GAIL WHITE Boardman couple's goal: Visit 88 Ohio Bicentennial Barns

"Last June we went to a wedding in Columbus and saw one barn on the side of the interstate. It was Delaware County. On the way home, we got off the beaten path and went to see it," says Linda Szmara of Boardman.
It was the innocent beginning of an adventure touring Ohio's Bicentennial Barns for her and her husband, Buck.
As part of Ohio's Bicentennial celebration, a young man named Scott Hagan chose one barn in each of Ohio's 88 counties. He began painting the Ohio Bicentennial logo on barns in 1998, beginning in Belmont County, where he was reared.
Traveling across the state, Scott painted between 12 and 20 barns a year. He finished his final barn Sept. 19, 2002, in Sandusky County.
"When I started, I thought maybe somebody would see them and that maybe something would come of it, but I never imagined anything this great," Hagan is quoted on the Ohio Bicentennial Web site.
The response has been tremendous.
Now, with the painting complete, countless "barn groupies" are traveling throughout the state's counties in search of the red, white and blue logo.
"Barn groupie" is a label that the Szmaras most definitely fit.
"After that first barn, I told my husband I wouldn't make us find them all," Linda says, laughing.
74 out of 88
Seventy-four barns later, the couple is now determined to visit all 88.
"I just thought we would see one here or there," Linda insists. "But now its become kind of an adventure."
"I pretty much can tell you a little story about each of them," Linda says with a smile, while flipping through a photo album where a picture of each barn is placed.
The Delaware County barn holds a special place in Linda's heart because it was the first one she saw. The photograph reveals a big, red barn surrounded with trees and a black fence running alongside. Hagan painted the shape of Ohio on the side, overlaid with the Bicentennial logo.
"Most of the barns are in the country," Linda explains as she flips through the album. " But Cuyahoga County is in the middle of a neighborhood."
The picture reveals a yellow barn with the Bicentennial logo, surrounded by an array of homes.
In Holmes County, Linda remembers Amish buggies passing on the road behind her as she took a picture of the barn.
Sometimes, the adventure lies in simply finding the barn.
"It's kind of like going on a scavenger hunt," Linda says.
"It took over an hour to find the right street," Linda says in explaining their adventure in Ashland County.
When they asked a woman in town, she said she knew nothing of a Bicentennial Barn but would gladly show them the way to the street. "She passed the barn every day!" Linda says, laughing.
Making friends
Other times, the adventure is in meeting the owners of the barns.
"The woman who lives at the Union County barn has a little gift shop in one of the buildings on the farm," Linda says.
One of her favorite new friends is a 77-year-old man who owns the Muskingum County barn. "He had a sign at the end of his drive that said, 'Please feel free to drive in and photograph barn,'" Linda recalls.
As they pulled in, James Madden came out to greet them and introduced them to his bull, The Woolly Bully.
But being a barn groupie can have its hazards. Sometimes, the adventure is just taking the picture.
Buck has crossed interstates on foot to procure a picture.
"He just loves it when I say, 'Pull off the side of the road!'" Linda says, chuckling.
In Fayette County, the couple pulled off the road to take a picture of the Bicentennial Barn.
"Three cars stopped and asked us if we needed help," Linda laughs.
"We've met such nice people," Linda says of her experience.
gwhite@vindy.com
XFor more information about Ohio's Bicentennial Barns, go to www.ohio200.com/barns.