THE BOOTE BARN
Dennis Boote’s barn is a story unto itself. The original barn burned down a number of years ago. Over four years, Dennis built a new barn on the footprint of the old one. “Everything in this barn except that one beam, I did myself. Every board, every screw, every cut, I did myself. The next person who lives here, if they want something different inside here, everything is put in with screws. All they’ve got to do is get a screwgun and a few bits and pull it out.” When the first barn burned down, he lost 10 saddles, but the saddle horns remained on the wall lined up in a row. Today, the saddle horns hang on the barn walls as hooks.
The interior wall pictured here has an interesting collection of “good conversation pieces.” Following is a partial identification of what’s on the wall:
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The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | October 2021
Buffalo skull.
A copper water cup to drop down the well for a quick drink. Its design tips easier and fills faster than a bucket.
This red Longhorn cow skull is from a heifer Dennis purchased almost by accident. The seller said, “Oh, she’s a two-year-old with one hip that’s messed up. She’s no good so we just threw her in the feedyard.” Dennis said, “’Well, what do you want for her?’ He said $250. I said, “You know what, load her up, I’ll take her, too.’ I took her home and threw her in the pasture. She had 22 calves. She had to be almost 25 years old before she didn’t have anything left. My kids nicknamed her Horns. And she was a good momma, let me tell you.”
The “1886” sign and all of the wood on this interior barn wall was salvaged from Pattee Creek Ranch, a large operation located for many years northwest of Hudson. Ironically, his land was originally purchased from Dakota Territory in 1886. Other interior walls are covered in steel salvaged from a round barn which had collapsed east of Hudson. He straightened the steel and cut it to fit.
This buffalo skull was discovered about 1971 on a sandbar in the Rock River at Rock Valley.
