Building a Log Cabin

In the 30's, the US Forest Service had a program in the Big Horn Mountains that allowed the building of a log cabin on national forest land. The sites were laid out in specific areas. Each site was about 5 acres. The permit was a lease for 99 years with an annual payment of $15.00.

The site chosen for the Kuzara cabin overlooked the South Fork of the Tongue River---less than a mile downstream from the mouth of Prune Creek---directly across the creek from the Prune creek campground, which at that time was a few tables and rocked-in fire rings to cook on.
7---Prune Creek Campground
8---Kuzara Cabin
9---South Fork of the Tongue River
Two natural rock corner stones served as the foundation in the back---the land sloped away toward the stream---4 concrete piers were poured to complete the foundation. The logs and walls were self supporting between the piers. The date carved in one pier was 1932 or 1933.
The Mounted Head Collection

In 1949, Ed Harper (my future husband) and his brother, Earl, were working for the Burlington railroad in Sheridan, Wyoming. After all efforts to identify the owners of unclaimed freight failed, the railroad held a damaged-and-unclaimed freight sale. Earl had not seen the contents of a group of boxes, but knew they had been there since the 1890's, and that the shipper was the Chicago World's Fair.
1893 was the year of the Chicago World's Fair---The Colombian Exposition. So, he put in a modest bid, probably not more than 25 bucks. The boxes turned out to contain the mounted head collection as seen in the pictures below. Well---obviously they BELONGED at the cabin. Earl, Ed, their brother Neal and VI, Don, and I loaded them into a big dump truck we had borrowed, and took them to the cabin, where they were hung on the walls.

Some time in the early 50's, someone broke into the cabin during the winter months, and as I recall, the only things stolen were the heads. I always assumed if one were to visit enough neighboring cabins, they would find the collection. I recall that the cost to the owners of that cabin was four bottles of booze and a great fishing trip on warmer days to come.
June's Memories of Life at the Cabin

Some images of building the cabin are very strong for me. I remember the rock pile I played in a lot... all the "pretty" stones for the fireplace we never could afford to build... being allowed to sit straddle-legged on logs and use the draw knife to help peel logs before I was big enough to climb up on the saw horse which held the logs... pounding ten penny nails into 6x6's... walking amoung the foundation pillars before there were walls... pounding the nails of the chinking up (or down) after you and John had pounded them in at 1" intervals ... one headed up into the space between the logs... one head down... white washing the latrene first thing in the spring... sitting on our logstools around the flume lumber tables out under the trees near the two 50 gallon oil drums mom used forcooking... the stove pipes dad installed with an elbow at the top so mom could rotate the smoke away from thecook... fresh trout and pancakes and bacon and eggs, (but no other food!)... logs being felledtrimmedandcarried back to the road where it would be loaded on a truck (once... the logs being carried across a log actingas a bridge over a roaring swollen stream)... the swing... the swing... THE SWING (made of log chains andflume 2"x6")... knocking out hundreds of old nails from the flume...carefully straightening the good nails andsizing them... clearing the meadow of deadwood by stacking in teepees... 
Early mornings washing my face in the creek... creeping with Andrew across the road and up the side of the mountain in the rising sun rays of first light to sit quietly pondering the coyote pondering us...
Hours on the big rock sunning and dangling fingers or toes in the water... wading in the ripples... sand castles where the creek had reached high water and receded... the clinks of game after game of horseshoes (pony-sized for me!)... the comforting murmur of distant quiet male conversations in Polish lulling me to sleep... being ALLOWED to catch grasshoppers for fishing and being ALLOWED to clean your own fish.

The cabin was my anchor. Though Vi often didn't go, I went there with Paul, Pauline, and my cousin, Jerry. Jerry and I danced endless hours at Bondi's to the jukebox. I remember VJ Day in August of 1945 very clearly... we were at the cabin and how exhiliarated we felt to know the war was over and my brothers were out of harm's way. The cabin was the place I took each boyfriend, and where Ed and I spent every weekend with Don and Vi.
George notes in the above story that Paul Egbert is Violette's brother, Pauline was his wife, and Jerry, their son. Don is Don Townsend, Violette's second husband and June's step-father.
The Tongue River Flume

The wood structures in these pictures are the remnants of the flume. The flume was a free source of building materials for the cabin, in the later construction stages and from the beginning, for campsite materials
---lean-to shelter---sawhorses---ladders etc. It was free because it was abandoned 20 years before in 1913---available because its route followed the river, just a few hundred yards uphill from the cabin site.
The flume was built in stages during the 1890's with the first section built in 1893. It was 26 miles in length---it ran from Dayton, in the foothills---up the Tongue River, through the Box Canyon---taking the South Fork of the Tongue River continuing on up past the cabin---past Owen Creek and to the West Fork and the Woodrock Camp Sawmill.
The flume was a V-shaped trough---4' wide at the top---with the 2 sides at right angles to each other---mace of 3 layers of 1 x 6's (or 8's) overlapping to be mostly water tight. It was built on a trussed support system with 2 main stringers of 4 x 8's--16' long, connected by 3 x 5's as cross members every 4 ft. Nailed to these cross members were 2 x 8's--16' planks that provided a walkway the entire length of the flume. 
Men walked these catwalks to inspect and repair damage. Smaller side flumes, ending over the main flume, flowed water into the flume to replace what had leaked away, as it floated the logs on their way.
These trussed 16' units were elevated higher or lower, as the terrain required---sometimes clinging to canyon walls---crossing streams---with pathways through forests of pine or thickets of willow and across deep valleys---some places, 70' high!

