Group to show off historic Pecatonica Granary during village’s fall festival

Original black, time‑worn paint is one of the most soulful surfaces an antique can carry. It tells you the piece has lived a long, honest life—untouched, unstripped, and rich with the kind of patina that only decades of use can create. The softened edges, the gentle rub‑throughs, the charcoal‑to‑umber shifts in the paint… all of it becomes a quiet record of hands, homes, and history. Black was often chosen for its purpose and symbolism—utility, formality, even a touch of early Americana drama—so