Reactions are Rewarding

I started something! The reactions to my cabin blogs are wonderful. Now I know why I was compelled to write them. Many are sent to my "regular" e-mail address and several things were clarified, too.

Two neighborhood siblings remember their grandmother being the victim of an overshot dart from the living room into the bedroom behind the partition when they were staying at the cabin for a while. It landed in her wig! Their sister remembers the dog who liked to taunt the children while swimming. She also remembers the jelly making projects with me. One remembers the cleaning of rabbits in the old sink, plus seeing the "egg factory" of a hen being cleaned at the kitchen table and my mother showing what's inside it. The lazy susan that was, and still is, on the kitchen table fascinated one young girl. She shared the name but resented the lazy part. They remember the horsehoe pits and vying for time there; also playing Frisbie when adults were throwing horseshoes. The old horseshoes and stakes are in our utility closet today and haven't been used in decades. Today, these sisters are both elementary schoolteachers. Their "homey" feelings and remembering a welcoming place where so many people came and went were expressed with love.

One friend reminds me that she was there too, when the mouse ran across the mantel and left a scary shadow. She also described the fishing incident where SHE caught the turtle on her line while in a canoe with my brother and the demise of the critter afterwards. It was THE turtle that was later cooked and eaten. She told me that my mom claimed the turtle contained seven delicacies but, being a city girl, didn't want anything to do with actually eating it. No Way! Now I know. I didn't know that!

Their messages and descriptions have made the memories even more important. I wish ALL the children and visitors to Cabin Tranquillity would tell me more!

The Cabin - Part 5 - Conclusion

The Memories Without "Backup" Photos

You are just going to have to rely on my recall of the following incidents that happened at the cabin. They are as truthful as I can impart. Remember, these happened a LONG time ago. The aging process has retained - quite clearly, and embraced my long term reminiscences and is beginning to eradicate some of my short term matters. I just think a few of these are worth remembering. I'd better get them down on paper now!

Once, when the cabin was under construction and had no walls nor roof, my brother, sister, myself and my husband all spent a night there. The concrete floor had been poured and the fireplace and chimney were constructed and functional. There was no water and no electricity, but we were on an adventure. The folding cots were set up in front of the fireplace and a gas lantern was lit at bedtime. The fellas were not there when my sister and I went to bed. I believe they were still fishing down by the lake so we left the lantern on. Suddenly, she sat up and screamed, "A RAT! A rat just ran over the mantel!" Well, don't you know it HAD to be the shadow of a small mouse that was cast upon the chimney. Mice were a-plenty. Rats were not so likely to be around. It took her a long time to go to sleep after her scare.

Another tale that comes to mind is about the "Laura snake." The children, around the age of 9, 10, 11 and 12 used to cary a pail, coffee can or some other sort of container and venture down the dirt road to hunt for snakes. Yes! The snakes would come out of the rock ledges to sun themselves so they were an easy roundup. Many could also be found under rocks and in debris along the shoreline. I love their beauty to this day. When caught, either with bare hands or a forked stick, they were brought back to be discussed and admired before being released. These older children wanted to introduce a particular one they had just caught in the flowerbed to their little sister, who was outdoors in the playpen. The small green garter snake was only presented to her to handle and hold. She IMMEDIATELY snatched it up with both hands and BIT it! In the middle! It died. the older kids were horrified and the small child wailed when they took it away.

This snake account is one that happened when I was picking wildflowers on the bank of the dam. I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye and looked down to see a coiled up very grandly marked snake just beside my sneaker. I held perfectly still and called for my husband to bring the shovel or a gun because it was, in my mind, a copperhead. I didn't want THEM around me or my children. He came, he shot it and it burst open, revealing dozens of sacs of baby snakes. Those shiny little sacks of babies just about ready to be born normally didn't have a chance, now. End of story? No. It was later determined that it was a common rat snake and not a viper. I was so sorry.

The boys, big and small, once hauled a turkey platter-sized snapping turtle from the lake. What a commotion that was! I draw a complete blank on how it was killed or the meat was gleaned, but I DO remember that my mom made turtle soup for all. From then on, whenever a snapping turtle was captured, the male family members released it to a new home at neighboring lake.

