Lawr Barn

In 1889, the Lawr Farm was built on 120 acres and farmed by the same family until 1945. George Lawr’s wife Louise was known for her six inch cream and raisin cookies she offered to anyone knocking on her door. And apparently plenty of the neighbors did.

Sitting right off M-22 near  Wheeler road, and now the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, the Lawr Farm is visible to everyone passing by. Back in 1999, the park leased the farm to Shielding Tree Nature Center for youth programs. They put good effort into restoring the barn at the time. The nature center left a few years later, however. The farm has sat unoccupied since.

Fast forward to 2024, the barn needed portions of its two-inch thick pine flooring replaced, having been chewed over the years by porcupines known to like the salty taste of timbers. It felt good to get our saws and hammers going on this first project of the summer. Hopefully the new pine won’t be the porcupines next snack. Our crew sure would have enjoyed snacking on some of Louise’s famous cookies though.

Ole Olsen Barn

A board missing here, a loose board there. It all adds up to a lot of maintenance work down the road. Buttoning up barns is critical to preserving them. Wind, rain, snow and critters getting inside take a toll on a building quickly. Imagine having the front door to your house open all year long.

A few years ago the park’s barn workshop at the Ole Olsen barn installed a new floor. But the barn siding started to break away and the new floor was taking a hit. Our adopt-a-building volunteer for this farm reported an increasing amount of siding lying on the ground with each passing season.

Renting and transporting a lift for what might be considered minor repairs isn’t always economical or efficient. This year, however, we had two other projects that would need the aid of a lift. Our team ended up installing over 15 boards at Ole Olsen. Another job well done saving dollars down the road.