I think it was the stately old barn  that convinced us to buy the farm. Its age held a nostalgic appeal to Judd and me Though its old red paint had faded to gray,  the barn stood steady and strong under the    weight of hundreds of sweet-smelling hay piled on its top floor. As the local farmers came to reclaim the hay they had bought, the walls began to reveal not just cobwebs and dust, but memories: old harnesses, tools, and memorabilia. Painted  on the south-east wall was a number: (1918). The significance of the number was a mystery, until Judd visited one day with old Chappy.  Chapman’s Gas …