B2R by the fire - 'Lure of the Labrador Wild'

It is hard to imagine in this day and age, when we have access to just about everywhere easily in North America, that just over a hundred nears ago there were places within our borders that had yet to be explored.
Matter of fact, before the 1950's very few non-aboriginal people lived in Labrador year round.

In 1900 author Dillon Wallace met  Leonidas Hubbard, who invited him on an expedition to Labrador to explore the area leading up to Lake Michikamau.

The expedition started by taking the wrong river and went down hill from there.

Wallaces style of writing was easy and relaxing, almost like reading and adventure of Sherlock Holmes.
You could even imagine Wallace and Hubbard as Holmes and Watson.

The two explorers.

Up until this expedition Wallace had worked as a lawyer.

This would be the first of 26 books by Wallace, after which Wallace became a writer and explorer for outdoor magazines.

Leonidas died on the expedition, and to Leonidas' wife, Mina, it seemed as if he was being blamed for the failure of the adventure.

When Hubbard planned a second expedition Leonidas' wife announced that she would also lead an expedition giving some redemtion to her husbands memory.

The race became very popular with the media of the day.


Both Expeditions produced books.

The book makes you want to see that part of the world.

I still hope to meet this guy some day. . . .

Cabin fever: Charles McRaven teaches how to build log structures that last

• BY DAVID A. MAURER
 
• Apr 15, 2017

At the age of 81, Charles “Mac” McRaven still can swing a goosewing broadax with the authority of a young Abe Lincoln.

Through the decades, the Albemarle County author and master craftsman has built and restored more than 450 log, stone and post-and-beam structures throughout the country. He is widely recognized as a leading authority on the preservation of rough-hewn log cabins.

For five days in early May, McRaven will teach a workshop at his Ravenoak home near Charlottesville on aspects of building a hewn-log cabin. In August, he will dedicate the same number of days to teaching stonework, and in the fall, the workshop topic will be blacksmithing.

“This year, we are doing something a little unusual for the hewn-log cabin workshop,” said McRaven, who has been teaching pioneer skills since 1980. “I’ll be teaching things like the hewing of logs using broadaxes and foot adzes.

“And I’ll be showing the students how to finish out a cabin by doing the chinking, and putting in doors, windows and a floor system. Almost everybody who takes a log workshop ends up building a log cabin, or finding an old one to restore.

“I’ve had several people take two or three workshops from me. I love sharing my knowledge with others, and some of my best friends have been former students of mine.”

One of McRaven’s repeat students is Elizabeth Pearson, who will be traveling from her home in Montgomery County, Maryland, to take the log cabin workshop. This will be her third workshop, as she previously took one on stone masonry and another on how to build a timber frame structure.

Pearson is used to working with her hands, having been rebuilding pianos since 2007. She recently became the piano technician for the President’s Own Marine Band, and she soon will visit the White House to take care of one of the pianos there.

“Mankind has been fascinated for centuries by things lost, and ancient arts gone by,” Pearson wrote in an email. “I’m likewise fascinated by these things, but more than that, I have dreams of building something beautiful that will last through the ages.

“I dream about building historic vacation cottages, and, in time, building my own house. How do you not make the room in your schedule to spend a few days at a workshop with a man who has built covered bridges, reconstructed historic buildings and can fix anything?

“I figured from the beginning that Mac was a special person. Getting to know Mac and Linda [his wife] has been a wonderful experience.”

McRaven has given workshops throughout the country and has presented lectures related to pioneer skills at locations such as the Ozark Folk Center, Minnesota Arboretum and the National Building Museum. His 1978 book, “The Classic Hewn-Log House: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building & Restoring,” helped to usher him onto the national stage.

“The interest in log cabins really took off in the 1970s, when so many people were going back to the land,” McRaven said. “At the time, there were several books on the market about weekend cabins and round pole cabins, but nothing on authentic, Appalachian hewn-log cabins.

“So I wrote that book, and it’s still in print and has done very well. I was teaching journalism at the College of the Ozarks at the time, and after the book came out, I started getting requests to build and restore log cabins.

“I switched over to doing that, but I’ve always liked to teach, so it was a natural thing for me to start giving these workshops. I actually got interested in teaching the craft of log cabin building when I was seeing log cabins being pushed over and burned.

“Teaching people how to create a place to live for very little money, and with a few simple tools, was something I wanted to share.”

