Pierce County barns get day in the sun

Three peninsula structures to appear on CPTC network

Susan Schell

of the Gateway

Three barns located on the Gig Harbor peninsula will be featured in a student film documentary, which began airing on Clover Park Technical College’s network on Monday.

The Marvik barn and the Wilkinson barn in Gig Harbor will appear in the 30-minute film titled “The Barns of Pierce County,” along with the Zarcrossed barn in Lakebay and others countywide.

The documentary was completed after months of work by CPTC film students and video instructor Scott Blatman.

Blatman, an Emmy award-winning former news cameraman, said the film was not originally intended to be a half-hour long. But as the film crew trekked from Eatonville, Roy and west of the Narrows bridges, they said the farmers they met and the film footage they collected was too good to leave out.

“I really didn’t want to do a 30-minute documentary,” Blatman said. “But it’s the best production I’ve done since I’ve been at this school.”

Meeting the farmers and hearing their stories was an educational experience for the film crew. Blatman said he was impressed by their accommodating nature.

“It was really interesting,” he said. “They were really receptive to us and very cool.”

Blatman was especially impressed by John Marvik, who is the Marvik barn’s original owner.

“You can’t find many of those any more,” Blatman said. “They’re all second- and third-generations. I learned a lot about the history of the county and why people came here.”

As the filming progressed, student Hoshana Barrett took the reigns and carried the film on to completion.

“Hoshana is an old soul,” Blatman said. “She was there to pick up the pieces when no one else was. To be a producer in a male-dominated industry is pretty amazing. She’s going to go wherever she wants to in life.”

Barrett said the production aspect seemed like it took “forever.”

“We had to keep changing things and it was a really long process — everyone was really tired by the end,” she said. “It’s good to finally present it and say it’s done. My grandma keeps asking me when it’s going to be on TV.”

“The Barns of Pierce County” is scheduled to air at 9:30 a.m., 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. each day on Comcast Channel 28 and “Click” cable Channel 89.

Reach reporter Susan Schell at 253-853-9240 or by e-mail at susan.schell@gateline.com.