Niagara County Bicentennial barn painting under way

by Terry Duffy
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, June 14, 2007
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, June 16, 2007

The Maple View Dairy clan, shown in front of the first painted barn, located in Appleton, bearing the Niagara County Bicentennial logo. Included are Christopher Sweeney, Melanie Sweeney, Beverly Sweeney, Amber Sweeney. In the back are Deborah Sweeney, John Sweeney, Laurie Haight, Matthew Sweeney, Amy Luckman, Arthur Sweeney and Nancy Sweeney. (photo by Janet Schultz)

Officials of the Niagara County Bicentennial Celebration committee report that the first barn in the county bearing the Bicentennial logo is now complete with the painting of the Maple View Dairy-Sweeney family barn at 7365 West Somerset Road in Appleton.

Scott Hagan, a nationally renowned barn painter from Jerusalem, Ohio, has been contracted by the group to paint the logo on 12 barns throughout the county, which will be done in two separate visits over coming months. In past months, the Bicentennial Committee invited inquiries from owners of barns in communities on both the eastern and western half of the county, and they report the six entries for the eastern portion have been finalized. In addition to the Appleton barn, Hagan will be painting the county’s Bicentennial logo on the following:

•The Librock Barn, Gasport and Lincoln Roads in Gasport

•The Gilbert Barn, Robson Road in Middleport

•The Hoffman Barn, Wilson-Cambria Road in the town of Wilson

•The Cooke Barn (formerly the Phillips Barn) on Route 78 in Newfane

•The Faery Barn (formerly the Mworka Family Barn) on Lower Mountain Road in Lockport

The committee reports that Hagan is due to return to Niagara County on Aug. 6 to complete the remaining barns, at sites still to be determined, in the towns of Cambria, Wheatfield, Lewiston, Porter, Pendleton and Niagara.

“Barn painting is a great tradition from our past,” says Margo Sue Bittner, owner of the Winery at Marjim Manor in Appleton and Barn Painting coordinator for the Bicentennial Committee. “Everyone remembers the old ‘Mail Pouch’ or other logos painted on the sides of barns dotted across the country. This is a new and updated version of those icons from out past. While the bicentennial celebration has a definitive time frame to it, the logos on barns across Niagara County will remain for dozens of years.”

Committee member Paul Westfall of the Cornell Cooperative Extension spoke of the involvement and contributions of individuals and businesses throughout the area in this effort. “The Bicentennial is a huge volunteer effort reaching out to all residents and businesses throughout the county,” says Westfall. “This project could not be possible without the cooperation and donation of paint from three Sherwin-Williams paint stores. The Niagara Falls, Lockport and North Tonawanda Sherwin-Williams stores each donated 40 gallons of paint to make this barn-painting project possible. While the barns will be iconic reminders of our celebration, projects like this wouldn’t be possible without local businesses doing what they can do to help the bicentennial efforts.”

For further information on the Niagara County Bicentennial, visit its Web site at www.Niagara2008.com.