisher who understood his passion and his objective, capturing a disappearing lifestyle and architecture. After a couple of false starts, he found a like-minded publisher, In Depth Editions of Holland, which publishes nonfiction books of regional and national history.
“Old Barns and Country Skills” is Brereton’s second book. The first, issued in 2009, dealt with campsteading in New Hampshire.
