Summary: | Kevin Aucoin of the Agricultural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, on the subject of hay barracks, interviewed by folklorist Dale Jarvis on Friday, August 19, 2011, at the Newman Building on Springdale Street, St. John’s. Kevin describes his origins in the community of Thompkins, Codroy Valley, born 1941, son of William and Dorothy Aucoin; gives a short history of his family and the family farm; description of farm; memories of hay barracks or hay stacks – a type of agricultural building made with four large corner poles with a wooden structure around the base and a moveable roof which could be raised to store hay; storing hay and oats; size of the hay stack; length of time hay could be stored; description of the fence structure at base of the stack and why it was created; how hay was taken out when needed; distribution of hay stacks in the 1940s and 1950s; gradual decline and evolution of farming in 1960s and 1970s; weight of the hay barrack roof and labour required to raise it.
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