Great memories, sad ending. . . maybe. . .. 1986 - 2013, Part One

I showed this image from a 1986 newspaper article about a log chapel I built for my landlord/friends/log cabin mentor on my other blog about a year ago.

I built two cabins for this man, and helped on another and helped maintain all three plus the main house for fifteen years ending with me moving away about 1995..

. . . here is the whole story.











I would have to say I first fell in love with log buildings by watching the old 1960's TV show' Daniel Boone.

But did not find much of a way to do anything about it till about 1973 when I. . . .

. . . drove on to this property owned by John and Jane Frank and run as 'Log House Antiques' for probably thirty years.

In 1972 or 73 I pulled in and asked if I could do some sketches on the property and they said "Yes". We got to talking and I never did finish a sketch but started working for them on buildings and handy man stuff.

This is the side view from the drive. This was taken this week and you can see my car near the front. This, the main house and antique shop was constructed over about twenty years from several log barns and building. Although looking slightly disjointed from the outside, the inside was very grand and beautifully finished. It was from John Frank that I learned much of what I know about log buildings.

The property was about three acres, and at the back of the property, in 1974, John wanted to build a small log cabin to dedicate to Abraham Lincoln for the Bicentennial in 1976.
So this would be the first log building I worked on. I didn't get to do much more than collect stones for and work on the foundation because I broke my foot that same summer.
But over the years I did lots of work on it helping to maintain it.

It was constructed in such away that it could be used as a guest house, but it was mostly used as a living museum to educate school kids on early American life.

It was built from two smaller cabins from different location and rebuilt as this dog-trot style cabin.
The building to the left was once a smoke house.
On the right hand cabin John built a fireplace with a working brick oven of to the side.

Building the First one.

The first cabin I actually built was for John on some property they owned near Augusta.

It was built from about one hundred small cedar logs that had been inside another building I took down on the property.

The fireplace was from the earlier building and I built the log building around the structure.

 Here in it's first snow.

We re-built the inside of the fire place so it would draw better and making it heat the cabin better.

Spent lots of weekends out there cutting firewood and hiking around.

I have not been back to it for many years, and need to do so soon.

John Frank showed me many fine old building in our county over the years, many places I still visit and have fond memories of.

Tomorrow, part Two.