For the Friday picture of the “old” week, I decided on a close up shot of a barn door and the “Big 4” door hanger. By zooming in on the metal washer, I was able to read the company and name of the hanger. The old white barn that was on my home farm had these door hangers before the tornado took the barn down.
I found an advertisement in the November 1922 issue of the Building Age and Builders’ Journal for the Big 4. Below is that ad.
“You Need the NATIONAL “Big 4” Flexible Door Hanger and “Braced Rail”
That barn – or similar job – that you are handling, calls for a heavy-duty Hanger and Rail; for an easily sliding door gives the stamp of the right construction to the whole building.
The Big-4 Flexible Door Hanger has as its keynotes Simplicity and Strength. Note its sturdy appearance in the illustration. Thousands of pairs in use for years in all sections of this country and Canada prove its Serviceability under varying conditions. Made entirely of steel and supplies with anti-friction-steel roller bearings, giving a perfectly free motion to the door.
Brace Rail: Millions of feet of this rail are in use and giving uniform satisfaction for these reasons: brackets only 12 inches apart and double riveted – giving extreme rigidity. The brace below the screws trebles the holding power of the screws. Brackets are same width and thickness as the rail itself, and holes are staggered so the screws will not go into the same grain of wood. A fitting companion for the Big-4 Hanger.
National Manufacturing Co., Sterling, Illinois”
So I wonder what year this “Big 4” was installed and how many times it rolled on the rail track.
The “Big 4” Door Hanger
