Local News

Souders celebrate 50th anniversary in barn

LYTTON -- A recent "House Beautiful" magazine that showcased the latest entertaining trend -- party barns -- praised these "extravagant" new structures' ability to absorb a crowd, take a bit of wear and tear, and offer a fun, casual space where hosts don't have to worry about formal entertaining.

Randy and Cindy Souder are way ahead of the trend, thanks to their renovated Calhoun County barn in Garfield Township. The couple, along with their friends and family, celebrated the Souders' 50th wedding anniversary during a barn party in June 2023.

While the Souders are relatively new owners of this 96-year-old barn, their connection to this farm goes back to 1994. Back then, Randy Souder was interested in renting the farm, which the Schilling family had owned for years.

"I started talking about cash rent with Warren Schilling, a bachelor who had farmed the land until 1980," Randy Souder said. "Warren didn't know me and didn't seem interested in renting the land to me. He said he wanted $120 an acre for cash rent, even though the going rate was $80 an acre."

As the conversation continued, however, Warren was surprised to learn that Souder's great-uncle was Clarence Carmean, who had farmed nearby. "When Warren learned my grandpa Jessie Pearl (J.P.) Carmean had fixed farm equipment for him, everything changed. Warren let me rent the farm for $60 an acre."

Warren and his older sister Emily continued to live on the farm, where their parents, Sherman and Anna Schilling, had built the barn in 1927 to house horses and dairy cows. After Emily and Warren passed away, the farm passed to the youngest Schilling sibling, Gladys (Schilling) Hickman. The Souders had a good working relationship with the Hickmans, who were willing to invest in the barn.

"Gladys and her husband, Al, put a new roof and steel siding on the barn around 2005," Randy Souder said.

The Hickmans valued the barn, which was built by Oscar Nordine, a local carpenter who constructed many farm buildings in the area. The barn, which measures approximately 40 feet by 58 feet, originally included two oat bins on the north and a full haymow. Half of the barn floor was concrete, while the other half was dirt.

Harry Nordine (Oscar Nordine's nephew) helped straighten the structure after a violent windstorm twisted the barn in the summer of 1970, said Randy Souder, who was named a beneficiary in the Schillings' will.

The Souders received the barn (along with 173 acres of farmland, a corn crib and the farmhouse) in 2019. It wasn't long before the barn would undergo a big transformation, due in large part to the young couple who rented the farmhouse. "They asked if they could host their wedding reception in the barn," Randy Souder said.

The Souders agreed. They started removing clutter from the barn in the summer of 2021.

They also worked with the engaged couple (Chris Larson and Kaylynn Kruckenberg) to pour new cement throughout the entire floor in early September 2021.

Power washing the barn's interior came next. "I thought, 'Wow -- this barn is gorgeous, especially the grain of the wood,'" Cindy Souder said. "The barn's personality came through after everything was cleaned up."

The barn provided a unique venue for the Larsons' wedding reception in October 2021. It also offered a rustic setting for the Souders' 50th wedding anniversary celebration in 2023. This fall, Kaylynn Larson hosted a baby shower in the barn in honor of the upcoming birth of her nephew. Another party is scheduled for the summer of 2024, when Randy Souder (a 1969 graduate of Lake City High School) and Cindy will host his 55th high school class reunion at the barn.

The Souders enjoy using their barn for these gatherings. "There aren't enough barns left in the area anymore," Randy Souder said. "Barns are a neat part of local history."