Folklore

Hexafoo on You!

by Deb Martin

The original designs that Pennsylvania's German immigrants painted on their barns came from traditional designs and motifs that decorated their homes in Europe.

Eric Claypoole's barn star paintings can be seen throughout Berks County; not apparent are the stories that capture a bit of the timeless magic and allure of the signs. Take the case of Jim and Elizabeth Shrawder of Krumsville. In 2005, after putting new siding on their circa 1820 barn, they hired Claypoole to paint stars on it. The couple then chose the patterns and colors: four eight-pointed stars, two 32-spoked wheel-of-fortune designs, and two wheel-of-fortune half-circles over the barn's windows, all in black, yellow, and olive green with a touch of red. Only later did Jim understand his prescience: "I didn't realize until after we'd chosen the patterns that they were the same as the ones on my father's barn. I never really looked at them when I was growing up, but somehow they made an impression on me."

Then there is the tale of Pete and Denise Snyder of Kutztown, whose ancestors were Pennsylvania Dutch. Their barn had a stone gable with a very weathered round of wood set into it-perfect, they thought, for a star. "We were just going to pick a [simple] design," said Pete. "Then Eric saw [evidence] of an original design on it." In fact, Claypoole saw that the wood bore the date 1819. Other features included a star and two sets of initials-MK and SK. Claypoole restored the sign to the original pattern, with rings of black, yellow, and red (the colors of the German flag) around the outer edge of the circle. The Snyders tried in vain to identify the initials. However, they did learn that their star is among the earliest examples of barn decoration.

Ken Weidner had a similar experience. His barn in Longswamp Township was covered with aluminum siding. "When we took [the siding] down, we could see where old stars had been," he said. He hired Claypoole to paint four new ones. Later, on the barn's gable end, Claypoole thought he saw a ghost. A coat of primer paint helped to reveal a three-foot-tall, German-style 'S' with the date 1916 above it and 1820 below, which he then restored.