Barre Firehouse Weathervane
There is a special wind direction tool called the Barre Firehouse Weathervane. It is made of copper and was made in 1904. It shows horses that look like they are flying and pulling a fire wagon. You used to find it on top of the fire station in a town called Barre, in the state of Vermont. Now, you can see it in a place called the Vermont History Center in the same town.
The weathervane is not just pretty; it tells us about the history of Barre. The town was known for its beautiful granite and was doing very well. The weathervane was on top of a new fire station that was built in 1904. This station had many rooms and places for horses because at that time, horses helped to put out fires.
They started building the new fire station in the summer of 1904. A company from Boston made the weathervane for the fire station. This company also made other metal parts for the building. The weathervane was put high up on the building where everyone could see it.
The weathervane is important because it shows how the town of Barre was proud of its fire station and the people who worked there. It cost a lot of money to build the station and to make the weathervane, but the town was happy to do it because they thought they had the best fire team around.
People work to keep old buildings, important objects, and special places safe. This work started to be popular in the last century. It means we want to keep parts of our city that are very old and important.
There are different kinds of jobs in this area. Some people follow the rules to make sure old things are safe. These rules are written by the government. Other people build or fix old buildings. Some work at places like museums to teach others about history. They might also help make old parts of the city look nice again.
In the United States, a lot of the work is to make sure people follow the rules about old buildings. The country has special rules about what people can do with these buildings. States and cities have their own rules, too. If someone wants to change an old building, they must ask for permission. This makes sure the building stays the way it is supposed to look.
This work is very important to keep our history alive.
People sometimes steal art like paintings and sculptures from places like museums and galleries. This is called art theft or artnapping. The thieves might sell the art or use it to get money from banks. Not a lot of stolen art is found again—about 10%. There are special police groups in many countries that look for stolen art.
A long time ago, in 1911, someone stole the Mona Lisa from a museum in Paris. But they found it later. Another famous painting, The Scream, was stolen in 2004 but they got it back in 2006. One time in Boston, USA, thieves took 13 art pieces worth $500 million. No one has found them yet.
Sometimes, people steal art because they know it's worth a lot of money. Even if a museum is very safe, sometimes other places with expensive art are not so safe. Thieves might choose a piece of art they know well to steal. But it's hard for them to sell famous art because buyers know it's stolen and they could get in trouble. It's also hard for the buyer to show the art to other people without them realizing it's stolen.