History of my cabin

Let me describe the cabin a little, to paint a picture. My great great grandfather (my mom’s side) bought 80acres of land in Wisconsin. When it came down to my grandfather and his 3 siblings, one sibling had 2 kids, my grandfather had 6, the other 2 didn’t have kids. When my mom and her siblings were old enough to want their own cabin there, the aunts caused a rucket "You can’t just build anywhere". I believe they were mad that most of the land would go to my grandfather’s family, which, what were they going to do with it?

During this dispute, my parents bought a cabin in MN on a lake, an aunt of mine bought a cabin in Northern MN (by her husband’s family). After a few years, the land got resolved and the kids all got to pick 3 lots. The lots were already drawn out I believe and they had to draw a card for the order of picking. My mom was last, she picked where our cabin is now. Then for round 2, they reversed the order, so she was first. She picked the lot right next to our cabin. Then we have a 5 acre lot in the woods. I think the 2 lots on the lake total 5 acres together, I don’t know.

My parents sold the MN cabin. Our cabin was a popup camper for a few years. My parents bought a house that was for sale, not on a lot. The house got delivered from MN to WI. First the foundation got made. I cant remember if that was done before the house got moved up there or not. I was 6 when this happened! Thee foundation was a walk out basement and was the exact size of this little house. I do remember that someone had to come and move the house onto the foundation. Then probably immediately, my dad built this deck that covers the front and back, with a walk way on the side, stairs down on the lake side. The deck on the lake side is about the width and length of the cabin. On the road side, there’s a little deck, we do have a round table and chairs there.

After few years, my parents took down the inside of the walls in the living room. That was neat! It was insulated with newspapers. It was all from Lake Minnetonka area (MN), I want to say in the 40’s. I remember seeing suits for sale, lake shore lots for sale, vehicles for sale. Very VERY fast, the white newspaper turned yellow, being insulated was preserving the paper. Then the walls got insulated how it’s done now and tar siding got put up, on the ceiling too.

This cabin was only a summer cabin, it only had a furnace in between the living room and the kitchen built into the wall, you know the kind that just heats right there. One time when it was just my parents there in the fall, I think after they went to bed, and I think it was shortly after. The furnace started smoking. Somehow they got it out. I know they had to work hard to clean the tar siding since it got black. The furnace got removed. My dad put in duct work and the furnace like you see in any house now, is downstairs. Now where that little furnace was, there needed to be something there since the wall/post above it couldn’t be taken down, it was support for the ceiling. There was space in between that post and the wall and there was a small counter there. My parent put a new, wood top and for the new post, it’s a round wood, looks kind of like a log. It’s a little bar. There were 2 small stools for it, but our cabin is so small, the stools got removed.

During the summers of college for my brother, he was framing. He then decided "Lets get a move on for finishing this basement". It was always said that the basement would get finished. My brother started, the cabin had been there for 20 years now! Fast forward to today, there are 2 bedrooms, a bathroom (well toilet and sink in where the furnace, so it’s kinda like peeing in a closet but who cares! No more having to go upstairs!), there have always been 2 sliding glass doors. So on that side of the room it got left to be a long living room, at one end there’s a daybed, with a trundle underneath, the other end there’s a bar. In the center there’s a kitchen table.

Now my brother is a family of 5 and a dog. They have the whole basement to themselves. My husband and I always stayed in "our room" upstairs, the other room is my parents of course. A few years ago my parents purchased a 5th wheel and it’s parked there. Now that we are a family of 3, we have been staying in the 5th wheel. It’s nice to not feel like I’m disturbing others when the baby would cry in middle of the night. The cabin is not very sound proof. For instance, my brother is downstairs and you have a question, you can just yell. Since the house was put onto the foundation, the only way to go downstairs is to go outside.

That’s just a little history of my cabin, a place I just love.