One morning, a very long time ago when we were here I saw very large cat paw prints in the snowy field right next to the cabin. I remember that there was some sort of swipe mark in the middle. It's presumed it was a mountain lion roaming. Strange wailing sounds had been heard previously in the night. Mountain lions our neck of the woods in Pennsylvania? Very possibly because we are surrounded by rugged mountains and have a water source.

Who could forget "Gemma" Mom's black Labrador Retriever. The kids all hated it when she was let loose to swim with them because she paddled too close and scratched them. They tried everything to make her go away, but she had rights and, after all, loved to swim and play too.

Once, after we carelessly dumped the spent charcoal from the iron hibachi onto a spot on the grassy field next the cabin, our youngest daughter, around the age of 4, running barefoot across the lawn stepped on the still hot coals! We had intended to dump water on the smoldering remains, but didn't move fast enough. We were just preparing to travel to our home away from the cabin and had to comfort her with ice-packed towels until she finally fell asleep. Burns HURT! (My husband remembers it was the middle daughter and not the youngest. He may be correct.)

Our oldest boy seemed to be the most active and was always getting into something. One time he got a fishhook embedded so deeply in his thumb that we had to take him to the local hospital for its removal. The doctors there didn't seem to have the correct tools and wire cutters were finally located. After that, we removed several other hooks from fingers, hands and arms ourselves. It's a tricky procedure, but I had posted explicit directions on a varnished panel board in the bathroom near the medical supplies for reference.

Usually in the winter way back in the 60's the water was drained and the cabin was put to sleep for the winter. Winterizing had no impact on us. We came on weekends anyway. Eight of us. The fireplace still could provide heat and the living room became a good drying area for the wet winter attire, some slung over the beams. Water was collected from a spring that was located at the water's edge on a bank nearby. The children had this chore and they made it into a fun activity. A small red plastic toboggan with an attached rope was utilized to transport the water jugs from the spring up the bank and to the side door. There was much wetness involved as you would guess. It got away from them one time and slid back down the bank and across the icy lake for quite a distance, the filled jugs remaining in place except for one that flew off and burst open.

A hole was chopped through the ice, which could reach 30 inches thick, for two large pails to be dipped and filled and brought up to the cabin. Why? To flush the toilet of course!

As for keeping the fireplace logs burning through the night, my husband would be sure to drink lots of fluids before going to bed so he would have to wake up for nature's call and then could reload the fire with enough logs to keep it going until morning.

The elderberry color is lovely, full of depth and drama - it looks more purple in some lights, but usually tends more towards the burgundy with purply-blue undertones. The actual elderberry home made items show off this marvelous color. Have you ever had elderberry pie? Elderberry jelly? Mom made the pies (they are too seedy for my taste) and I made the jelly. When the jelly didn't jell - we used it as pancake syrup. It's a labor intensive process; gathering, washing, sorting, cooking, bagging into cheesecloth to strain. When the mushy bag is accidently dropped into the the old porcelain sink and goes SPLAT! the colorful stuff can stain anything in its vicinity. That's what happened to me one hot afternoon. It's bad enough to have purple hands from the project, but to have to peel off a hot-berry splattered shirt was difficult. Then my face, arms, hair, underwear and all were purple. Needless to say several items of clothing were tossed in the garbage can that day. The clean-up of me and the kitchen was agonizing. I was more careful the next time I made that delectable sweet and colorful treat!

The Cabin - Part 4

Activities Around the Cabin

Swimming AND diving happened all summer long for many years until the diving board cracked and had to be removed. The dock ladder often became slippery and was scrubbed regularly. The dock finally gave way to a new one, that was built by my daughter and grandson in 2004. The float, a wooden structure mounted on metal barrels, was anchored to the bottom of the lake with an iron chain attached to a huge metal wagon wheel. The float was taken in to the beach bank before winter and then re-launched in the spring. Our family men took care of this maneuver yearly until several years ago when it was too much to handle by the one who did most of the duty alone.

