BRINGING BACK THE BARN

Bonnie Terpstra has seen what happens to old barns in Iowa. Any fortunate enough to withstand a blistering Midwestern tornado or the devastating straight-line winds of a derecho are too often forgotten about and allowed to deteriorate beyond their working use. There was no way she’d let that happen to her barn.

Instead of letting the barn wither and fall into disarray, Terpstra decided to invest in is rehabilitation and maintain the history that is so dear to her and her family. Over the past year, she transformed it into a venue for weddings, birthdays, get-togethers and graduations. It still carries many of its original qualities.

The bannisters of the main floor still feature the dairy cow names carved into the wood. Instead of stalls for Betsy and Ginger, the area is now open and for group seating. The upper level where hay bales used to be stored still has the original flooring and the Gothic arches. No one makes these kinds of barns anymore.

“As you drive around the countryside, there are barns falling down all over the place,” she said. “And that just breaks my heart because barns are a part of history. Once they’re down you can’t rebuild it. We were to the point where if we didn’t do something we were risking the structure of the barn.”

Coupled with the pyramid-stacked windows to let in more natural light and the ornate chandelier hanging overhead, the upper level makes for a breathtaking location for a wedding ceremony. It has already served that purpose a handful of times. Visitors frequently awe at the architecture and sheer scope of the venue.

They see the beauty Terpstra has been seeing her whole life.

“When I was a kid, I was in charge of the elevator,” Terpstra said inside Country View Barn, located in rural Newton. “In case bales got stuck or thrown off, I would have to shut the elevator off and they’d have to go fix the problem so we wouldn’t get anymore hay bales on heads. I’ve just always loved this barn.”

It took some time to get the barn updated to commercial standards. Crews used jackhammers to tear out the old concrete floor and replace it with a more level floor. Daylight could be seen peaking out from the mortar, so Terpstra had it tuckpointed. New ductwork was needed to heat and cool the space.

Utilities were installed just in time for Terpstra’s son to get married in the barn. New windows were affixed to the barn, but Terpstra kept the original frames. The main floor is now equipped with a sizable kitchen and a lounge space with comfortable recliners. Framed photos show what the farm looked like years ago.

The barn was built sometime in the late 1940s. According to an article from Iowa Farm and Home Register in February 1949, it operated under farmer O.K. Flaugh as a 20-cow dairy barn. It was touted as both sparrow-proof and pigeon-proof, which was a big deal for farmers who needed sanitary conditions for livestock.

Flaugh built the 40-feet-by-62-feet barn for $10,000 at the time, which would be equivalent to about $130,000 in current day prices. It was built with concrete floors and feed mangers, all-steel equipment, title sidewalls, laminated rafters and a shingle roof. The gable ends were covered with white asbestos shingles.

Terpstra’s father purchased the farmstead in 1970s. They used the barn to farrow hogs for a number of years. Over time it sat empty until Terpstra turned it into a workshop to repurpose furniture. When she decided to turn it into a venue space, she moved her equipment out and began the painstaking redevelopment.

“We literally took straw out of the loft so I could start working in it last year,” she said. “I had plans. I had been working on getting my stuff out the year prior. The construction was done in at least seven months. They came in and did a whirlwind of work. Things were done in stages.”

All the while Terpstra was seeing her plan come to life. She took great care in the details and the structure of things like the bridal suite and the loft deck, which can be accessed by brides without spoiling the first-look for either the groom or the guests welcoming her as she walks down the aisle.

The deck itself overlooks miles upon miles of Iowa landscape. If they look hard enough, guests and members of the wedding party can see Prairie City, Monroe, Otley and Sully from the loft. While Country View Barn certainly comes with its own view of the country, it, too, is a picturesque locale.

Surrounded by fields and pastures, it is a pure Iowa setting. Terpstra feels good knowing she is able to preserve that setting in all its beauty.

To see her vision fully realized is an exhilarating feeling. The first round of hard work is done. Now there is a new kind of hard work in store for Terpstra. But it has been rewarding listening to guests gasp at the sight of the loft on the upper floor. It makes all that extra hard work worth it.

Terpstra said, “I have so many memories in this barn. Not only as a kid, but we lived here for 42 years. I can see the beauty outside the roughness. I love to make things beautiful. So now she gets to keep all of her character; I just added all of my own ‘jewelry’ to her. She’s stable and ready for another 76 years.”

Country View Barn is located at 7198 E. 36th St. S. in Newton.