What McRaven learned in 1980 at the Arkansas Folk Center, where he gave his first workshop, informed how he teaches today. The experience turned out to be a primer on how not to teach a workshop on building a log cabin.

“When I got to the center to start teaching the workshop, I saw a bunch of skinny round poles they wanted to build the cabin with,” said McRaven, who, with his wife, founded the Free Union Country School 33 years ago. “Those poles weren’t going to make a decent cabin, but there were 30 people there wanting to learn.

“I did the best I could, but I realized this needed to be done right. First off, one person can’t teach 30 people hands-on stuff.

“That’s why I limit my workshops to about 15 people. The essence of my teaching style is to show the students what to do, and then let them do it.”

Pearson mentioned that one of the side benefits of taking a workshop from McRaven is listening to his stories. The stories often relate to lessons he has learned, and high points in his career.

“In 2009, a lady living in Baltimore wanted me to restore her grandfather’s house, which is near Love Gap on the Blue Ridge Parkway,” said the father of five. “The cabin was built in 1897 with small chestnut logs.

“It was the worst cabin we ever worked on, because it was literally about to fall off a cliff. We had to tie a cable to it and anchor it to a big tree before we could jack it up and work on it.

“With a lot of hard work, we restored that thing. It doesn’t have electricity or plumbing, but it turned into one of the sweetest cabins I’ve ever done.”

McRaven didn’t have the benefit of learning how to build a log cabin from an expert like himself. His school was the academy of trial and error, with extra credit given for boneheaded mistakes.

“If somebody starts to build their own shelter and doesn’t know how to do it, he or she will make a lot of mistakes,” McRaven cautioned. “The first log cabin I built was a nightmare.

“Because I was self-taught, I didn’t do the chinking or the notches right. I learned the hard way from my mistakes. A lot of people are interested in building a log cabin until it comes to actually doing it. Then they say, ‘Whoa, man. This is a lot more work than I ever thought.’

“But I teach them to look back at what they have accomplished, rather than looking ahead and getting intimidated by what still needs to be done.”

In mid-August, McRaven will dedicate five days to teaching students stonework. He has written three books on the subject — “Stone Primer,” “Stonework” and “Building with Stone.”

“After my log cabin book came out, my publisher wanted me to write a book about building with stone,” said McRaven, who is the Presbyterian minister of Waddell Memorial Church in Rapidan. “I was doing a lot of blacksmithing at the time, and I wanted to do a book on that."

Source

One that got away - a Lincoln County barn

If you have been following for more than a couple of days now, both of you, you have been seeing lots of photos of this Adirondack Project out at the cabin.

But just like every thing else on this blog, there seems to be a story to go along with parts of it.

In this case it is part of the foundation 'The Project' stands on.

The foundation was not originally built for this shelter.

Instead, it was built for this small log barn you can see to the left in the second photo.

Back in the late 90's while driving around Lincoln County Mo., I came across an old small barn out in a field.
It had not been used for a very long time.
The roof was partially gone, and trees were hugged up real tight to its sides.
One had actually damaged a few logs.

A couple of friends and myself took it down one Sunday in the winter.
The barn measured 16' x 16'. The logs were fairly small and it had pretty wide gaps between the logs.

I built a foundation right away and got the logs up very quickly.

And then the project stalled. I bought a house, money had to go else where, time had to be spent on other things . .  you know the story.

After sitting un-roofed for several years, the already not great logs got even worse. To the point where the repairs required made the project no longer feasible.
Eventually I took the logs down, but left the foundation.

(Found a picture of it before we took it down.)

While I wish I had made the time to finish the little barn, and save the logs, I like what I ended up doing with the foundation.

Books to read while sitting around your cabins fire (We will call this B2R from now on)

Cooler weather is slowly approaching here in Missouri. Today is the fall equinox, Sept 22nd.
So my thoughts start roaming towards cooler days and chilly nights when the fires soft glow warms the spaces in the cabin.

Or if you prefer, taking a break outside by the open fire and reading while the sun warms your back.
No matter what image you come up with, this is the time to start bringing out the books suitable for cabin reading. And when it comes right down to it, it probably doesn't really matter what you read, just take the time and do it.

I am going to try to post at least one book a week till spring time, maybe more, that makes me want to be outside as the weather cools. We will see how that goes.

Whether with a cup of tea or hot chocolate, or a glass of wine, lets get comfortable and enjoy.



For my first suggestion I am going to go down very familiar ground and start with one of my favorite outdoor writers, one I have talked about here a few times.

