Snow brings down Arlington barns

OSO — If a hay barn collapses and nobody hears it, it still collapsed indeed. Just ask Monica and Ted Yantis, whose barn went down under the weight of the snow in the middle of the night, Dec. 26.

“We didn’t hear anything,” Monica Yantis said.

“Even the neighbors didn’t hear anything.”

The 40-year-old barn wasn’t anything special architecturally. But it was famous for being home to the Art in the Barn for the past four years, an art show coordinated by Yantis for the Arlington Arts Council.

“I don’t know what will happen with the art show,” Yantis said. They have some insurance on the building but don’t know yet if it will be adequate to rebuild. They have a son-in-law who is a builder and a son who is available to help, so it might get done, Yantis said.

The bottom level of the hay will be ruined, but the rest is covered by the remaining roof.

The family just purchased a set of haying equipment last summer and the bailer, mower and rake are all under the crumpled roof.

“We saw some knicks and dents, but don’t know yet the condition of the equipment,” Yantis said.

The Yantis barn is not the only barn in the valley to crumble under the snowfall. Just a mile down the road, a sileage bin with a roof collapsed even before the Yantis barn. At the bottom of Trafton, the Snelson barn is now a pile of kindling, and another barn along SR 530 near Arlington also collapsed.

“Christina said there are more barns down in the valley, too,” Yantis said, referring to her daughter who lives farther up the valley toward Darrington.

Already one person has called to offer another barn for the art show. Kathy Firnstahl told the Yantises that she has really good hay if they need it, and offered her barn off of Jordan Road for the art show.

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