THE HISTORICAL WHITE CABIN
As most of you know, Edsel's dad purchased the cabin in 1954. I asked Edsel for some history on the place and he told me that a group of Methodists got together and helped purchase a large piece of property in the '20's for a church camp. Lot owners, presumably some with structures on them, were given 99 year leases from the camp and most of those who had leases were either local churches or ministers. Edsel said, "I went to the court house and they had no record. They said nothing was recorded back in those days. We bought it from dad in the late 60s or early 70s. When dad was the minister in Joseph, he helped change the leases to deeds. Then the church sold the land around us to develop the land that they kept for the present church camp".
At the top of the page, you can see the "old" cabin on the right and the one in process on the left. Here are a few more photos of the "old" place so you can see why this project is so important to us.
This is the door that is used to enter the cabin - into the kitchen.
This is the deck where Edsel loved to sit and write his sermons. The river is pretty high from spring runoff and Saturday (the 21st) it rained pretty hard during the night which brought the water level up a couple of feet. Ray pointed out the noise of boulders being rolled about by the velocity of the water. Not rocks, BOULDERS - they made big noises!
This is the main room in the cabin. When it is dark inside, you can see light coming through the cracks in the logs.
The kitchen is something else. If it looks a little uneven - it's not the photo! As you walk in the door and across the room, you walk downhill! Since Edsel and Pat weren't there, all the extra tools were stored in the kitchen........
Looking "downhill" in the kitchen - photo taken from the doorway.
The old wiring is still in use.
It's my understanding that this loft is where Pat and Edsel sleep. Or, maybe it's "used to sleep".
I wouldn't enjoy climbing up and down that ladder every day!
Oh, and the combination closet, clothes storage, bathroom area. Or, should I call it the "Master Bath".
This is the street side of the cabin. Along with some of the building materials.......
It's hard to see, but underneath the cabin is a log that the place it sitting on. This is the kitchen window. Note all the end pieces of 2 x 4's and 2 x 6's for future firewood.
THE PLANS
These are the plans for the new cabin. It will be small, but sooo much more comfortable than the old one.
OPERATION - BUILDWhen we arrived on Saturday, Rem and Ray were putting in the joists for the loft area. The foundation, floor joists, sub-floor, most of the exterior framing, walls and windows, and interior framing had been completed by previous volunteer crews. This photo was taken from the road side looking east with the Wallowa River on the other side of the cabins.
This is looking west-ish. River is to the left and in back of me.
The joists for the loft area are partly installed.
Rem and Dean are pulling up sub-floor that Ray and Susan tied off.
Rem, Ray, and Dean are taking a lunch break on the old cabin deck.
On Monday, we were joined by several - including Wayne DeWitt and Roger Bieber who are shown here nailing down the sub-floor in the loft area.
Ray and Dean are lining up the joists for the loft.
Ray and Gordy Wells surveying the project.
The backhoe came in to backfill the foundation.
Faye Wells and Bonnie Lamoreaux swept the floor and did general clean-up so the guys wouldn't trip.
This is where I (Sue Hamilton) spent some of my time. Dean and I did the cross supports for the joists between the main floor and the loft and each piece had to be individually measured and cut because they had to fit perfectly. Instead of Dean climbing up and down the ladder for each one, he would measure and I would cut. We had quite a system by the time we were finished! I also cut the fifty some 9" pieces of 2 x 6 for the pony wall in the loft that the trusses will sit on.
The roofing was delivered Monday evening by Bob and Barb Laughlin who picked it up in Portland at 8AM. The excavator guys had a part break on Monday which immobilized the backhoe, so they had to return on Tuesday to finish up. The big problem however, was how to unload the metal roofing from the trailer without breaking open the packaging.......... The guys who were doing the backfill came to the rescue! They chained the load to the bucket and v-e-r-y carefully lifted it, and.....
Bob drove the trailer out from under it. Mission accomplished!
The next project this team took on was the deck overlooking the river. L - R are Gordy, Bonnie, Dean (on the ladder), Wayne Lamoreaux, Roger, and Ray.
The question of the day - how many men does it take to measure a board?
Roger knows!
Break time - Gordy is spoiling Abby.........
On Wednesday, the load of trusses arrives on a big long truck - without a boom or a crane! I guess he was just going to tip them onto the ground somewhere. He certainly wasn't going to bring them down the driveway! A nice contractor who was working down the road came to our rescue this time. He brought a forklift sort of a thing and unloaded them alongside the road. The guy is so nice, they hired him and his crew to install the trusses and the metal roofing so Ray wouldn't have to get up there! And, believe me, he would have! Gordy accepted the responsibility to pay for it, but if anyone wants to help him, I am sure he would appreciate it.
Gordy and Wayne DeWitt nail up the final pieces of wall after they had nailed down the sub-floor in the loft. These two made a darn good team!
The roof will extend out over the deck to give some shade, so the guys had to put 2 x 6's (I think...) between the house and the deck. This involved a lot of measuring and cutting to get it perfect since the trusses will attach to them.
Gordy balances on the wall while Wayne L lends moral support and a watchful eye.
Wayne L balances precariously on the ladder while Dean and Gordy keep it steady and Roger supervises.
Then came the big beam which had to span the 25' top of the deck roof supports. It took "doers" and "watchers" to get it done!
More precarious ladder work with their wives supporting the guys, as usual! (except me - I was taking the pictures and Dean was on a sturdy 4 legged ladder....)
This is looking into the future kitchen/dining area.
Looking from the kitchen into the living area.
From the door to the deck looking toward the front entrance - bedrooms will be on both sides of the hallway.
This is how the deck looked when we left on Sunday. Things are coming together!
The contractors brought in a crane and lifted the roof trusses into place. Notice that is NOT Ray up on the roof!!! Thank goodness, right, Harriet?
The roofing material is almost all installed! Yeah!
This is a great photo taken from the opposite side of the river.
Another photo showing the front of the new cabin alongside the old cabin. 
We're all looking forward to seeing some more progress on the cabin project.
