Time has forced a few new angles into this aging barn along the AA Highway in Carter County, a few miles from Grayson City Limits.
Property owner Robin Webb said the barn was there when her family purchased the property, and has been an important structure in her life.
“I have hung tobacco in the top, thrown hay, dehorned a bull, almost meeting my maker, birthed calves and foals, revered the blacksnakes, stripped tobacco there, and many other things. My dog is buried on the west side and I hope to replace it soon,” she said.
“I used to stand in the rafters and hang tobacco, stack hay, and that barn is such a part of my childhood. Our tenants didn’t have a car, they came to town with a team and wagon. They made wine out of everything,” she remembered, adding. “I and I spent so many hours there. I still do.”
Asked to recall the “almost meeting my maker” incident, Webb said:
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“On the west end of the barn on the creek side of the middle barn door, we had a chute and head catcher built in.
“I was at the front of the head catcher and we were dehorning and the bull lunged at me, the wood snapped and I was trapped in the corner with the bull face to face. He attempted to charge me, but, I was small enough to be in the corner where he couldn’t get to me square on.
“I was also agile enough to climb out quickly,” she said with an added laugh.
“It wasn’t my bull, I raised mine from a baby and kept him til he died. He was a big Charolais named Chaser and he chased me since he was a baby. He always protected me and was a little jealous of the cow named Mott that we could ride from the hay field to the pond to cool off … Good memories.”
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The barn and surrounding property continue to serve as shelter for a trio of horses. Photos by TIM PRESTON |