I was asked how I came to volunteer with Ontario Barn Preservation. This is what I wrote.
Ironically, I am allergic to almost everything inside a barn: hay, animals, and mold/fungus. But, I really like history, particularly finding out about how things were done/ made and worked. My Dad was an electrical engineer who always wanted (and tried several times) to be a dairy farmer. But, he did not want to get his hands dirty. Anyway, that's why I mostly grew up in the suburbs, mainly a town called Port Union in the east end of Scarborough, Toronto, now.
I've loved writing and tried drawing since I was a kid. I became a photographer as I grew up, not professionally at all. I took photos of my Mom's garden for her. I took photos of family and my cats and family trips, my own trips. Always interested in old buildings and places too. In college Photography was one of the courses I took as part of Corporate Communications. When I got my first digital camera I was finally able to take all the photos I wanted without thinking about the cost of developing them. At first I only had to make sure I had enough storage and battery power. My first camera didn't have much for storage.
One of the first places I photographed was an abandoned farm house near Bradford. The house was demolished since then. But, that was the start of photographing old farm houses around Ontario. The next camera I bought was an investment with more memory and a memory card for storage. It also had zoom so I could see details of buildings farther away or get a close look at a house I couldn't access. I started a group for rural exploration photographers in Ontario on Flickr. Its still there along with a few others. I met other people through my photo group and got together to meet a few in person too. I was still in my 30's and 40's then.
By my 50's I wasn't doing as much. But, I still like seeing other photos of old places in Ontario. I often search for history related groups/ organizations in Ontario. I keep a list of links from those I find. Most of them I added to the ODP site. I maintain the category for Urban Exploration there. Anyway, from looking for Ontario history this and that I found Ontario Barn Preservation. They were looking for volunteers. I knew I could not be someone who goes into barns, or help with knowing how to fix them up. But, I sent in my name anyway, just to see what would come from it.
That was about 3 years ago I think. I've been checking the emails, replying to them or directing them to the right people here. I write the newsletter every two months (not strictly on schedule), I post blurbs to social media accounts. Also helping out with memberships, posts to the website, running the site, finding possible contractors to add to the list, dozens of this and that as needed. Officially, I'm the administrative assistant.
When I was photographing the old farm houses I didn't really pay much attention to the barns. There were there and I got some photos, but it was the houses, the abandoned gardens, the structure and the weathering that I especially photographed. Since joining OBP I've learned more about barns and have a greater appreciation for them. Sometimes they call them cathedrals of the field and I think its a good name for them.
