Keith Vandervort
EMBARRASS – Don Taylor grew up spending time on his neighbor’s farm in Menahga, where he helped with the dairy cows, went on the milk route and did other various chores. He took something away from those formative years that has stayed with him as he nears the end of his seventh decade. He developed a respect and admiration for old barns, and the wood they are made of.
“I’ve always liked the look, the feel, even the smell of barn wood,” Taylor said earlier this month in his workshop at his home east of Embarrass.
And in Taylor’s hands, old barn wood becomes decorative craft pieces and functional furniture, a hobby he enjoys when he is not tending to his full-time remodeling and custom cabinetry business.