Fishing still is a main activity, done by almost every family member - big or small. An old flat-bottom row boat with an electric motor was in service until a new "V" hull one took its place. Just throwing a line from the bank or dock results in a nice catch often. Fishes caught are: pickerel, largemouth bass, bullhead catfish, perch, crappie, bluegill sunfish and longear sunfish. A long time ago walleye, northern pike and trout were stocked and caught, but were fished out.

Boating is our recreation in water through the use of rowboats, canoes, kayaks, sailboats, paddle boats, pontoon boats - all human-powered or electric-powered watercraft. Then there are the non-boat floation items used for drifting, paddling and moving about: tire tubes, rafts, noodles, and inflatable or foam lounge chairs. What fun!

Picnics, steak bakes, pig roasts, birthday and graduation parties and holiday celebrations such as 4h of July and Memorial Day, were mustered and enjoyed by family, friends and guests. Once there was even an outdoor poultry processing demonstration, put on by my mother to educate an assemblage of youngsters and adults. What an experience that one was! Exclamations of "yuk!" "phew!" and "wow!" rang loudly several times. A barbeque chicken dinner followed, of course.

There are the quiet activities and pastimes: Walking, running, dog walking, bicycling, stroller pushing, ice skating, tenting, reading, and porch sitting. Go carts, quads, snowmobiles, a powered ice boat, the "ice-screamer" horses and ponies, motorcycles, tractors, mowers, saws, weed wackers, snow blowers, generators, and commercial vehicles are the noisemakers. I almost forgot to mention the target shooting before hunting season and horseshoes clanking against the old iron posts!

Cabin Tranquillity is not tranquil all of the time!

Mom & Pop had no idea what they started!

The Old Diving Board
The Old Dock
The Old Float on Tilt

The Old Float Repaired

The New Dock

Grandson & Son
Daughter
Husband
Grandson
Flat Bottom Boat
New "V" Hull Boat
Floating & Lounging
Daughter's Inflatable Friend
(Me) Grilling Hamburgers in Tire Rim

Granddaughter's Birthday Party
Blue Ribbon Hand Made "Pig-Rig"
Skewered Pig Cooked
Removing Skewer
Removing Chicken Wire Wrap
Picking and Tasting
Poultry Plucking
Poultry Processing
Son on Motorbike
"Dune buggy Gang"
Brother on Motorcycle
Trail Riding
The "Ice Screamer"
Granddaughter on Quad
My Kids and Husband Snowmobiling
Mom Mowing
Husband Blowing Snow
SC Friends Camping
Brother & Pop First Sign
Husband Replaces Sign

The Cabin - Part 3

A Few Questions and Answers

(1) How many uses did the clothesline have besides for hanging wet bathing suits, beach towels, wet rags and laundry? (Once there were two lines, until the rear tree had to be cut down.)

A. Some are: It once displayed a spray can painted sheet I made as an anniversary banner for a gathering in 1994. It also stored bead and plastic canvas home made "twirlies" I made to be given away to each couple attending the anniversary celebration.

It has shown off a pair of crocheted blankets I designed and made in 1977, using 32 different colored skeins, for my two youngest children after first receiving a blue ribbon award at the regional fair. It is still, and always has been a landing spot for assorted types of birds to rest between flights. Old line is always reused for tying down "things."

(2) How many logs have been split over 37 years as firewood for the original fireplace, and then later for the firebox barrel insert? (ash, oak, beech, birch, hickory, maple, apple, cherry)

1962

A. Tons of logs were made into an exceeding number of cords, all then stacked neatly, of course.

(3) How many bare babies' butts were placed in the old porcelain sink or on its built in porcelain corrugated drain board for bathing the little ones?

A. Six that I have personally placed there. Several others who I can think of were also subjected.

(4) What other uses does the bathroom ceiling (covered with random tongue and groove knotty pine planks) provide?

A. It provides a loft floor. Sleeping up by the rafters was a place for friends when there were too many visiting overnight for the overflow of beds such as the sofas, porch swing, and floor cots. Once it held four fold up cots for my kids when they were young; they loved to all go up there, but only the older four were permitted to sleep there. It has always been a source of storage space.

1968

1969

(5) Why do I live here?

