The barn with its cattle symbolizes for me a wonderful era in the relationship of man to man and man to animal. The Europeans who came to North America found the wonderful white pines in abundance. They were easily worked with a broad ax into strong, straight beams which could be joined by mortise and tenon. The planks on the outside came from the same pines, and the base of the barn was made of field stones which usually were part of the clearing process. The whole building was like a living thing that literally "breathed" with animals below and a well ventilated and flexible hayloft above. The legendary barn building "bees" were part of the fiber of the rural community where everyone – men, women, and children – had a part to play in an unselfish social, communal effort. It was humanity at its best - great work and great fun at the same time. - Robert Bateman