Bingham Cottage – Part II

Day 3 – July 6

Wednesday was a marathon day at the Bingham Cottage marked by a special volunteer who joined us, Moe Martin, from Montville, ME.  Moe is an expert in logging trees and building log cabins, among other things. He felled two spruce trees, cut 5  pillars for the front deck, skinned the bark from each with a “spud” – a flat metal tool, and helped put the pillars in place.

The new pillars with the top piece

Carol perfecting her glazing technique

Two sheets of bark from the pillars

Moe takes the bark off the pillar in one sheet!

Moe, Mike, Eric, Pete, Carol, Kira, and Juanita taking the photo - the end of a good day!!

All hands help carry the heavy pillar from the woods to the porch

Moe and Eric check measurement of newly felled pillar

Using belts to carry the pillar!

Two pillars in position one skinned , one not

Lennie and Jancie arrive to help out

Moe fells the first spruce

• See the images in Flickr

Lennie and Jancie Olson, neighbors on Keene Neck Road also stopped by in their boat to help with glazing and shingling. They provided much-needed muscle power to move the newly felled pillars from the woods to the deck!

For Carol and Mike, the mom and son team from Syracuse, it was their last day, so we pushed hard to get the rafters on the porch roof finished. At the end of the day, much had been achieved and a splendid and satisfied fatigue embraced us all. After such a day and to say farewell to Mike and Carol, we showered and went out for steamed lobster and mussels in Round Pond.

Day 4 – July 7

Thursday felt lonely after the previous day’s overflow of volunteers. Eric, Pete, Kira, & Juanita nonetheless continued on. The shingling was completed on the back corner of the cottage; glazing the small window panes to the front porch continued; and the front door was removed and to prepare it for painting. Pete and Eric undertook the skilled carpentry – new support posts, installation of new stairs for the porch, installing the roof boards on the deck.

Kira remarked how amazed she was that so much could be done in four days! She remembered people saying that the Bingham Cottage was beyond repair and as she looked around, she felt it becoming a home once again.

There will be one more installment on the progress then a hiatus as work stops for the Audubon Camp’s Educator Session, July 14-19. All volunteers will then be at the session.

If you’d like to help, contact Eric Snyder at snyder.eh@gmail.com.