A. Just because. (Re-read all of the above.)

The Cabin - Part 1

The Cabin - Part 1

It started as a dream retreat, a log cabin in the mountains of Pennsylvania, on a private lake, a peaceful place and an escape from the working world. Location: one hundred thirty five miles from their current home near another lake in northern New Jersey. My parents planned to call the cabin, "Tranquility." They met in a church and were married in 1934 in a town called "Tranquility."

In 1999 my mother (PFN) wrote about its name. She was 85. It was the year of their 65th wedding anniversary.

This is her writing:

TRANQUILITY ........by PFN 1999

It's just a word, isn't it? Funk and Wagnalls says "tranquility" whether it is spelled with one or two "L"s means the state of being tranquil, rest or quiet.

But to a certain writer, it was, and is so very much more. First of all, it is a small country village not far from here where a beloved aunt taught school in a little one-room building. Later the same building became a community center. She retired after many years and was later to marry the man she would meet in almost the same location. This happened, would you believe it, in the village cemetery where he had come to place flowers on the grave of his first wife. After they were married they lived in a home just a few feet from the community center and the little white church just across the road.

Another chapter began when this writer and her parents came to celebrate a mortgage burning ceremony in the same former schoolhouse. It was now enlarged and became the gathering place for chicken and waffle suppers, harvest homes and other affairs put on by the church. This time a large group awaited a concert that was planned.

The uncle had invited a gentleman from a nearby farm where he was working as a state milk tester, to be the soloist. At the conclusion of the performance, the young man (tall, dark and handsome, of course) asked to be introduced to one of the young women in the front row of the audience. This he did and so began a new era of "tranquility." The girl had come to the evening meeting to drive for her parents and to practice her recently acquired driver's license.

The young couple dated for a couple of years and found they had a number of things in common. The next step was an engagement and soon a marriage. Inside the wedding ring the word "tranquility" was engraved as a fitting motto; now, after almost sixty-five years, it is barely visible.

Soon a family came along. First there came a daughter who was baptized in a beautiful large church in another small town. The next child was a son who was baptized in the little white church just across the road from the spot where so much had started.

As the family grew it moved to an urban town nearer the father's business needs. Soon twin daughters came along to complete the growing family. They were baptized in the large stone church on the green. All the children developed many interests and another diversion seemed to be in order.

A little log cabin in another state provided rest and recreation with new friends and interests. Of course, the cabin had to be named "Tranquility." The signmaker had erred and spelled it "Tranquillity." It became quite well-known around the little country lake that had been built by a cousin. This relative had generously offered the family the privilege of choosing a building lot wherever they liked. An ideal spot near the dam and spillway provided a choice view of the whole lake including watching the many forms of wildlife.

On the porch of the cabin hangs a framed article entitled "Tranquility," apparently the sentiments of another writer had written and published many years earlier as evidenced by the yellowing newspaper article.

Many things were happening around the world, the foremost of which was the landing on the moon by the astronauts. Was the "Sea of Tranquility" just another coincidence?

Two more minor things added to this strange saga when the oldest daughter began selling articles of jewelry put out by a famous company that specialized in home party sales. One very popular item was a silver pendant depicting the moon landing and was called "Tranquility." It sold out quickly and everyone in the family has tried to find this special piece but has had no luck so far, Another company that made cosmetics, took advantage of the publicity and put out a skin fragrance also called "Tranquility." This was purchased and is enjoyed still. How strange that a single word could be the focus of so many happenings!

The little country village, the community house and the tiny white church remain there still today. Perhaps our story will have its ending in the neat Tranquility Cemetery where it had all begun so many years ago.

The Tranquility United Methodist Church, was built in 1870.

Furnaces and Frost Memory

The 'heating with coal' method in the 40's was dirty, messy, a lot of work but quite efficient. I believe it was the primary fuel source to heat homes.

An asbestos-covered furnace existed in our cellar. The pipes running from it were also asbestos-covered. In fact, in the grammar school I attended, the asbestos-covered pipes ran all through the hallways. I remember scratching my initials and drawing pictures in the asbestos coverings with my fingernails! (This was done when my parents weren't looking because a strong scolding always resulted, but I couldn't help myself.) Naughty!

