How To Paint A Mail Pouch Barn

My interest in Mail service Pouch barns began in the summer of 1999 and according to my wife has grown from a hobby into an obsession. I must agree with her. The more Post Pouch barns I meet, the more I want to notice.

At my age not too many things excite me, but I tin and do go excited when I discover a new Mail Pouch barn. During the summertime of 1999 a cousin from Southern California visited me. She is a announcer who writes for a community newspaper. How do you entertain a announcer? Wanting to exist a adept host I asked her what she wanted to exercise in my area, which is near the West Virginia and Ohio edge. I was surprised at her response of "�to photograph Mail Pouch barns."

I took 300 photos over the last three years and by trading with others having this interest, I now have a collection of 400 different barns. Now that I'm obsessed with finding additional Mail Pouch barns, I can certainly relate to my cousin's interest.

A barn is still a barn unless it has a Mail Pouch logo. Then it becomes special. During my cousin'southward visit, we "barnstormed" in eastern Ohio and southern W Virginia and photographed perchance twenty new finds. Since then my married woman and I have traveled thousands of miles in search of more Postal service Pouch barns. Nosotros have been northward to key Michigan, east to Bedford County, Pennsylvania, west to cardinal Ohio, and south in West Virginia to the Kentucky border.

We accept found Mail Pouch barns in all shapes, sizes and conditions. Nosotros call back 1 in Stonemason Canton, West Virginia with the top blown off yet the terminate with the painting is still in good condition. A barn about Kehdive in Greenish County, Pennsylvania has fallen in except the wall carrying the Mail Pouch painting. A barn in Washington County, Ohio was disassembled, the boards numbered, and relocated only 2 miles from our home at Vienna, West Virginia.

We found a barn in Washington Canton, Pennsylvania with tall and narrow lettering. I asked Harley Warrick nigh the unusual lettering and he said, "The messages are just similar Don Shires, the person who painted it, "tall and skinny." Another befouled in Ritchie Canton, West Virginia is located on a seldom-traveled route and owned by a retired schoolteacher. I asked her why Postal service Pouch would annunciate in this location and she explained that "I was a friend of Samuel Bloch," ane of the Postal service Pouch owners.

Over the years Mail Pouch barns have the trend to "ghost." This occurs after the barn has been painted many times. But why do some barns "ghost" and not others? Virtually barns were painted past Harley Warrick and he told a fellow barn hunter, Lonnie Schnauffer, that it was but as easy to cover the former sign and kickoff with a new painting. I wonder why more barns don't "ghost." I imagine this question will never exist satisfactorily answered.

My wife Thelma and I e'er check barns for initials and dates. This tells who painted the befouled last and the year. The initials are unremarkably establish on the blue edge although previously initials were located near the roof and then that the eaves gave protection from the weather. The most common initial we find is "HW" for Harley Warrick. We likewise find "MT" which I believe is Mark Turley. "RW", "DM" and "TN" are initials nosotros but found once. The barns with legible dates indicate virtually barns were painted every three to 4 years.

I think it would be incommunicable to mention Mail Pouch tobacco without remembering the name of Harley Warrick. That's especially truthful for those of us who knew Harley. I recollect one of the things he enjoyed nigh was talking virtually Mail Pouch barns. You lot could spend two or three hours with Harley in his store and information technology would seem like x minutes. I don't recall anyone ever left Harley wanting to leave.

Harley had many amusing stories from his long career. He told me about painting an Indiana barn in high winds. The tiptop of the barn flew off and his helper asked if it was time to quit. Harley replied, "Hell no! This side is all the same standing!" They continued to paint.

Rick Campbell, who too "collects barns" recalls Harley talking well-nigh painting in cold atmospheric condition. When the temperature was below freezing, you just added more thinner to the pigment and a trivial Seagrams to the painter, and everything works out just fine.

Harley tells about an experience with the Buckeye Candy Visitor in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. The owner of the building bet Harley a steak dinner that he couldn't pigment the sign on his building in an afternoon. Harley enjoyed a steak dinner that night! Some other story Harley tells is that when working on a scaffold you were non supposed to touch a fellow painter. If y'all did, you had to purchase that person a drink. When Harley wanted a drink he always managed to become touched by the other painter.

Here are some of the observations that we have fabricated:

Barns plant within 150 miles of Postal service Pouch'due south West Virginia headquarters are in much amend status.
All of the befouled owners nosotros visited with were friendly and helpful. They wanted to talk virtually their barns and they didn't have whatever trouble keeping our attending.
Barn owners encourage us to take photos from as many angles as we desire. Most Mail Pouch barns take a black groundwork. We found ten Post Pouch barns in Michigan this past summer and seven had red backgrounds. Seven of ten is unbelievable. The ruby background takes more time to paint.
We learned that Mail Pouch was non the only tobacco advertised on barns. We have photographed Ruddy Homo, Beech Nut and WOW chewing tobacco. WOW Chewing Tobacco was endemic by Mail service Pouch at i fourth dimension. If you see a white circle ghosted through a Mail Pouch sign information technology is likely a WOW sign. WOW signs were painted before 1945 and very few are left.

As you lot can come across I am not a journalist, not even a author. This article was written because of my obsession, and yes, even love for Mail Pouch barns.

More of Elmer'south photos

Elmer and Thelma Napier alive at Vienna, WV (summertime) and Okeechobee, FL (winter) and tin can be contacted at e3536t@aol.com. He has an MA from Due west Virginia University in Condom and Able-bodied Training. Elmer is happy to assist "barnstormers" in any manner possible.

Source: https://thebarnjournal.org/people/004/

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