As I have mentioned here many times, in the late 70's I had the chance to work in some of the most beautiful wilderness in the country, the area called Baxter State Park in Maine.

We were given a list of suggested books to explore that dealt a lot with the area I was going to work in.
One of the authors suggested was Edmund Ware Smith. And he was one of the ones I chose to familiarize myself with the area. Mr. Smith over the years wrote for many of the popular outdoor magazines like Ford Times, Outdoor Life, Sports Afield, etc.

I don't remember which of these two was the first I read, but it doesn't matter, I was hooked.
Either will do to start with.
Both tell stories of the areas local fishing and hunting and characters. Many true and many not so true, but still lots of fun.

You can smell the wood smoke and hear the loons as you read along with Mr. Smith.

I wanted a tar paper roof on my first cabin after reading his description of the sound of rain on a tar paper roof.

The call of the loon is exactly like Mr. Smith describes it.
You can see your canoe paddle cutting through the still lake water as you read the stories.

One of my favorites is the tale of a young man taking his father for his last canoe ride.
The father had died while at the hunting camp and the tale is a paddle down memory lane as the son take him back to the boat landing for the last time.

His books were hard to come by for many years, with old copies starting around $75.00.
But now reprints of some of his books are easily available.


It also didn't hurt that I loved the artist who did the illustrations.

I was also lucky in that Mr. Smiths cabin was just a short hike down an old logging road from where I worked.
I was able to see many of the places he would write about, some just down by the lake in front of his cabin.
Some of the people he wrote about still lived nearby and I got to know them pretty well and kept in touch for many years. This really brought the stories to life.

Mr. Smith had been dead for several years before I came to Maine, but his family still owned the property and I was able to visit it a few times, and walked by it many times.

I go back to these stories quite often and enjoy the return to the Maine woods.

I hope you enjoy the visit also.

Nice before and after. . . .

Source

Shingles on - time for a break - The Project

Took yesterday off work and headed out to the cabin early. Wanted to get the shingles on before any bad weather moves in.

By eight a.m. I was up on the roof hard at it.

Finished the west (back) side and moved here to the east (front) side.

 This is from the south-west side showing the big cabin and the Adirondack shelter.

 From the porch.

 Expanded from the porch.

Does it look at all like the below drawing I did way back at the beginning?

Worked at it all day and like how it looks in the end. Here from the north west. I think this will be my favorite view.

John Burroughs Cabin 'Slabsides', New York

 'Slabsides'

Little Log Cabin by Robert Service

THE LITTLE OLD LOG CABIN

When a man gits on his uppers in a hard-pan sort of town,
An' he ain't got nothin' comin' an' he can't afford ter eat,
An' he's in a fix for lodgin' an' he wanders up an' down,
An' you'd fancy he'd been boozin', he's so locoed 'bout the feet;
When he's feelin' sneakin' sorry an' his belt is hangin' slack,
An' his face is peaked an' gray-like an' his heart gits down an' whines,
Then he's apt ter git a-thinkin' an' a-wishin' he was back
In the little ol' log cabin in the shadder of the pines.

When he's on the blazin' desert an' his canteen's sprung a leak,
An' he's all alone an' crazy an' he's crawlin' like a snail,
An' his tongue's so black an' swollen that it hurts him fer to speak,
An' he gouges down fer water an' the raven's on his trail;
When he's done with care and cursin' an' he feels more like to cry,
An' he sees ol' Death a-grinnin' an' he thinks upon his crimes,
Then he's like ter hev' a vision, as he settles down ter die,
Of the little ol' log cabin an' the roses an' the vines.

Oh, the little ol' log cabin, it's a solemn shinin' mark,
When a feller gits ter sinnin' an' a-goin' ter the wall,
An' folks don't understand him an' he's gropin' in the dark,
An' he's sick of bein' cursed at an' he's longin' fer his call!
When the sun of life's a-sinkin' you can see it 'way above,
On the hill from out the shadder in a glory 'gin the sky,
An' your mother's voice is callin', an' her arms are stretched in love,
An' somehow you're glad you're goin', an' you ain't a-scared to die;
When you'll be like a kid again an' nestle to her breast,
An' never leave its shelter, an' forget, an' love, an' rest.

The Project - so what comes next?

Once the shingles go on and the logs are safe from the weather, what comes next?

Well, I will probably take a break from this project for a couple of months to work on daughters tree-house.

