There can’t be a lot of barns erected these days in Chino, population 93,000 and growing. Farms are going away, not going in. But a new barn has been built and dedicated. It’s an addition to the city museum property at 10th and B streets. The main building is the community’s first schoolhouse, erected in 1888. Inside the Old Schoolhouse Museum you can learn about schools, industry, wartime service and more. The new building is reminiscent of a barn: red with white trim, a weather vane on top. Officially named The Barn, it offers display space specifically about, what else, farming. “Our goal was to house antique farm equipment from Chino’s dairy and agricultural days,” Lynda Flathers, president of the Chino Valley Historical Society, told me. I attended the dedication Nov. 16. It was my day off, but the novelty, and my affection for Chino, drew me. After the remarks and the ribbon cutting, we entered. At 722 square feet, the space is more the size of an apartment than a traditional barn, but it’s got farm implements and related items donated over the years by farm families. Among the items: a dairy milking chair, a milk can, a pitchfork and a shepherd’s crook. Some are rather old: a 1940s butter churn made of glass. An early 1900s grain-fanning mill. A late 1800s stitching horse bench. And a horse buggy dating to the 1870s. Photos document a potato field, a blacksmith shop, a hay baler and a sugar beet factory, all from Chino’s early days. A dairy milking chair, a butter churn and a milk can are among the humble items in The Barn, which is devoted to Chino’s agricultural past. (Photo by David Allen, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) One squat metal object, an enclosed tank with a funnel, turns out to have produced what we might call an agricultural byproduct: bootlegged liquor. “It’s a still,” an amused Flathers said. The still is believed to have been confiscated by the town marshal early in the 20th century. “One of the reasons for incorporating the city in 1910,” the exhibit tag reads, “was to dry it up.” A barn has been talked about for some 15 years, according to City Manager Linda Reich, who was previously parks and recreation director. It was the idea of Phyllis Outhier, who as president of the Historical Society was considered the valley’s chief historian before her death in 2014. The project cost $2.2 million, most of it for The Barn but also for fresh paint for the museum and for street and sidewalk improvements at that intersection. City funds were used except for $95,000 from the society, which raised money from bequests and “donors from the community, lots of them,” Flathers said. Originally this barn was going to house a tractor. But the building’s footprint was reduced and a tractor wouldn’t fit. One may end up parked elsewhere on the grounds. The 1932 John Deere tractor from the Yorba-Slaughter Adobe has been pledged. “Now we just have to figure out how to get it here,” said Lori Fritsch, one of two curators for the museum. Hours for the Old Schoolhouse Museum and The Barn are 10 a.m.-3 p.m. each Wednesday and Thursday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. the second Saturday of each month. Entry is free. By the way, The Barn has another item that caught my attention: a cowbell. Note the singular: one cowbell. What The Barn needs, honestly, is more cowbell. Speaking of Chino A public celebration of life for Dennis Yates, who served on the Chino City Council for 24 years, the last 12 as mayor, is planned for 3 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Chaffey College Chino Community Center, 5890 College Park Ave. Yates, who died Sept. 7 at age 79, was also well-known as the deep-voiced announcer for Pop Warner football games and other sports. I hope the service will include a video or recording of Yates’ voice. I can’t be the only one who’d like to hear it once more. Chino and me The Chino Valley Historical Society’s annual meeting takes place Jan. 25 at 10 a.m. at the Chino Community Building, 5443 B St. Featured attraction: yours truly. I’ll be reading from my new collection, “Waving at Strangers.” Two nail-biters Two Inland Empire election campaigns cited in my Nov. 10 column as being exceedingly close are still close, but perhaps settling into their final outcomes (or not). For Montclair City Council, where incumbent Tenice Johnson and challenger Xavier Mendez were seeking the second of two seats, you’ll recall that the two on Nov. 6 had the exact same number of votes. Two days later Mendez was ahead by six votes and by Nov. 13 had pulled ahead by 12. The next day, in a reversal, Johnson had taken the lead by 11. By Monday, though, Mendez was again in the lead by 15, growing to 18 on Friday. If you sat out that election, you may have missed a rare chance to make a measurable difference. In the Chino Valley Independent Fire District, where incumbent John DeMonaco is trying to hold onto his seat against challenger Andrew Romaine, the lead has gone back and forth. First Romaine was ahead by 35. On Nov. 8 DeMonaco led by four. The next day, he led by six. By Nov. 13, however, Romaine had established a lead of 65 votes, expanding to 79 votes last Thursday and to 157 on Monday. Since then, his lead has narrowed a bit, to 152 on Tuesday, to 133 on Thursday and 128 on Friday. You might say DeMonaco has nibbled away at Romaine. For his part, Romaine may be thinking, “Lettuce hope my lead holds.” Related Articles Local News | In wild meeting, San Bernardino City Council debates firing attorney Local News | Cheech Marin statue now greets visitors outside Riverside museum Local News | Matt Gaetz, Trump’s attorney general pick, fought Riverside and won Local News | Disney link to Inland Empire cited in Michael Connelly’s ‘The Waiting’ Local News | Joan Crawford’s ‘Strait-Jacket’ wraps arms around 1960s Riverside brIEfly They must be breathing a sigh of relief at Riverside City Hall after Matt Gaetz withdrew as President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee. As noted here Nov. 17, the far-right firebrand had sued the city over his free-speech rights and won. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot with a man who might have become the nation’s top law-enforcement figure. Also out, but only temporarily: yours truly, who is taking this week off. See you back here on Dec. 4. And happy Thanksgiving! David Allen, the newspaper version of cranberry sauce, writes Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Email [email protected], phone 909-483-9339, like davidallencolumnist on Facebook and follow @davidallen909 on X.