Alaskan Inputs

Do you know any Eskimos? I do not. And I'm guessing Art the Farmer doesn't, either. 

 So as I happened to read a story about a couple who had gone up to Alaska and built a 12'x12' cabin in the Brooks Range to move into back in the 1970s, I was intrigued. They spent twenty years living there and named their cabin, "Koviashuvik", which is an Eskimo word meaning, "Living in the present moment with quiet joy and contentment".

I read that article back in the 1980s and the word 'Koviashuvik' and its meaning stuck with me long after. 

So later, when a name was needed for the production company I was starting, the spirit of  'Koviashuvik' came back to mind and I settled on the name, 'Kovia Productions'. 

The name has served well over time and becomes even more pertinent now as the old barns series continues and grows. 

I believe the 'Koviashuvik' concept is what old barn lovers across America are about, except that their moments are no longer in the present as our old barns, in too many cases, continue to slip away forever, and that it is their thoughts and perceptions of how things used to be that they embrace. And there's nothing wrong with that, it's all good.

In the meantime, there are still many great old barn stories to capture and portray in this final era of our old American barns, and the "American Barn Stories" program will continue to bring those stories to viewers. 

Here's an Amazon link to the original 'Koviashuvik' book that started it all:

http://www.amazon.com/Koviashuvik-Making-Home-Brooks-Range/dp/0816517959

And here's a link to the original Kovia Productions website many years ago that I will keep up for legacy purposes: http://www.koviaonline.com/      

and the link to the new site supporting the shows:  http://www.americanbarnstories.net/   

Stay tuned for more on the old barns front, and thanks for clicking in,

         Tom, along with Art the Farmer   

PS -- Here's a glimpse at an old barn coming down soon in Wisconsin that had cow steps for the girls to get up into the barn some many years ago. This story will be included in an upcoming 'American Barn Stories' episode.