Barn Raising in Rawdon

--July 29, 2011.

Dear Editor,

I thought you might be interested in seeing photos of an actual barn raising that took place in the early twentieth century (about 1912, as far as we can deduce from family history). These two photos are two of a series of fourteen and represent the early and final stages of construction.

The photos were taken by the daughter of Montreal photographer George Barat. Until his retirement, Mary [Barat] served as his assistant and was herself an avid and accomplished photographer.

Seven men are in the first photo, two in the last one. Typical of the times, as a barn was not raised in a day, the initial work was shared with family, friends and neighbours, the finishing was left to the owner.

In the second photo, the fellow in the wide-brimmed hat is my grandfather and the man on the upper level is his younger brother Percy. These two young men would have been about 18 and 16 years old, respectively.

They were running the family farm for their widowed mother.

The barn stood until the 1950s when it was razed by fire.

Beverly Prud'homme
Rawdon