The flume's only purpose was to float 1000's of logs and cut ties out of the mountains to dump them into the Tongue River a mile above Dayton---the logs were then floated downstream to the tie making plant at Ranchester. The Burlington RR had switch tracks and loading yards there.

All of this effort, cost and labor for the relatively few short years of RR construction that required tremendous quantities of ties---the whole system abandoned---not worth the cost to reclaim the materials and structures that remained.

The Work Crew
To build a log cabin, you need lots of money---or a large labor force. We didn't have much money but we did have available, a large group of assorted men---1 woman---2 boys---and 1 girl---listed in descending order of importance to the project. Andrew was the Boss, Violette was The Cook, and George & John were the Fishermen. However, all the members added their skills to the effort that lasted 10 years and built a cabin---without equal---the quality of the workmanship still evident after 67 years.
Andrew---The Boss. Tireless worker---dedicated, skillful craftsman---practical engineer---perfectionist---even-tempered, and a kind and understanding father.

Violette---The Cook. And dishwasher---log peeler---nail driver---and much more, in her spare time!

The Miners---Adam, and one other man stayed there seven days a week, all summer long. Adam was a very shy man and ate all of his meals in private---fearful of women---his partner I don't remember. The other two miners were Paul Huratik and Joe Butchnic, the company men that operated the cutting machine inside the mine. They came up, like the rest of us, for the four day weekend. The demand for coal---or rather the lack of a demand for coal, in the summer months, was what made the time, and the miners, available for this long lasting and time consuming, labor intensive achievement. The mine operated 3 days a week in the summer months---Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The rest of the week, from Wednesday night to Sunday night, was spent in the mountains working on the cabin.

John and George---The Two Diligent Fishermen. We provided 30 to 40 trout (EVERY DAY!) for the nine people and others. It was a dirty job, but somebody had to do it!

Baby June---She had her own set of helpful chores that she grew into, as the years flew by. She describes these activities herself up above.

The crew worked together for such a short time---just 10 years---from 1932 to 1942. That should have lasted years longer but circumstances and world events caught up with these happy times and changed all our lives---never to return.

The Campsite
The camp at the cabin site was set up on the first trip in the spring---to remain throughout the summer, with someone always there. The umbrella tent was set up---with ditches on the three high sides to run off rain water. This is the tent we used on our previous camping trips. It was the family's sleeping quarters. A large, rectangular wall tent was set up for the miners---with the same ditches on the 3 high sides. (Looking back--I wonder why we didn't build a wooden floor with the 4 x 8's from the flume---sure would have gotten us up and out of the wet and the mud!) We did use flume materials to build a 3 sided lean-to--with a table--always covered with an oil cloth and log stumps cut to the right length, for sitting on at the table. There were oil cloth covered shelves on the back inside wall of the shelter--shelves which provided storage for cooking pots and pans, aluminum plates, and cups and canned foods--Carnation condensed milk--Log Cabin syrup--and many cans of coffee. It must be getting near lunch time--I'm starting to talk about food and that's another story.
Cooking for the Crowd
As I (June) related before, Andrew had made the two 50 gallon oil drum stoves with smoke stack diverters. The miners kept the wood chopped and often fed the fire. They did not cook, but they loved eating Vi's cooking, especially the trout everyone was able to catch. Vi remembers her son George trading his catches from time to time at Bondi's for his fishing needs---she wasn't sure if he ever realized any cash returns! Apparently, we often had trout for the evening meal. Pancakes were the food of choice for breakfast. Lots of vegetables from the garden in which I recall the whole family laboring in one way or another.
(I recall quite vividly the pump which pumped river water up to irrigate it). She said we ate lots of potatoes, mostly boiled or hash browned after boiling. Bacon grease for everything. During the weeks we went to town during the week and left the miners there. We left food for them to use during our absence. (It was all stored in the shed which later was used as the outhouse it was intended to eventually become. As I am writing this, I am recalling a root cellar there as well.)
The miners lived mostly on the trout they caught. Often, when we returned after a few days away, we would find "pine mushrooms" drying on the lean-to roof. We brought live chickens up with us. During the days, they were kept on long tethers. At night, they were closed up in wired boxes in which, if predators bothered them, they would rattle around causing the chickens to sound an alarm and arouse us to rescue them from the coyotes---before their later preordained fate at the chopping block! We also often brought veal or young calf, because Grandpa Kuzara, for some reason which I haven't figured out, always had lots of it to spare. Mostly Vi remembers making thick stews out of it, but I recall, also, chicken fried steak. We also ate baked beans a lot which mom baked in the coals. Because of the altitude, she always pre-cooked the beans and brought them with her. I am recalling that we used to keep a box submerged in the river to act as a fridge. I also recall the special strawberry hunting trips. AND FUDGE ... I always remember making and eating fudge!