Grain Silo
Okalona, IN Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
Okalona! No, not Oklahoma. This tiny Indiana town is so small that downtown seems to consist of a neighborhood bar and these towering grain silos. On a cold winter night, the elevators become the biggest thing around for miles. 02-10
The Oaktown Grain Elevator has long been part of this farming community, serving area growers and standing watch over the railroad tracks. It's the kind of place that reminds you just how important grain elevators were—and still are—to small Midwestern towns.
There's something about a grain elevator after dark that just feels right. Maybe it's the quiet, or maybe it's because these old farm towns seem to slow down once the sun goes down.
UPDATE: The grain elevator is still operating today, continuing to serve local farmers in Oaktown. 07-26
Culvers Barn (Gone)
Huntington, IN Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
Here's a photo of a barn located just outside of Huntington, Indiana with a billboard for Culver's (fast food restaurant) across the side. It is the only barn I ever saw painted for a modern business rather than the classic Chew Mailpouch Tobacco or See Ruby Falls on the side. This is actually painted on the wall rather than a vinyl advertisement as we see on most billboards today.
Last Sunday in mid-November when I drove by it was a pile or rubble. I was kind of shocked because as barns go this was not in bad condition, and being off the road, it is not in an area that would be ripe building plazas or chain stores. Could it have been nailed by the winds a few weeks ago? Many thanks to Richard Weiss for info. 11-10
UPDATE: The painted Culver's barn is gone today, taking this unusual piece of roadside advertising with it. 07-26
Grain Silo
Culvers Barn (Gone)
