It was because of our mutual love for barns that I had the opportunity to get to know  Aaron Davis.  Aaron was very proud of having been raised on the farm where the absolutely magnifient barn, "Tanglewood," stands, stately and proud and visible from Interstate 69 near Olivet.  It was easy to understand why Aaron loved that big barn after I got to know his parents John and Clara.  John loved the family barn and wanted very much for it to live on, long after he and his wife could no longer be there to care for it.  

Aaron had already moved away from the family farm and had retired from teaching when I met him, but in a sense, Tanglewood went with him in the form of a smaller, but also much-loved barn on the property he and his wife Dorothy owned, near Marshall.  Like the word, "Tanglewood" in bright white letters on the side of the family farm barn, Aaron mounted a sign to his, "Tangleview," it said with his name right below it.  

Asked why he repaired his barn he said it was because it offered more real value to his farmstead than a metal structure and bit by bit with help from Dorothy and others, many repairs were made.  He welcomed the chance to share with anyone interested, how he went about his project.

Aaron and I worked together for many hours, with the help of someone skilled in website work, on a design for a barn preservation website.  We huddled at his computer, discussing alternatives and why this or that would not work, why this or that component should or should not be a feature, and what images best conveyed the spirit of what we were trying to accomplish.  Round and round we'd go in those discussions as I found Aaron to be determined, very determined when he knew the direction he wanted to go.  His determination equalled passion for reaching a goal, a tenacity that deserved respect.  Dorothy, for whom his love was evident, would smile knowingly when she'd overhear our conversations.

We talked now and then over the years, always about barns, always about the hope that Tanglewood, under new ownership, would always be loved and would always stand proudly as one of Michigan's most outstanding signature barns.  Maybe now from a place above all the hurry and commotion of a hectic world, Aaron can look out for Dorothy and for both Tanglewood and Tangleview.

Jan Corey Arnett