The photo above was taken in 2003. It shows the east end of the dairy barn and milk house on the Southampton Township, Somerset County farm that belonged to Daniel Korns, Jr., then to John Wilson Korns, then to Allen Lester Korns, and then to Melvin Lester Korns.
Like most of the local barns that I am familiar with, this one is a south-facing banked barn with a gabled roof. Note the traces of decorative "windows" that can be seen through the new coat of traditional (for Somerset County) red paint. The traditional banked construction provides wagon access to the mow, and provides access for dairy cattle, manure spreaders and people on the ground floor. The separate cement block building is the milk house.
Me, when I look at this picture, I don't see a barn. I see young kids riding tricycle at breakneck speed, older kids swinging from ropes or building tunnels in the mow, teenagers playing basketball on the threshing floor. I hear laughter, and an old tube radio. I see newborn kittens, and cats being fed with a squirt from a teat. I see teenaged muscles growing from hauling milk buckets and stacking and feeding hay bales. I see generations of hard labor, and the passing of traditions from parent to child.
According to a 2009 interview with Estalene (a daughter of Allen & Gladys Korns), this barn was moved from Somerfield (where a lake is now) and was erected before the "new" barn was built. Estalene also indicated that the house of her maternal grandparents (Calvin and Ida Bittner) was also moved from Somerfield.
The preceding photo was taken in 2006. It provides an oblique view of the Korns dairy barn and milk house.
The preceding photo shows the Korns dairy barn before the milk house was built. I like this photo because it shows the star and fake window decorative elements that I (L. Dietle) remember from my childhood.
The preceding photo shows Gladys Edna (Bittner) Korns, wife of Allen Lester Korns, standing below the milk barn.
Return to Index of photos of the Daniel Korns, Jr. Farm
Return to the Korns family genealogy home page
