And Just Like That

And Just Like That

Noel Laflin

4-2-20

Meanwhile, with the help of a hundred kids, the cabin took shape. With old two-man saws we scored the ends of the logs. We then turned them on their side and chipped out the large notches with hatchets struck by mallets. It was with some trepidation that we tested our first notched logs. They fit beautifully. We were off and running. There was always tinkering of some sort. Deepening or widening of a notch could be maddening, but necessary. Chain saws would have made a big difference too, but we adhered to our self-imposed rule, no power tools. Consequently, our tools were simple: hammers, axes, hatchets, bow saws, two-man saws, bark scrapers, and mallets.

The whole project seemed to take on Tom Sawyer-like qualities. I told the kids signing up for the Pioneering Merit Badge class that they would be expected to contribute at least one hour a day to the project. Many of those guys stayed all day, foregoing other activities and free time.

And just like that, or so memory teases, we built a cabin.

Thanks, Jim Donovan, for what just might be the last photo of our old cabin as it stood in Camp Ahwahnee. I had not seen this particular picture before, but it's now a nostalgic favorite. Jim took the photo in the fall of 1980. The cabin was built during the summers of 1972-73. When the Scout council closed the camp in 1980, the cabin was sold, dismantled - just like a giant Lincoln Log set - loaded onto trucks, and reassembled in a neighboring Boys Club camp seven miles away. The Running Springs fire of 2007 destroyed their camp, burning every structure to the ground, including the cabin.

But we've got Jim's photo here. And for that, I am most grateful.