BOWLING GREEN - As Canadian citizens, Maureen Yorga and her husband, Paul Morris, have as a rule to never put a political sign in their yard.
Yesterday, they bent that rule a bit, inviting volunteers from "Ohio Barns for Obama" to paint a bright red-and-blue Obama logo on the front of the 101-year-old horse barn behind their South Church Street home.
Ms. Yorga said it was Colin Powell's endorsement speech for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on Sunday that prompted her to offer her old, gray barn for painting.
His speech, she said, brought to mind her late husband, Ralph "Terry" Hilfer, an American who left Columbia University as a sophomore to volunteer for service in the Vietnam War. To him, the barn is dedicated.
"Terry wasn't Republican or Democrat. He was very independent," she said.
BROAD SIDES OF OHIO BARNS PAINTED
"I think Obama represents the America that Terry loved, which was a patriotic America where people served their country, but he also admired and respected people who brought America together."
The barn is the ninth to be painted in northwest Ohio - there will be 22 statewide by the end of the week, according to Jerri Boyers of Defiance, coordinator of Ohio Barns for Obama in northwest Ohio.
"We're trying to show there is a lot of rural support out there for Obama which has typically been Republican," Ms. Boyers said. "It's a way to let other rural folks know it's OK to support Obama because lots of your neighbors are doing it."
While the corner of South Church and Washington streets near downtown Bowling Green is not exactly rural countryside, Ms. Yorga figures her barn still fit the bill.
"Bowling Green pretty much is a rural American town," she said.
Barns also have been painted in Fremont, Port Clinton, Kenton, and Spencerville. A second Wood County site - on Housekeeper Road just west of State Rt. 199 - was painted two weeks ago.
Connie Strange said her husband's cousin, Gary Lehman, owns the farm but lives out of state.
He flew in for the paint job, which didn't wind up on any of the barns at the property.
"We ended up painting the side of the garage because it was more visible from the road," she said.
Brian Heath, who described himself as a "painter" and "artist," has been painting the Obama barns in the area.
He's doing the work as a volunteer and Obama supporter, although the paint and other supplies are provided at each site.
He has painted the Obama logo in the shape of the state of Ohio, used the logo as the O in HOPE, and worked in a few other variations.
"A lot of it depends on how much time I have," he said.
Also how much barn and what kind of shape it's in.
"A lot of them have had very old siding and haven't been painted for years and the paint just sucks in," Mr. Heath, a California native now living in Kenton, said.
Yesterday's project drew a steady group of onlookers. Among them was Dinah Vincent, Sandy Wicks, and Barbara O'Brien, who were sporting "Obama Mama" pins.
"We are all mothers," Mrs. Vincent explained. "I think we feel positively this is an election for families. It really matters to families."
She said she hoped lots of people would drive down Washington Street just west of the post office to see the freshly painted barn.
"I think it's great," Mrs. Vincent said. "I wish I had a barn."
Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-353-5972.
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