The Writing on the Wall

One of the neat things about living on an old farmstead are the marks left behind by its former tenants.


Unfortunately the name is hard to see: Uriah Halley.

The Halleys were the family that homesteaded the place.


Here, the names of Mike Halley, Fred Morris, and Alvin are listed from 1913 to 1934.



A little down the same board, Roy carved his name deeply into the wood.



In the old corn bin, the residents used pencils to figure the amount of grain in the bin.

I bet they never imagined that one day we'd carry phones with calculators on them.

I've always been curious what was behind this note. Did a neighbor borrow some seed corn and wanted to keep track of what was borrowed and returned?

Here's a bit of long division. Do they even teach this in schools anymore?

Another bit of math.

This appears on the outside of the grain bin. It says "Artist--David." Who David was and what art he was referencing, we'll probably never know.

This old farm has so much character from all the people who spent their lives here. The Halleys and Benintendis worked hard to create a living from the land, and to create a home from these buildings. They left their marks behind, often literally, with the writing on the wall.