This old barn

La Crosse Tribune, Jun 12, 1998

TOMAH, Wis. -- The workers on the Ollendick farm keep long hours, just like most farmers do. Rut the Ollendicks aren't growing corn or keeping a herd of dairy cows.

Instead of hay in the hayloft and cows in the barn, the Ollendicks have a nice crop of crafts. There are bird houses, Santas, floral swags and doll clothes.

But there's nary a pig in sight at This Old Barn -- except for a few pot-bellied pigs kept as pets in a shed.

Just a few miles from Tomah on Holiday Avenue, this barn is freshly scrubbed and brightly painted for its new incarnation as a crafts store. It's a far cry from the pig barn it used to be. This Old Barn was born out of necessity.

It was September 1994 when John Ollendick got stomped by the family's horse. He was hurt badly and hospitalized for several months, said his wife, Marcia. Not knowing if he could ever go back to work as a contractor, Marcia started brainstorming about what she could do to bring in an income but still be at home with her four kids.

Then it hit her. She and her crafting friends and relatives could sell their wares in the family barn.

When she said the idea out loud, nobody thought too much of the idea, Marcia said.

"When I said the barn, everybody said I was crazy. Nobody supported me," she said. "But I myself used to find Amish shops (out in the country), and when I'd get there, I'd find lots of people there."

So Marcia persisted and her family helped her scrub and clean.

"The chaff kept falling down from the hayloft," Marcia said, so they had to clean the second floor, too, eventhough they were only planning to use the first floor.

"This was the bullpen," she said, pointing to what is now her year-round Christmas room. "We had this filled with pigs."

No sign or smell of the pigs now, though. Just greenery and Santas and snowmen who look quite happy to have landed in the bullpen.

"We used steel wool and toothbrushes to clean it," Marcia said.

Then they poured some concrete and slapped on some paint and were ready for business.

But they kept all the pens and stalls and exposed beams, Marcia said, because they wanted to keep the barn-like atmosphere. "If we were to gut it, we'd have a warehouse."

And because the walls are cement, Marcia and her crew had to think of other ways to display crafts, so lattice work is placed in front of some walls and peg board is used to hang other craft items.

Marcia opened the first floor in July 1995 with 12 crafters who were all family or friends. Even on opening day, John Ollendick wasn't sure this thing was going to work, but he told Marcia,

"If you only make $25 a day, you could still cook supper and go back and forth between the barn and the house."

But This Old Barn was so successful that Marcia opened the second floor in March 1996. It features some lodge-style items and a Victorian room at the back. Marcia now has 80 crafters and people who sell antiques. She has gotten busy enough to employ a staff of five.

Imagine how the ad for this job might read:

WANTED: Secretary for This Old Barn. Must answer phone, book tours, keep books and birth lambs.

Yes, Ann Jilek, who has been the secretary at This Old Barn for almost two years, has birthed lambs. And Marcia's sister-in-law Phyllis Brandau has chased goats and other animals when they ramble too far from home. It's just part of what goes on day to day when you run a combination crafts barn/petting zoo.

The animals are a good mix with the crafts, Marcia said. The llamas, sheep, goats, pigs, dogs, cats and rooster keep the kids occupied while the adults shop. The truth is, Marcia has a soft spot for the animals, too. As she cuddles a two-week-old goat, she scolds it for eating her geraniums.

John Ollendick recovered and is back working as a contractor, but once in a while he's called back to the farm to perform the odd job around the barn. When Marcia got a call from a neighbor that the silo was tilting, about to go crashing into the barn, Marcia called John. He came home and decided the only way to save the barn was to shoot the silo down. There were about 50 people in the crafts barn and they were all evacuated while the silo was taken down. But most of them didn't leave after they were evacuated.

"They're all standing around waiting for the silo to fall down," Marcia said.

Though silo shooting is not on the regularly scheduled list of events to entertain visitors at This Old Barn, the Ollendicks try to have a variety of things going on to lure tour buses and other customers. The petting zoo has been popular with moms who want to keep their kids occupied while they shop. The Ollendicks' 13-year-old daughter Kelly often sits out front with the rooster and greets visitors.

"We always have a lot of kids outside playing and they don't want to leave when mom is finished," Marcia said.

They also have The Old Barn Players who stage outdoor theater behind a building on the property. With hay bales in the background to give it atmosphere, theatergoers sit at tables that are actually wire spools from Oakdale Electric.