PAIGE, Texas — When Betsy Carpenter was a little girl, she visited her parent's land in Paige, going fishing and riding horses.
It was tradition.
Now, she and her husband Bob Carpenter are helping Texas A&M University students create new traditions on that same land.
"No other university builds that brotherhood of unity that A&M has for each other, and it’s important to Bob and me that we pass it back," Betsy said.
The couple are first-generation graduates of the university, and the owners of the new Aggie barn located along State Highway 21 between Austin and College Station.
Betsy's grandparents, David Foman "DF" Kauffman, Sr. and Bess Roberts Kauffman, owned the land and passed it down to her parents, Doyle and Rachel Kauffman Owens.
Then her parents passed 100 acres to her.
It used to be a cattle farm, but the couple cleared the land and transformed the 100-year-old farm into a gathering spot for Aggies.
They say construction wasn't an easy process.
It took six months to build, utilizing pieces of tin from the family's original structure on the new barn, but they wanted to build something students could use.
"We’ve always had barn envy," Bob said. "You drive on Highway 6 into Reagan, Texas. There’s some people that have this old barn and it just sits there."
They've allowed students to stay overnight in the barn.
Inside students could use the loft, two bathrooms, a small kitchen and even sign a Sbisa Dining Hall table used in the 1960s and 1970s.
Executive Director of Destination Bryan John Friebele says attractions like the barn help bring more visitors and even money to towns.
"It really serves to build awareness of the area both here, locally and those who are traveling through," Friebele said.
But the Carpenters aren't in it for the money.
While they don't charge visitors, they only ask for a donation to the Pocket Pantry, an organization that helps students who are experiencing food insecurity.
They only want to instill values like selflessness into students who visit and honor their grandparents and parents.
"We like that this is honoring my grandparents and my parents and the Aggie family as a whole," Betsy said.
They say their work isn't done yet as they plan to add a farmhouse, a blacksmith shop, a skeet shooting range, small ponds for fishing, cattle and crops.
They even plan to pass the land down to their children and grandchildren who are two more generations of Aggies.
"It's kind of a vision and dream that's becoming a reality for us, and we are just appreciative of people who have worked here and create this, so Aggies can build new traditions here at the Aggie barn," Betsy said.
To use the Aggie Barn for events, contact Betsy Carpenter at her email, betsy.carpenter@gmail.com.
