Atop the Alleghenies

Johnstown doesn’t change much, it never has and never will. Its pace is slower than most and its pride is cut deep. Making the now-familiar trip back home would be likened to a curio cabinet in which none of the items inside ever move. Some are tussled around and some may be dusted or even beaten up, but they remain just the same. Too familiar is the territory of Western Pennsylvania near Everett, Breezewood and Bedford. It’s customary to expect the “Mail Pouch Barn,” setting back, just off the road in Bedford. The barn too does not change. It’s merely a bit more jostled than most. In fact, the barn sets barely erect on a frame of seemingly rotting, infested plywood that could be pushed over with one breath or one spit of tobacco to be more exact. Still, if the barn was ever to be removed or torn down, it would change the landscape of Bedford forever.