“You want to turn left at the first gravel road past Johnson’s. They’ve a white house and a big red barn.”
I know people, I’m related to people, who give directions like the line above. One complication. In the community I grew up in the most popular color for a house was white and for a barn was red. Oh, there were exceptions. A few barns were white. An occasional house would be green, yellow, or blue.
Times change. Not as many of the older barns are used for dairy cattle. Metal pole sheds (loafing barns) and milking parlors are the norm for a modern family dairy operation.
That does not mean the old red barns are either gone or forgotten. Big spaces for storage. Most have electric and plumbing — at least basic or 1950’s vintage. If the structure is solid and the roof kept in repair they can be used for many purposes.
They make a interesting setting for all sorts of stories. Take this for example: A talent for chemistry and indulgence in the wrong habit.
