However, how many people know about the man behind the design?

On Tuesday, town of Carroll Supervisor Russell Payne, Carroll Historical Society President Harold Bennett and Tracy Magnuson, Magnum Graf-X owner, honored Terry “Travis” Johnson with plaques for his artistic smiling sun designs that have been painted on the barn located at 141 W. Main St. since 1982.

Johnson thought he was just going to the barn Tuesday to start painting his fifth design of the smiling sun. Around noon, however, around 25 local residents started pulling their vehicles into the lot next to the barn to surprise Johnson with a celebration to honor his artistic work.

Mark Gage, owner of the barn, started the celebration by talking about how his father, Martin Gage, was inspired to have Johnson paint the first face on the barn after seeing a barn with a similar design in the midwest. So in 1982, Johnson painted the first smiling sun on the barn. The second smile was done in 1996, followed by the third in 2006. The last update before Wednesday was in 2015.

Tracy Magnuson, Magnum Graf-X owner, presenting a plaque to Terry “Travis” Johnson for being the artist who paints the smiling happy face on the Frewsburg barn, located at 141 W. Main St. The town of Carroll and Carroll Historical Society also presented Johnson with plaques Tuesday for his smiley face paintings through the years on the Frewsburg barn.

Mark Gage said Johnson wanted to update the design in honor of Martin Gage, who passed away in 2016. Mark Gage thanked Jamestown Industrial Truck for providing a boom bucket truck for free so Johnson could use it to paint the next iteration.

“It’s a wonderful day to give Frewsburg a brand new happy face,” Mark Gage said.

Through the years, Mark Gage said there have been different variations of the smiling sun, which has included putting a mask over the month last year during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This past winter a “Let’s Go Bills” graphic was added during Buffalo’s playoff run. Following Martin Gage’s death and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, tears were added to the face.

“I think it’s the best happy face yet,” Mark Gage said about the newest design. “After all this COVID stuff, we need a big, toothy grin.”

Bennett said the Carroll Historical Society is starting to work on making the barn a historic building by the state Historic Preservation Office.

Photos of past smiling face designs Terry “Travis” Johnson painted on a barn in Frewsburg. Johnson started his fifth smiling happy face design on the barn Tuesday. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

“I’m not going to cry,” Johnson joked about the honors he received Tuesday. “Thank you everybody. I appreciate it.”

Johnson told The Post-Journal after the ceremony he is glad that the smiling sun brings joy to people who visit Frewsburg.

“I’m an artist. I just enjoy doing it,” he said. “The barn with the sun on it. Everyone knows it.”