In this heartfelt vlog, Victor Justin Rhodes walks viewers through a renovated family barn while speaking to the memory of his late father, "Boots." He recounts the barn’s origins—built by his grandfather Henry in the 1930s as a homestead structure—and describes the extensive modern upgrades: a concrete floor, sound‑absorbing carpet, upgraded lighting, a sliding door, an office loft, and decorative elements like family photos, flags, and a future chandelier system. Throughout the tour, Rhodes reflects on the emotional weight of honoring his father, the sacrifices made across three generations to keep the property in the family, and the financial stakes involved (from his grandfather’s $500 investment to his own half‑million‑dollar commitment). He also ties the physical space to the digital community the family has built online, emphasizing continuity, pride in North Carolina roots, and the hope that future generations will benefit from the barn’s legacy.
Chapters
You see Papa's tree? Think of him any? Didn't think of him anymore? Well, sometimes. Yeah? What do you think? Just sad. Well, my late father Boots, he said he was going to be watching the vlogs from heaven. So let's, uh, shall we go show him the people barn in this good light? Sure. He would be tickled pink about that. It's okay to be sad. I haven't cried in a while. Uh, okay, pop. I think this is so hard because, oh, I'm setting this up so that I'm giving my dad a tour, so I'm going to talk to him. That's where it got hard, because I can talk to him. Maybe he's seeing us in the afterlife, but I can't hear him. There's that possibility, there's that hope, but Still not the same. So for those that don't know that are with us on this tour, this is the old, um, Grandpa built this barn in the '30s and they, they homesteaded here. Sustenance homesteaded, meaning if you didn't grow it, you didn't eat. Milk cows in here, pop milk cows in here. We've since found a more efficient, better, more productive way, which is the pole barn, but Heck, I mean, pop, right there in front of your corn crib, we put this wood pile in. Doesn't that look nice? I thought it would look nice, some reason, to stack it all the way up, and it turned out really nice. We got these flowers at Rebecca's new favorite spot, uh, Lindis. Have you ever heard of Lindis out in Edneyville? That's really nice. Maybe— I don't think you— I don't know if you've had bought a plant, have you? Both sides. We're probably going to turn this into the gravel, but in the meantime, that'll be for extra parking. But in the meantime, just seed it. We've, we've made your door smaller. You know, this is what's special. Grandpa built the barn from the land. All this new wood to make this door configuration and roof is also from the land. So Grandpa Henry's legend continues. Lily, your grandchildren will benefit from this wood and sliding door right here. It'll be gray, it won't look the same, but it will match. So it will match inside. So you want to turn on the lights for me? We've concreted the floor, we've put photos, very nice photos of our animals on the wall. Thank you, Lily. We also have strong lights. We've got 2 or 3 carpets for sound absorption, uh, 2, and, and good looks. We kind of wanted to go for that living room feel. So that's the couches. We've got sound system, projector system, uh, chandelier kind of-ish lights that will be— there's only 3 right now, there'll be 5. No, 4, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. And to replace those kind of ugly bulbs. And then we also have, if you want an evening bulb, like yellow light type of vibe. There you go. We got the American flag under— there's, there's foam underneath that to absorb sound. And the North Carolina flag. We're still proud to call North Carolina home. Oh, your dad's office. Grandpa Henry, for those that don't know, wanted to always build an office above the stall. He never did it. Well, we built an office for Chiddlers. They've got their jingas up there. They were hanging up there last night having a good time. It works out perfect. It looks good. It's somewhere for the kids to go. So thanks for keeping this. Thanks for keeping the barn and the family The land and the family. I remember when you came to me when you got an offer on this place and you said, should we sell it? I said no. I was like 12 or something. I had nothing to give you for it. I had no vision for this place, but I knew I wanted it. So I said no, and although I didn't have any good reason, you respected that and you kept it. And now I know you struggled to keep it. Why do I know that? Well, it's Expensive. It's, it's hard. It's a lot of maintenance. I know that now because I'm paying the bill. So thank you for making that sacrifice. I didn't know what the vision was when I was 12. This is undoubtedly a big part of it. Community's happening here. This represents what we've done digitally, online, creating community. And it's been a wonderful thing. And I wish I could thank Grandpa Henry for making the sacrifice— $500, half a year's wage. I mean, put half of his money on it for 2 years. And then you made the sacrifice for $20,000, and now I'm making the sacrifice for half a million. And That encourages me to keep, keep struggling, keep grinding to make sure this stays in the family and to continue to make it better, just like you did and just like Grandpa Henry did.