But after that, it will be time to fill in the space between the logs.

This is called 'chinking' or 'chinking and daubing'.

I have always just called the whole process chinking, but I can't claim that to be official and lots of other reading suggests people like to have two names for the process, so we will go with  'Chinking' and 'Daubing'.

Back in the good old days, if a structure was just going to be used for animals the logs would either be left un-chinked or have boards over the openings. And unfortunately, if it were going to be a slave cabin, it may have only been boarded also.

When I took down this old building which I call 'The Pitts Blacksmith Shop', which became the smaller cabin on my property, as you can see, it had the gaps just covered with boards.

This served the purpose of just keeping the wind out for the animals or, in this case, a working blacksmith.





Log buildings that would be used as a home in climates that had lots of cooler weather, had to do something more than just putting boards over the gaps.

'Chinking'

The most common method was to put some kind of solid filler between the logs first, such as wood or stone.
  And then some kind of compound over this.
  Usually a combination of clay, mud, straw or horse hair would cover the solids.
  In this picture of the finished 'Pitts Blacksmith Shop' I left the solids between the logs exposed on the top two rows as a teachable moment.

The white over the solids is my 'chinking' method.

 These next couple of photos show some of the ways solids have been put between the logs.

This cabin had pretty narrow gaps so just a few flat pieces of wood where needed.

If it had been a hewn log cabin, some of the 'chips' from the hewing would have been used.

 In this one, the gaps are bigger and the pieces of wood had to be stacked like fallen dominoes.
If wedged tightly this can also help support the logs, which keeps the chinking tighter.

Some sources just call the solids between the logs the 'chinking'.

This is also a very good way of supporting the logs with the solids.
Small stones are wedged beneath each other, once again like fallen dominoes. (I prefer this method because I think my 'daubing' material holds better to stone.)

As you can see in this cropped image of the 'Pitts' building, that is what I did here.

I like it because the rough surfaces of the stones makes a good platform for the covering to attach to.

Now, on the main cabin, the two story, I braced between the logs with bricks and stones to support the span, but because I had such a large area to do I used 1/4 inch hardware cloth as 'chinking', nailed to the logs to support the 'duabing'. If you plan, when rebuilding, to put insulation between the logs, this is the best method. (And I will take photos of this next time I am at the cabin. This method also makes it easy to run wiring between logs, just don't cement right on the wiring.)

'Daubing' (the white stuff)

 Now the next step is open to lots of debate.
  Some sources call placing the covering layer on the solids 'daubing'. I still just refer to the whole process as 'chinking'.
  But for this discussion lets go ahead and give it it's own name and call it daubing.
  I have only ever used one kind of daubing, it was what I was taught.
And so far it has worked for me.
  (In this image the 'daubing' has been patched or repaired many times. Probably because the logs get to much exposure to the weather.)

But there are lots of arguments over which kind of material is best for the 'chinking'.

The daubing I have always used is a Portland cement, lime and sand mixture. And if mixed right it is very easy to apply. 8 sand, 2 cement, one lime, unless you like it real white, then just add more lime. But make sure each batch is consistent.

  I like a very white 'daubing' between the logs to make the gray of the logs stand out, but that is an individual choice. (You can also get a powdered dye if you want it to look more natural like clay or mud.)
  Here on the main cabin you can see how the white stands out.
  Draw backs with this method are; It is very hard to replace or fix.
If your foundation is not good, and the logs move a lot, it can crack or move away from the logs.
I have had neither of those problems with mine, as of yet, in 20 plus years.

Modern 'daubing' is made from a flexible synthetic material and is easy to apply and repair.
It seals very well, is flexible, and being flexible, keeps any drafts from coming between the logs.

I have never used it.

But. . . if I were building a log building to live in everyday, I would probably try this.

My biggest concern with this method would be whether or not it would hold moisture against the logs.

It would require some research on my part.

Like I said earlier, old 'daubing' would have been made out of clay, mud, with some sort of binder like straw, grass or horse hair.

In taking down several cabins I have come across some mud, straw, horse hair chinking.

But at $227.00 for five gallons and with an only ten year warranty, (and about $12,000 - $15,000  to daub the whole cabin) I think for the projects on my property, I am going to stick with what I know and hope it lasts for many more years.

Would we let Scouts this age have axes and saws in this day and age?

Boy Scout log Cabins - Camp Oyo

 Camp Oyo, Ohio.

Good news story. . .

