The Arnosky family: Elena, Pamela, Frank, Hannah and Janos.  Photo by Melissa Gilmere.

Market barn built the old-fashioned way

By Laurel Robertson

It’s a stand-out kind of place on several counts. First, it’s hard to miss: the big blue barn with orange, yellow and hot pink trim, sitting by itself on the intersection of RR 165 and 2325 near the Blanco and Hays County line.

Then, it’s surrounded by fields of sunny flowers and vegetables, and a brightly-painted sign announcing “Arnosky Family Farms Market – Saturdays.”

But—most amazingly—the entire building is a work of art produced by members of the local community.

Two years ago when flower farmers Pamela and Frank Arnosky decided to replace the shed that shaded their market stand with a real barn, they looked at nearby 100-year old Fischer Hall for inspiration.

Its sense of open space, created by arch-supported trusses, also inspired their good friend, Gary Weeks, maker of fine rocking chairs. Over many months, he studied Fischer Hall’s architecture and designed an updated version for the Arnosky’s new barn.
Like the original, it employs 30-foot bentwood trusses fastened atop tall poles. Gary modified the old German design by improving the way the arches and horizontal tie rods attach to the poles.

He chose quality wood for specific uses: redwood siding for its long-lasting beauty, sustainably-harvested mahogany windowsills for their resistance to rot and warping, and straight #1 yellow pine from a favorite supplier in San Antonio.

To build the bentwood trusses, another furniture maker and Arnosky friend, Phillip Sell, constructed a huge jig in a donated warehouse space and, with the Arnoskys, their four kids, Pamela’s parents and other volunteers spent four long days building a truss.

“It took 300 wood clamps,” remembers Pamela. “When they were installed later, those trusses just slid perfectly into place.”


The finished product.  Photo by Melissa Gilmere.

To build the barn of their dreams, Pamela and Frank decided they needed to have an old-fashioned barn-raising.

“How did they used to build buildings that would last 200 years?” she asks. “The community came together and donated their labor,” she answers.

And come together they did. Last September, more than 200 people converged on the site to raise the Arnosky barn. It was an amazing event.

“We had people here helping that we’d never met before. We just put up a sign at the farm stand, and people came from all over,” Pamela marvels.

With the site pad and footing already in place, volunteers raised the four walls, set trusses, raised rafters and installed roofing and siding during two and a half weekends.

Like any good barn-raising, there was play to go along with the work. Bernard Mollberg, a local piano builder, lined up live musicians who performed while the workers built.

And Pamela (along with many helpers) provided breakfast, lunch and dinner for the workers each day from a kitchen set up onsite.
“We ate great food, too – French Market beignets for breakfast, chicken mole from our own birds, locally made goat cheese and our homegrown vegetables,” Pamela recalls.

“The community feeling was overwhelming,” Frank remembers. “More people came than we could have hoped for, and so many of the local folks went home during the afternoon and cooked extra food for the supper. It was like the multiplying of the loaves and the fishes —a miraculous event.”

Everyone who worked on the barn was invited to sign their name (using a carpenter’s pencil) on the wall just inside the main door.
“Those names will be there for posterity, ‘cause I know this barn’s gonna outlive all of us,” Frank believes.

Last December, the Arnosky family officially christened their new barn with a standing-room only crowd of workers and well-wishers.

Again there was music, friends, and “an awesome potluck,” says Pamela.

The Arnoskys intend for the barn to become a community gathering place. The Blanco County Master Gardeners used it for their March meeting, and the annual local Aggie Muster took place there in April.

Plans for the future include transforming the barn’s present floor of packed granite dust into a wooden dance floor (Pamela and Frank love to polka).

FYI • The Arnosky Family Farms market (and barn) is located eight miles east of Blanco at the corner of RR 165 and RR 2325. They’re open Saturdays from 9 am to 5 pm, rain or shine, offering cut flowers, homegrown vegetables, and local cheeses. The next community potluck will be June 10, starting at 4 pm. Come out with a dish, share music and food in the Hill Country. For more information, call 830-833-5428 or visit the website at www.texascolor.com.