The Main Cabin

WILLEBEJOBE in 2009
Main cabin with wrap-around porch on the left. Detached kitchen is on the right. Fireplace in foreground where many steaks were grilled.
Photo by Jack1962 Copyright 2009

The cabin was the center.  You ate there; you slept there and were entertained there.  Time hasn’t been kind to the cabin, the shingles are curled, the screens tattered and torn, the bedroom now gone.

Main Living Area of the Cabin
The doorway on the far left leads to bathroom and one time bedroom. The door in the corner leads to outside and detached kitchen.
Photo by Jack1962 Copyright 2013

The main living area, when I visited, had a large table in the middle.  I believe there was bench seating on each side. Atop the table were two large Aladdin kerosene lamps with glass mantles that when lit filled the room with light.  Bathed in the warm light we played games, read or just talked.  The generator wasn’t used when I visited so we relied on these kerosene lamps as well as flashlights.

On the fireplace mantel sat a miniature wooden log cabin, a model if you will.  I asked Jo about it and he took down to show it to me.  If I recall correctly it was a replica of the cabin but I don’t recall whether he told me who built it or when.  The roof was removable and we opened it up…

Bedroom Foundation
All that remains of the bedroom is the foundation. The outline of the doorway leading into the bathroom and cabin is slightly visible. At one time a septic line came out from the bathroom on the right side leading to a septic tank.
Photo by Jack1962 Copyright 2013

The model cabin sitting on the mantel in the main cabin
Janey Knight, Jo’s grand-daughter has the model.
(Photo From The Massasauga Archives)

     Inside were the skeletal remains of a mouse.  This being a log cabin, it wasn’t tight and creatures worked their way in through holes and crevices and sometimes popped up live or otherwise so none of us were horrified at the sight of remains.  Jo cleaned out the remains and the little cabin went back up on the mantel.

On each side of the front entrance were large bunks that doubled as storage chests.  I don’t recall whether there were mattresses on top, but Betty Dean told us they stored blankets inside and they were used as beds before the bedroom was built.

I remember one evening when Jo and Betty Dean played cards at the long table with my parents while I sat near them, looked on, and built model cars.  Jo had tried to teach my mother play bridge; Jo wasn’t happy and mom wasn’t happy and I think that was the last time my mom ever played bridge.

Janey Knight, Jo’s granddaughter also recalls sitting at the long table:

     “…my aunt, my mother and I would sit at the very long table in the living room in front of the fire and do paint by number pictures.  Then we would hang them on the cupboard doors…”

2nd Floor Ladder
The second floor, according to Janey Knight had tin-lined storage bins to keep out the mice.
Photo by Jack1962 Copyright 2013

To the right of the fireplace a rustic ladder leads to the second floor.  The second floor has gables and windows so there is natural light.  We stored our luggage up there and used it as a changing area. Although I suppose the second floor could have been used as a sleeping area, whether it was used for that or any other purpose I don’t know.

On the far left wall (facing the fireplace) was a doorway leading to the bathroom and one-time bedroom.  The bathroom was not used even though it was functional.  If you wanted to bathe, then you grabbed a bar of Ivory Soap (it floated so it wouldn’t get lost), a towel, walked down to the front dock and jumped or waded into the harbor.  There was no thought given to phosphate pollution back then.

Aptly, for those times when Mother Nature called there was an outhouse, located about 75 feet or so from the cabin, off of the Baker’s Landing Trail…

Having to use the outhouse in the dark of night was not fun.  Flashlights seemed totally inadequate for the walk and you just knew there had to be bears out there waiting for you.  One night, before turning in, I had to pee and I decided I wasn’t going all the way to the outhouse (not with all those bears, imaginary or otherwise, out there).  Instead, I walked partway on the wooden walkway and turned away from the cabin.  I thought I was safe and just as I was finishing a voice called out, “Hey, what are you doing out there?”  Startled, I turned my head and looking at me through the bedroom window was Jo, laughing.  I guess I did not walk as far as I should have.  I returned to the cabin and was totally embarrassed as everybody was laughing.  Jo didn’t need to say anything to me for I decided, in the future, I would be better off dying at the jaws of a man-eating bear rather than dying of embarrassment. 

