Press Release

BARN AGAIN! Award Winners Announced


(Denver, Colorado) March 7, 2007 - Barn owners in five states have been named to receive 2007 BARN AGAIN! Awards. Since 1988, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Successful Farming magazine have partnered to present these awards to barn owners who put forth exceptional efforts to preserve and maintain their historic barns. Winners receive cash awards and recognition in a feature article that will appear in the Mid-March issue of Successful Farming magazine. An additional article on the winners will appear in the May/June issue of Preservation magazine.

The winner of the top prize in this year's contest, the BARN AGAIN! Farm Heritage Award, is the Thykeson Family of North Dakota.  Their 96-year-old barn with its paired cupolas is the "signature" of their 3,600 acre farm near Portland, North Dakota.  Recent work on the barn included straightening, re-roofing and painting.  Total costs were less than $14,000 -- far less than the cost of a comparable replacement structure.  The Thykeson's use their barn as a maternity ward and hospital for their small cattle operation and for hay storage.  In recognition of their stewardship of this historic barn, the Thykeson's received a BARN AGAIN! plaque, a $1,000 award check and an honorary membership to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Cash prizes for the BARN AGAIN! program are provided by Toy Farmer Publications.

In addition to the top award, the BARN AGAIN! program presented $250 checks to four Recognition Award winners this year:

  • Wayne Gularte, Salinas, California.  Owner Wayne Gularte and his crew jacked up walls, replaced rotted posts, poured concrete pier supports, installed a new roof and re-nailed the exterior redwood siding of their historic barn.  He saved approximately $25,000 over the cost of comparable new structure. 
  • Doug and Ruby (Helinger) Bussell, Shelby, Montana.  Built as part of the original homestead in 1913, this barn remains the centerpiece of the Bussell Family farm.  In recent years, the Bussell’s replaced the roof, repaired interior joists and repainted the barn.   
  • Scott and Ed Bender, Mitchell, South Dakota.  A concave pointed arch distinguishes this 1916 barn, which received a new roof and a new paint job and now looks as good as new.
  • Lynn and Heather Faeth and Loren and Arleen Faeth, Fort Madison, Iowa.  Six generations of the Faeth Family have maintained fruit orchards on their historic southeast Iowa farm.  The family recently put a new metal roof on their historic barn and cupola and repaired several other historic farm buildings.

About BARN AGAIN!
BARN AGAIN! is a national program that encourages the rehabilitation of historic barns for agricultural use on farms and ranches. The program provides technical assistance through publications and rehabilitation guides, co-sponsors workshops and promotes an annual award program to recognize outstanding examples of barn rehabilitation.

To request a nomination form for the 2008 BARN AGAIN! contest, or for additional program information, contact: BARN AGAIN!, National Trust for Historic Preservation, 535 16th Street, Suite 750, Denver, Colorado, 80202, (303) 623-1504.  Email to barn_again!!@nthp.org or visit the BARN AGAIN! web site at www.barnagain.org.  The 2008 contest entry deadline is July 15, 2007.

About the National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting the irreplaceable.  Recipient of the National Humanities Medal, the Trust was founded in 1949 and provides leadership, education, advocacy, and resources to save America’s diverse historic places and revitalize communities.  Its Washington, DC headquarters staff, six regional offices and 28 historic sites work with the Trust’s 270,000 members and thousands of local community groups in all 50 states.  For more information, visit the Trust’s web site at www.nationaltrust.org.

About Successful Farming
Founded in 1902, Successful Farming was the first magazine published by Meredith Corporation and has a circulation of 440,000 and 1.2 million readers. Successful Farming is one of the most successful and recognizable brands in the Agricultural industry. Its web site, Agriculture Online (www.agriculture.com), established in 1995, was one of the first agricultural Web sites in America. It has since received the 2003 Jesse H. Neal Business Journalism Award for best Web site, was listed among BtoB magazine’s Media Power 50, and was named Best of the Web by Media Industry News in 2004. In addition to the magazine and Web site, Successful Farming properties include the Successful Farming Radio Magazine®, Successful Farming Data Solutions, Market Research, and custom publishing.    

Media Contact
Jim Lindberg, National Trust for Historic Preservation, 303-623-1504, james_lindberg@nthp.org