Boy with special needs gets custom log cabin in his backyard

A 6-year-old boy who uses a wheelchair was surprised with a custom-made log cabin in his backyard that is inspired by a cabin he fell in love with at a camp for kids with serious illnesses.

Evan Vaudry, of Cumberland, Rhode Island, was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) at 18 months old. The genetic disease affects the control of muscle movement, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Evan, who will attend first grade in the fall, is not able to stand and has only recently, thanks to a newly approved medication, been able to sit for long periods unattended, according to his father Stephen Vaudry.

Vaudry and his wife, Lynne, took their son last year to Dream Day, a summer camp on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for kids with serious illnesses. Of all the activities at the camp, Evan loved the log cabin the family stayed in.

“We stayed in a little cabin that was really rustic and he loved it and thought it was so fun,” Vaudry said. “He mentioned, ‘Yeah I’d like to have a cabin at home.’”

Last Sunday, Evan got his wish when he got to go inside a log cabin that was driven straight to his backyard from a company in Ohio. The cabin surprise was coordinated by Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a nonprofit organization that grants wishes to children diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.

The cabin features two entrances, a wheelchair ramp, a chalkboard, rocking chairs, its own mailbox and door knocker, and, most importantly, completely open space for Evan to maneuver his wheelchair.

“Evan’s parents told us that the first thing he wanted to do the morning after his cabin reveal party was sit by the window and look at the cabin,” Charlotte Beattie, CEO of Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island, said in a statement to ABC News. “Stories like that motivate all of us at Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island to reach our goal of fulfilling the wish of every eligible child.”

Vaudry and Evan will be the cabin's first overnight guests this weekend when the father and son plan to "sleep out" in their new digs.

“It’s on the back of our property near trees so it’s like his own cabin in the woods,” Vaudry said. "When I came home from work yesterday he was out in the cabin and didn’t want to leave."

Play dates are also already on the schedule for the cabin, which features a sign out front that reads “Evan’s Cabin Est. 2017.”

"Every day Evan wants to go in the cabin," Vaudry said. "He can’t spend enough time in there.”

source

• By KATIE KINDELAN
 

Jul 19, 2017, 1:35 PM ET

Hopefully another one saved. . . .

By JIM WEIKER, The Columbus Dispatch

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Home renovations can yield surprises.

But few are as big as the one that Kevin Kemp and Jennifer Alexander discovered.

The couple was planning to raze a home that they bought recently on Riverside Drive in Dublin, to build a new house on the property, when Kemp and a friend, Larry Daniels, decided to remove some paneling for reuse.

"We pulled off one of the pieces of paneling and I said, 'Larry, that's a log,'" Kemp recalled. "We pulled off another and I said, 'My god, this is a log cabin.'"

Behind the knotty-pine paneling and drywall were walnut and beech logs, some more than 16 inches wide and 30 feet long. More deconstruction revealed the prize: a perfectly preserved two-story log cabin, probably built between 1820 and 1840.

Experts say it's one of the largest and best-preserved log cabins discovered in central Ohio.

The remarkable find prompted Kemp and Alexander to halt their planned demolition and contact the city of Dublin.

"I think history is really important," said Kemp, a chiropractor who now lives in Gahanna. "This doesn't belong to us. It belongs to the city."

Dublin saw an opportunity to preserve a piece of its past.

"I was just amazed when I walked in and saw the cabin," Assistant City Manager Michelle Crandall said. "I knew when I walked in we had to find a way to salvage it."

The city hired the Columbus company Structural Erectors to dismantle the cabin, at a cost of about $27,000, with the hope of rebuilding it elsewhere.

Structural Erectors plans to start pulling the logs apart with a crane Thursday. Joe Orr, a company vice president, said the logs will be tagged as they are removed and stored in a city barn until the cabin can be reconstructed.

No site has been selected, but Tom Holton, president of the Dublin Historical Society, would like to see the cabin rebuilt in Coffman Park on Emerald Parkway.

Holton described the cabin as a "once-in-a-lifetime" find.

"It was startling and was just kind of wonderment to see history just peeled away, to see history revealed right before your eyes," he said.

Holton has found no evidence of the cabin's origin, but he estimates it was built between 1820 and 1840.

The property originally was part of the 500 acres that Congress granted to Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish colonel who served with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

The earliest record of a building on the site is on an 1856 map that shows a home belonging to A. Maties, said Columbus historian Doreen Uhas Sauer, who agreed that the cabin is likely older than that.