The Walkway
The walkway separates the main cabin and kitchen. It led to the Baker’s Landing Trail and outhouse. There was a walkway to the right that led to the icehouse and woodshed.
At one time there was a vestibule between the kitchen and cabin. It would keep the weather out as one moved from one building to the next.
Photo by Jack1962 Copyright 2013

The door in the corner and to the left (and on the same wall as the fireplace) leads to the outside and detached kitchen.  The kitchen and bathroom had running water.  The water was pumped from Blackstone Harbor into the storage tank located near the generator building.  The storage tank was raised so there was enough pressure to service the bathroom and kitchen.  The water from the harbor was not used for drinking or cooking.  Potable water came from the spring that was located near the caretaker’s cabin.

Betty Dean Retrieving Spring Water
In this undated photo Betty Dean retrieves a bucket of cool spring water to take back to the main cabin
(Photo Courtesy the Massasauga Archives)

Everybody at one time or another had to go to the spring house; we just took turns as long as you could carry a five gallon bucket several hundred feet although it seemed like a mile without a wagon or cart).  When you opened the cover you could see the water flowing in the small clear pool.  You had to be careful when dipping the bucket in otherwise you might stir up the sediment (guess who didn’t follow instructions the first time) and wait for the pool to clear.  After filling the bucket, you trekked with it all the way back to the kitchen and set it on the counter along with the dipper.

Although I did not spend much time in the detached kitchen, I was fascinated by the propane refrigerator.  To a ten-year-old from the city with the luxury of electricity, natural gas, and running water a propane refrigerator just didn’t seem logical.  Of course how the refrigerator worked was explained but I was still fascinated—cold from a flame, just amazing!  The propane refrigerator meant the icehouse fell into disuse; it stood between the cabin and the workshop, its huge, thick cork-filled door ajar with the forest’s undergrowth encroaching and hiding it.

WILLEBEJOBE – Early Days
In this undated photo there is no 2nd floor dormer, and the porch does not wrap the left side where the bathroom is located. There is also no bedroom.  The flagpole to the left of the lodge had an airplane on top; it was hinged to ease painting. Over time, trees and scrub would grow, the lodge would become less visible, there would be more solitude.
Photo courtesy of Janey Knight

Although she doesn’t say when, Janey was at the cabin before the gas refrigerator and shed light on both the kitchen and cabin life…

      “…We shopped in Parry Sound then and brought cartons and cartons of food from there to the cabin by boat.  My grandmother and Marie, the cook, cooked unbelievable pies, good food, AND the most wonderful homemade breads!
     I felt I was in Heaven when I was there.  My standard drink was Welch’s grape juice and ginger ale.  To prepare it, I would pick out my favorite red glass and then go to the ice house and use an ice pick to put ice in that glass.  No drink has ever tasted so wonderful.  And then homemade bread with melted butter and brown sugar was the best.  That was our treat after swimming.
     I loved my life there – with the no power, no running water, no hot water, no inside plumbing and only fireplace heat.  I felt we all lived like kings.  I realize now what my grandparents did to give us such “luxury”!

The Porch on the Main Cabin
The porch wrapped around the front and both sides. During the summer this is where guests slept.
Photo by Jack1962 Copyright 2013

While there was only the one bedroom, sleeping arrangements were simple and straight forward as guests (with the exception of Jo and Betty Dean) slept on the porch during the summer.  The porch was huge and wrapped around the front and sides.  On my first visit, my parents slept on one end of the porch while Jeff, Billy and I slept on the other end.  It seemed strange but each area had a badminton racquet.  When I asked why (since there wasn’t a net anywhere outside), Jo told me to swat bats away.  We boys didn’t have a bat problem but I recall my mom making a fuss one evening and hearing the racquet hitting the cabin walls; my guess is that they had a visitor.

Janey indicated that she, Bill and Holly slept on the porch as well…

     “On that porch all of us kids hid our treasured classic comic books from each other – which we read by flashlight before falling asleep.”

In addition to reading comic books at night to fall asleep, they were a great way to pass the time when it rained.

Although some might disagree, listening to the Loons’ call while lying on a cot was a tranquil way to fall asleep at night as well.

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Updated: February 12, 2014, November 3, and September 18, 2013
Edited: February 12, 2014,  November 20, 2013