Dahmen Barn IV

by David Patterson

Title

Dahmen Barn IV

Artist

David Patterson

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photography

Description

Frank Wolf, whose family still farms in Uniontown, built the barn in 1935 for Jack Dahmen and his family who used it for a commercial dairy operation until 1952 when it was purchased by his nephew Steve Dahmen and wife Junette.


Both Steve and Junette have had an interest in fine art for years. Junette has been working as an artist since the early 1980s, and Steve has made a public display of his artistic skills by building the surrounding wheel fence over a 30 year period. It all started with his building a gate of rake tines, and after friends began contributing wheels, the fence quickly grew. Says Junette Dahmen in a history of the wheel fence, "Every wheel has a story from the smallest to the biggest. There are wheels from every kind of machine, an antique baby buggy, threshing machines, push-binder wheels, sidewinder or delivery rakes, old hay rakes and gears of every kind, large and small." Today the fence exhibits over 1000 wheels. Steve also designed the antique weather vane and installed it on the barn roof in 1990, and fashioned some metal "greeters" - a farmer holding a pitchfork and nippers, and a wire-eared dog you meet as you approach the entrance to the barn.


The barn and the surrounding fence have become a landmark attracting artists and photographers from afar. Its image has appeared in many publications, including National Geographic.

Uploaded

June 30th, 2010

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