Several cabins from the early 19th century can be found in central Ohio, but most have been moved and rebuilt. Kemp and Alexander's is rare because it's on the original site and was preserved "in a time capsule," said Uhas Sauer.

"These are remnants of American history that seemingly have disappeared or, like this house, remain silent and buried under siding and permastone," she said. "When they suddenly reappear like this house, how wonderful — like a little Brigadoon."

In addition to being perfectly preserved, the 25-by-30-foot cabin is much larger than most others in the area, including those rebuilt at Indian Run Falls Park and Red Trabue Nature Preserve in Dublin.

"The significance here is the completeness of the cabin and the size and condition," Holton said. "It will be one of the largest ones that has been discovered and recovered in the area."

The cabin's discovery has set back Kemp and Alexander's plan to eventually build their dream home on the site. But they say that's OK.

"We love adventures," said Alexander, who works in the human-resources department at American Electric Power. "This might delay us a few months, but it's cool."

source

Getting close now - another day of progress on the Project.

 While each days work no longer looks like a major job, like when logs go up or rafters are set, we none the less got lots done Saturday this weekend.

We first trimmed off the boards on the roof decking so all was straight.

Then we put the drip trim on which really finished the edges.

Then we almost got all the shingles on the large (west) side of the roof.

Assistant had fun with all the scaffolding we built and then getting on the roof.

Just a few more hours work and the roof will be ready for fall rains and winter snows.

Whats this got to do with log cabins?

Not a lot actually.

Other than it takes place out at the first cabin I built. Photo around 1982 I believe.
You can just see the cabin to the left in the photo.

The man who owned the property, John Frank (my log cabin mentor), where I built this cabin had a nephew who was a very good chef and a very busy caterer.

One of the nephews clients was a very important lawyer in St Louis.

And the nephew asked my mentor if he knew someone who could get him a very large Christmas tree for the lawyer's very large house. He of course thought I was a really good candidate for the job and offered me, and a tree near the first log cabin.

On this cloudy Dec. day I drove out to the property and went to work.

I cut down the tree, rolled it onto a canvas drop cloth, and bundled it up, nice and secure.

Then came; "How do I get it on to my truck?"

Being much wiser in the-way-of-the-woods (not to mention much younger and not as many aches and pains) back then than I am now, I was able to come up with a solution.

I first tied two ropes around the tree.
Threw both ropes over a tall tree (I had a good arm back then).
Then I tied one rope to my trucks (a 1976 Ford Ranger, my first pick-up) trailer hitch and left the other rope loose.

I then drove the truck away from where the tree lie, and as I did so the tree was hoisted airborne.

I then tied the second rope off to another tree, securing the future Christmas tree in it's now airborne state.

I untied the rope tied to my truck, then backed under the hanging tree and then lowered it down on to my trucks roof.

As you can see from the photo the tree hung quite a bit over front and back of the truck.

I then drove the truck to St Louis and delivered it to the lawyers home.

Westmoreland and Portland Place are, shall we say, where many of the affluent live in St Louis.
A gated community just across Kingshighway from The Chase Park Plaza.

The lawyer was not home when I arrived, so the house boy was left (probably planned) to help me with the tree.

The tree was to set in the entrance way of the house, right in the middle between the two stair cases, one going up on each side of the entrance hall. Very grand entrance, a Disney type thing.
And you can imagine how tall the entrance way must have been because we had to trim very little off the bottom of the tree to get it stood up.

Once we had it in place I asked if the house boy could show me around the place a little.
The one thing I really remember about the brief tour was how big the formal dining room was.
Two thoughts came to mind; "Wow, this is big enough to play tennis in.", and, "You could put four small mobile homes in here. Two side by side, with another two on top."

Quite a day, that's for sure.

Every once in a while, if we are in the area, we drive by looking for the house. I keep thinking I remember which one it is and I point it out, and tell this story.
Family is probably getting tired of it, so I thought I would share it with you.

Blast from the past - part two.

 Still sorting slides.

For the life of me I have no idea where either of these two are other than St Charles County.

This one a nice double crib barn.
Picture from around 1981.
Probably didn't last many more years after this with the roof the way it is.

(edit; Okay, I remember where this one came from, near Lake Sherwood Mo.)

Would love to remember where this one was.
Picture from about the same time.

Nice hewn logs.
Never chinked by the look of it.
Notice the logs and boards over what would have been the gaps between the logs.

Would love to know if that wagon is still around.