Monday, November 19, 2012

Barn Charm

My Barn Charm posts for the past couple of weeks have featured the historic Mail Pouch Barns with ads for chewing tobacco. I've noted many times that while I don't condone the use of tobacco the Mail Pouch barns are of significant historical value. Many of you may know the Mail Pouch barn originated in West Virginia. At one time they numbered in the thousands across West Virginia and throughtout the nation. Many are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They are a symbol of a great marketing strategy. That same strategy is being used today in West Virginia to promote tobacco prevention.
This barn is the result of a campaign called Save Face geared to ending the use of spit/chewing tobacco. I found this one along the same route as the four Mail Pouch barns I posted the last couple of weeks.  I really have to go back and hope that little door is closed because I can't figure out what it says behind it. :)
Linking to Tricia's Barn Charm.

33 comments:

diane b said...

I can't think what it might say behind the door either. Let us know when you find out. I like the idea of using the barns trying to undo the adds they used to have.

Elizabeth Edwards said...

i seriously love it ... that is so cool. i find ad barns the best. i love to see how the owner feels ... great find. i seriously can not wait to see what you come up with next. ha. ha!!

enjoy your Thanksgiving. ( :

Kerri Farley said...

Now that is so cool! I have never seen one of those .....

TexWisGirl said...

that's pretty cool.

Red said...

The signs are most interesting and yes what's behind "the open door"?
So this looks like a one time dairy operation?

Pat said...

That sure is a catchy phrase, "Quit Spit Tobacco!"

I have never seen this written on a barn before! Looks fairly new or recently painted.

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

Great green barn with the advertising. Maybe it says "Just Quit Now". Let us know if you find out.
It must be the week for green barns. I just posted one too and so did someone else.

renae said...

Carletta! hi! the barn is definitely charming. i love the whole side used as a billboard.

so glad you are having family coming home together. what a blessing!
thank you for your visit and your similar gratitude list.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Neat, Carletta.... That is great of West VA now trying to prevent people from spitting/chewing tobacco. I hadn't realized that Mail Pouch had started in West VA.

The only ones I remember growing up with are the "See Rock City" Barns.

Hope you and your family/loved ones have a fabulous Thanksgiving.
Hugs,
Betsy

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

These really are wonderful photos! I've enjoyed seeing them! It's one of the things I love about traveling!

Nell at njschout said...

That is certainly an interesting ad and the rowboat matches the barn!

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Love the bright color- and what a fabulous idea to use the same barns to dissuade folks from chewing that nasty stuff.

Kaya said...

I love this barn, I love it so much with all these words. I always wonder who wrote them.

Very excellent and beautiful photographs of a such festive and beautiful barn!!! Green and white colors create such a wonderful contrast!

Kathy said...

I say it's about time! We need to quit romanticizing the use of tobacco.

Sally in WA said...

Interesting use to combat tobacco use. Hopefully it is working. Lovely barn, too.

Have a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Unknown said...

love it!

Mari said...

This is a seriously cool barn! Love it!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

How cool -- using old advertising methods for a new problem (or at least new in that we've become more aware of it).....it's a pretty barn and I hope the message works.

Karen Lakis said...

I'm wondering what it says too - I keep playing the words in my mind and am coming up blank. Very cool barn!

Cheryl @ TFD said...

This neat barn was a great find! I think they came up with a great idea to put the ads on the sides of these wonderful old barns.
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Elaine said...

This is great, and the best part is it's on the same route as the Mail Pouch barns! The bright yellow and white letters really stand out against the green.

I left a comment on my blog in response to your comment on the lack of snow on the hills behind the barns. There really is snow on the hills, just not on the trees as it has been windy for several days now and all the trees are bare.

Anonymous said...

Good way to promote the issue. That's a nice barn.

EG CameraGirl said...

Ah! This is a great version of the tobacco mail pouch ads!

JunieRose2005 said...

Love this picture-AND the message!

Leave It To Davis said...

Maybe "try to quit now" or "just quit now"....I like your post along with the picture. It's very interesting. I never heard of such. I have, however, heard of Forever In Blue Jeans....Neil Diamond fan here! :)

Latane Barton said...

Those are new to me and I just love it. Great message.... and it makes for interesting conversation.Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Rose said...

I even tried googling 'quit spit tobacco barn' and then clicking on images and no luck...make sure I see it if you get to photograph it with the door closed.

It is a beautiful barn, too!

Liz said...

Nice find, Carletta!!

Anonymous said...

Well, lookie there, I never would have guessed it would be switched around like that! Genius on the part of that ad campaign.

Thanks so much for joining, Carletta... you always teach us something new =)

Anonymous said...

What a cool find... love it!

Greg Puckett said...

Hey everyone!

I came across this blog while looking for old photos of the mail pouch barns. I'm working on a powerpoint that I'll be using at the state spit tobacco conference at Stonewall Jackson resort later this week.

So.... To answer your questions... Our agency, Community Connections, in cooperation with the West Virginia Division of Tobacco Prevention, has painted a total of FIVE of these barns now. The first was in Monroe County and it was the first EVER spit tobacco prevention barn. Then, we came back to our home county in Mercer and then to Wyoming. This barn (the green one) was done in Jackson County up on rt. 21. That location was chosen because of the multiple mail pouch barns on that road. All that said, it led us to the biggest project to date... our Breast Cancer Awareness Barn in Harmon, WV. To see a lot more photos of all of these barns, visit the facebook page for the breast cancer barn and like the page. We plan to do many more as funds allow.

OH... And this barn has the new 1-800-QUIT NOW number on it so that people can call and receive free patches, gum, or candy to help quit using tobacco products.

Greg Puckett said...

https://www.facebook.com/BreastCancerAwarenessBarn

Unknown said...

I like the Mail Pouch signs better than the stop chewing one. The Mail Pouch are more original, and a lot more fun.