Wisconsin lawmakers find room for pet projects in budget

The Chase Stone Barn is on the State and National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the last surviving all-fieldstone barns in the country and was nominated for America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list for 2009. The stones were picked from local farm fields over 106 years ago, but their origin was the Canadian Shield. The rock was pushed and tumbled here by massive glaciers over the past 70,000 years. Many of the stones are over 2 billion years old. The massive north wall almost fell and the barn was almost lost in 1995, but luckily it was repaired. The Town of Chase bought it in 2007 so they could protect it. They need to raise $800,000 to restore the barn and develop the historical park. They are doing everything they can to raise the funds themselves. Old barns are symbolic icons of Wisconsin and they are disappearing off our landscape at an alarming rate. Around 80% of these barns are now gone or no longer in operation. They represent our rich cultural history and what this state was built from. We can't save them all, but we need to save some, and the small rural town of Chase cannot afford to save this barn alone. Since it represents the "dairy state" they asked the state for funding 2 years ago but were turned down. Many don't understand that this park project will help stimulate this small local community and also Wisconsin tourism. The barn will be a great place for people everywhere to use for public and private events, and will also include a rustic agriculture museum. Students and the general public will have the opportunity to learn about historic agriculture and Wisconsin geology while spending valuable time with family and friends. I think that's great. www.townofchase.org

I see you hail from CA.
CA and WI aren't the best of friends farm-wise.
WI is the state with happy cows. CA, well, I know your claim isn't correct. How can a cow be happy as merely a machine?
However, I do find it admirable that you care about our barns where our happy cows were kept in.
Maybe you should send a donation.

Actually I care very much, that's why I'm on the Stone Barn Committee. I live in Chase, so I'm not sure why the post came up as Fullerton, CA. It truly is a unique stone barn, and I hope you get the chance to see it some day. We are already rounding up businesses to help with the project, and they are excited to get some work. We are also coming up with more educational ideas for the park. How great it is to create some jobs and help restore one of the last surviving all-fieldstone barns in the country at the same time :-)