Bicentennial Barn, turning 30, needs a facelift

By Norm Wheeler
Sun editor
One of Leelanau County’s landmarks is preparing for a facelift. The patriotic paint job on the Bicentennial Barn near Good Harbor is fading, but hopefully the community spirit that initiated it is not. Owner Susan Shields and painter Dennis Gerathy are hatching a plan to restore it, and they are looking for volunteers to help.
A press release from 30 years ago sent to news media by Noble D. Travis, Chairman of the Leelanau County Bicentennial Commission, explains the original project: “The Commissioners enthusiastically endorsed the presentation of “Shalda Barn ‘76” (which is the painting of a full size barn with heroic murals) by Arlen and Sally Ramsay of The Leland Gallery. The Ramsay’s proposal had six specific points that contributed to its endorsement. First, it involved many people from all parts of the County. Second, it would be a lasting patriotic landmark. Third, it would be supported at little or no cost to the Commission by people who will share their resources with us. Fourth, the real benefactors would be the young people who actually make it happen. Fifth, it has the earmarks of being one of the state’s most outstanding tributes to our forefathers and the ideals of most Americans. Sixth, the condition of the barn and its location, on M-22 at County Road 669 in Cleveland Township, were perfect.”

With the approval of then-owner Mrs. Lewis Shalda, a huge community effort followed, but the project was carried out primarily by teams of art students from each of the county’s public schools under the direction of their art teachers. Mr. Ramsay’s original design featured “two wind blown flags, a historical map of the County, a portrait of George Washington; the south end of the barn shows the pioneer spirit of sharing the historic bounty of “The Little Finger,” and the today spirit of winter’s fun and summers blessing. He has integrated the silo into the design by painting it as a clump of trees, some with maple syrup buckets, and others with burnished red leaves that camouflage the red silo roof.”
Now 30 years of sun and storm have worn the burnish off the barn. The red-roofed silo blew down in the big wind of July, 1987, and was replaced with the unpainted concrete one. But the structure of the barn itself remains excellent. Jeff Reinhardt of Northport, “the barn guy,” has completed an inspection and recommended improvements. The doors, stairs, and some floorboards need work, but the foundation and all mortise and tenon joints are great. And the roof is in good shape. Susan Shields has slated the spring of 2006 for the interior improvements. But she hopes to begin the scraping and painting of the exterior this fall.
To the original six goals of the Ramsay proposal Susan is adding two more: to ensure that the future of the Bicentennial Barn is secure, especially for any rehabilitation required to ready it for its 50th birthday 20 years from now, and to ensure that the barn stays accessible to the public daily. “This barn belongs to the people of Leelanau County as a landmark, particularly to all of the people who have worked on it,” says Shields.
The barn is why Susan bought the property. A history and literature student from the University of Michigan, Shields was married in 1976 and honeymooned in Leelanau County. Through the years she frequently camped with her children at DH Day campground during the summer, and after her father’s death in 2000 Susan returned to “The County” to heal and rest. Father Bill told her one day as she cleaned the rectory in Empire that the property was for sale. “I bought it with hardly a glance at the farmhouse or the two cottages on Bass Lake that go with it,” she recalls. Of course it all needed work, and improvements to the house continue apace.
The plan for restoration of the barn is as follows: a design contest is proposed for the north wall. The names of the 1976 painters are no longer decipherable, so Shields hopes students will compete to create overlapping images about the future of Leelanau County. The east wall will remain the same, with George Washington and the flag restored. The south wall will retain its historical focus and include a combination of images, one showing the area’s settlement by Bohemians, and another picture representing the original Native Odawa/Ojibwe presence that the Tribe has promised to contribute. “The west wall will be images of the present in the county, sort of a you-are-here kind of thing,” Shields explains, “dunes, water, cherries, lighthouses, bears, those kinds of motifs.” And Shields has another creative idea: how about the silo as a spaceship? “We have an astronaut living in Suttons Bay, and many other scientists and authors who have made contributions to our culture live here,” Susan muses. “Perhaps we could find a way on the silo to celebrate the people we have ‘sent up’ to the world.” Ultimately the plan is to juxtapose the past, present and future of Leelanau County on the barn’s facades.
But who can make this happen? “Here’s the exciting part.” Susan says. While working on the gardens at Cherry Republic she met antique sign expert Dennis Gerathy. “He pulled up one day and said ‘I love that barn, let’s do something. You were born to buy that barn,’ he said, ‘and I was born to paint it!’” Gerathy is a member of a national group called the Letterhead Men. This professional association chooses one significant restoration project per year to which they dedicate their expertise, time and talent. “They don’t just use ordinary house paint,” Susan explains. “They have special matched colors and work with transparencies. We’ll have a jamboree when they come in June of 2006. It will be exciting to watch and to help them work.”
But the former images must be scraped off and the barn must first be primed. That’s where volunteers from around the county can pitch in. “We need to complete the scraping and priming if possible this fall,” Susan continues. “Anyone who was involved before or who wants to get involved now please contact the website www.restorethebarn.org or email me at restorethebarn@aol.com.”
Shields and Gerathy plan to host an organizational picnic on Labor Day, September 5, and call it the Labor of Love Day. Artists, painters, gofers, people with scaffolds and folks with paint scrapers are all needed for this effort. Please get involved in a project that will yield a big, tangible, colorful result for everyone to enjoy for many years to come.