DATE:     3/15/04
CONTACT:  Claudia Meadows, (803) 284-3343; sem3@tds.net
WRITER:   Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343, ext. 241; tlollis@clemson.edu

Smithsonian exhibit begins
run at Ag Heritage Center

Barn Again open at Edisto REC until April 24

     BLACKVILLE -- A Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit called
"Barn Again!" opened Saturday for a six-week run at the Edisto Research
and Education Center near Blackville.
     Hosted by the Agricultural Heritage Center, located at Edisto REC,
"Barn Again!" features displays celebrating the traditional American
barn.
     State Commissioner of Agriculture Charles Sharpe helped open the
exhibit.
     "Many of the old barns on old farmland are just falling down," he
said. "That perturbs me." He said the barn was once where farm families
worked, played and prayed, and he would like to see more of them
preserved. He is in the process of preserving one old barn on a farm he
recently bought.
     The "Barn Again!" exhibit is on display in the auditorium of the
new Edisto REC main building. Two old barns, one built in 1937 by the
WPA to shelter mules, will be on display for visitors during the six
weeks as well.
     "Barn Again!" is a part of Museum on Main Street, a partnership of
the Smithsonian and state Humanities Councils nationwide.
     Paula Millen, state project coordinator for the S.C. Humanities
Council, said that bringing the Smithsonian exhibit to Blackville took
two years of planning, and a lot of hard work by AHC volunteers
Margaret Wilder and Claudia Meadows.
     "The barn is a symbol of America's old good times. It was the soul
of the farm, and it's fading from the landscape," Millen said. "We hope
this display will help inspire efforts to preserve some of the old
barns."
     Meadows awarded prizes during Saturday's ceremonies for Barnwell
County school contests in poetry, drawing, photography and computer
presentations, all related to barns.
     Third graders competed in drawing, eighth graders in poetry, high
school students in Power Point presentation and Career Center students
in photography.
     Genarria Porter was first in drawing, with Caleb Sharpe and Noah
Bearden finishing second and third. Jessa Hollingsworth was first in
poetry. Kendra Arrington won Power Point, and Missy Bolen was tops in
photography. Winning entries are on display with the Barn Again
exhibit.
     The contests were sponsored by Barnwell Office Supply and Gift
Shop, The Bookworm, First Citizens Bank, Enterprise Bank and Dixie
Narco.
     Several special events are planned during the next six weeks,
according to Meadows.
     The annual Antique Engine and Tractor Show will be March 20 from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m.
     Artist Jim Harrison will have some of his barn paintings on
display March 27.
     On April 3 musicians are invited to bring their instruments and
take part in a bluegrass jam session.
     On April 17 at 2 p.m. Melissa Walker of Converse College will
present a workshop on how to preserve the past through oral histories.
     School children will take part in field days throughout the six
weeks.
                              END