Coal slid from the delivery truck down a metal chute which went through our cellar window at the far end of the house. The truck first had to back into our neighbor's driveway to deliver. Then the back of the truck would raise up and tip downward, the chutes would be attached and a lever was pulled to release the coal. The coal was wet, I guess so it wouldn't spark and catch fire!

The coal was hand-shoveled into the furnace and had to be replenished regularly throughout the day. It was brought over to the furnace from the bin across the cellar in a hand-carried pail. When Dad was at work, Mom had to keep the fire going. Dad was away overnight for a day or two periodically. Times were hard then.

The fire had to be remade each morning which was the coldest time of the day. The first task was to remove the old ash from beneath the fire grate (a cast iron grid which held the coal). The grate was raised up to allow air in and to let the ashes fall into a pan, and this pan had to be taken out and up the cellar stairs to the outside driveway besides the house to be emptied. If there was no snow, it was emptied into buckets and kept for future use. The process created clouds of dust. Although most of the ashes did collect in the pan, the space below still needed to be swept out, which made more dust.

Keeping the fire going was really an art in those days. Chimney fires were always a threat when the heat was cranked up. It had something to do with the draft and the draw. If the fire went out, it was a pain to start it up again. I remember balled up newspaper being used. A hot fire in the furnace created the heat necessary to boil the water to make the steam. I remember there was a glass tube on the side of the furnace in which a certain level of water had to be maintained so the steam could build up in the radiators on the first and second floors. Steam heat was the result. How I loved to hear the whistle go off when the steam pressure was released. It meant heat!

It also meant that when I woke up in the morning the gift of an absolutely wonderful and beautiful frost-glazed window was sparkling bright to greet me. - and tempt me. I could now scratch magical designs with my childhood imaginative artwork. Breathing on the frost would enhance the drawings - in my mind! I would redecorate my window at every chance throughout the cold winter.

Indoor Activities

I bought some hair curlers and rolled my hair after showering this AM. I haven't had hair long enough to curl up is soooo many years. It's a pain, but I felt like I needed some sort of change. I bought the kind of curler that has a brush inside and a pick to hold it in place. They HURT! They're WORSE to take out! Guess I always have to experiment with stuff.

Yesterday, my first husband sent me a DVD of some old 8mm movies that he'd been storing in his garage for over 45 years. Somehow, he has put them together in a 1 hour long "movie" on the DVD and thought I'd like to have a copy. It was bittersweet. It shows he and me and our parents and siblings before we were married. It continues on with segments of our wedding, honeymoon trip to FL, a New Year's party in the old log cabin where we first lived, our first child until the age of 1 and then our 2nd child (son who died at age 37) and ends with a shot of our third son as an infant. There is a segment of my (now 71) brother in 1956 performing amateur stunts on his motorcycle.

More to this tale now:

I spent yesterday making my own movie on the computer(s) of just my brother riding. It was an experiment and extreme test of persistence. (I have never used the DVD player on my new computer.) Well, the DVD wouldn't play and froze it. I had to pull the power plug to get outta there!

Sooooo I tried it on the old Y2K computer. That old baby only has a total 80MB hard drive, but---it played! I couldn't get rid of the "controller" because every time I told the computer to "hide controller" the DVD would stop and I had to start all over again! I got the bright idea then to copy the section I wanted of it right off of that computer with my regular digital camera set on movie mode. Then I imported it from my camera into my newer computer and made a short iMovie. I then uploaded it to YouTube and shared it with my brother and his only child, a son with a wild and creative streak, too. They both let me know today that they got a kick out of watching it. I'll attach my link to YouTube for you to see what I did.

Today, my nephew wrote asking me, "Is there ANY way to get a copy of the original file? I want to use it in a video I've been planning for a year now.... Affectionately titled "The Boys" :) " Well I answered him with the information of how to contact my first husband and, get this, they practically live down the street from each other!! YES!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi2ouBnQ6Qk

By the way.....The TV was running in the other room when I was shooting the movie of the DVD which was running on an 11 year old computer. I wouldn't tell my husband to turn it down. He's very hard of hearing. Go with the flow rules in this case! I could have made my movie without sound, but didn't.... so people will just have to turn down their volume if they don't like the background sounds!