Chronicles, "Love Shack"

Growing up, a rite of passage for me and my friends included the building of a "club house" or cabin to hang out in. In our early teen years KD and I decided to build one in the woods near our neighborhood...someplace we could hang out away from everyone else (READ: little brothers and sisters). We actually built several of them over a 3 or 4 year period, with each being better than the one before. The cabins were usually built with scrap lumber that was either discarded from construction sites and/or remodels or it was donated by our parents. The first cabin I remember clearly was not even built by us. We found it one day as we were exploring a section of wooded area that we had not been in before. The cabin was a partially built structure of 2 inch diameter logs and from the condition of the cabin and the area around it, it had not seen any use in about a year. Liking what we saw, KD and I (as well as an off and on friend, KG) hauled some fiberglass roofing panels (that were donated by my father) to the location and claimed it as our own. The panels were secured to the structure with roofing nails and we stepped inside. It was nice. It only had a dirt floor and would not stand up to a heavy rain, but it was a place we could go to be away from our siblings...at lease for a little while. In my opinion it was pretty nice, but it was not in an ideal location. In the fall it was too easily visible from the gravel road on the hill above it. Nonetheless, it would do until we could work on a better location.

We met there off and on for a few weeks during the summer, then we stopped meeting since we were going on our individual vacations. I went camping with my family for a week and the others headed to the beach. When we got back (KD and KG beat me back by one day I think), we had discovered someone had torn down the cabin. I never found out who demolished it and I guess that does not matter now. A few names were mentioned as they say but easy come, easy go.

We did not waste too much time crying about our loss before we started working on another cabin, this time in a wooded area near "Monk's Hill". We found a level landing on the side of the hill that was about 10 x 15 feet in size. Framing began with some discarded 2 x 4's that we found and we roofed it with some old plywood. The walls were made from corrugated steel and the floor was plywood with old (Read: Nasty) carpet on top. We covered the walls on the inside with old blankets and made the roof (mostly) weather proof with old shingles, tar paper, and plastic. It was a hideous and ridiculous looking structure, but it was ours. We soon realized (after spending a lot of time there) that the area was very popular with the pre-teen heathens that lived near by and we had to chase them away frequently. How long we would have to do this was anyone's guess.

That cabin survived the rest of the summer, fall, and the winter (how, I have no idea) and the during the following spring/summer, we decided to add a second room to our hang out. I am not sure why...you can put lipstick on a pig and it is still a pig. Our new addition was not as appealing to look at as the original structure since our selection of materials was very limited, but it was just as strong. The majority of the work on the second room I did with the help of a local tomboy, BM. With her help I was able to get the second room on in short time.

The two room structure was used several times as shelter for the night, even in the winter. While it was not warm by any means, it was protection from the elements and as long as you kept your coat on, you would not freeze to death. Why would anyone want to spend a winters night outside in a ramshackle cabin without heat? Because we could and we wanted to prove that we were tough enough to do it. Boys will do stupid things if given the chance.

The following summer the cabin was completely demolished while a couple of us (again) were out of town. Obviously whoever did this knew us and chose the time carefully. We had an idea who did it, but we did not have any proof...just suspicions. We were eager to build another cabin as soon as possible, but we needed to find a more discrete location first. After looking around for several weeks, we found a good location nearby. Directly east of the old site was a ravine (that had the unique feature of being muddy year round) and beyond that ravine was a nearly untouched area with a small, level landing hidden by a smallish hill. It seemed like a good spot because it was still close by but it was hard to get to from every direction but one...and even that way was tricky.

I started the framing the cabin after I got out of school in the afternoon (I only had to go a half day my senior year) and the others joined me as they were able (they were juniors). In a couple of weeks we had a very nice cabin built in the new location...with much better materials. This one was the absolute best cabin yet we had built yet. It had real interior (paneled) walls (they did not match, but at least there were no studs showing), a solid wood floor (with nice carpet), a leak-free roof, a couch, a window, and a locking door. The exterior was solid plywood and overall the entire structure was weather proof. We dubbed it, "The Rage Cage" (AKA, The Cage), complete with artwork donated by either Carp or Holmes.

The Cage became a very popular spot with several of the teens in the area. Word had gotten out that we had a nice cabin and interest in it grew. A few of the guys from LA (Lower Adamston) asked where it was and if they could "use" it. I was keen on the idea of sharing our cabin, but letting the right people know about it had its benefits. If the right (READ: Popular) people were known to frequent The Cage, then the chances of it getting vandalized or destroyed were lessened. While KD, Carp, and I may not have had much clout in the area, others did. We took advantage of that.

"Usage" of the cabin ranged from overnight camp outs and partying, to...uhh...rendezvousing with certain females we knew. A system was put in place to alert people (by means of a specific marker on a tree) if the cabin was "in use". If the marker was in place, The Cage was in use...stay away. We had a few laughs at Carp's expense (and I think once with KD) when they had (on sepearate occasions) used The Cage. With Carp, we rolled several discarded tires towards the cage while he was "occupying" it. I think we freaked him out on that one. With KD, I believe we pelted The Cage with rocks and apples until he came out threatening whoever was disturbing him. It was in good fun and as Holmes told me recently, "It is all water under the bridge."

Oddly enough, as hard as I try I cannot remember what eventually happened to that cabin or even how long we had it. I am sure it was torn down (they all did eventually), but I have no idea when. I am certain that it survived the winter and most likely the spring, because I remember going down there when there was snow on the ground. Also the cabins all tended to get torn down in the summer while at least two of us were out of town. The last thing I remember about that cabin is that it was used as a hide out (albeit briefly) by a teen couple running away from home. That occurred either in the spring or summer but summertime seems to stand out in my mind. Nonetheless, some adults came to my house one night and asked me where our cabin was. I did not want to tell them, but I really did not have much choice with threats of police action being conveyed to me. With much regret, I led them to it. I was surprised that they had to asked where it was, but then I realized that the cabin must have been better hidden than I had originally thought. It was hard to see in the day and nearly impossible to find at night. The two were rounded up and that is the last that I can remember about it.

The cabins (and the activities associated with them) remind me of an old country and western song called "Behind the Barn", recorded my Little Jimmy Dickens. That song reflects a lot of what the cabin meant to me and some of the other people who congregated there. While I may not approve of that behavior now, it was a way of life then...it helped mold me into who I am, good or bad. The cabins may not have been places of "my first" anything, but they are memorable.

** Addendum (courtesy of Knightmare Duck) **

The cabins I listed were not the only ones we had...there were others. I had forgotten about the others and KD did a great job of bringing them back in my mind. KD also corrected me in the fact we never called them cabins, we called them club houses, just like the kids did in the 50's, 60's and 70's did. The term cabin was used by RD and it stuck with me, but not the others.

The other "club houses" were not always built by us, nor were they always in the woods. One was a tent in my back yard, another was constructed from car hoods and sheet metal built as a lean to against a small cliff face. It was located behind the city water tank in the woods (the club house was torn down by the city because it was their land and we were trespassing...go figure) and the other was built without nails as a lean to shack inside a block building that had never been completed. It had been used as a dump of sorts for old wood (some of which made it into other club houses). It was a very dangerous place to build...snakes, rusty nails, splinters...I am surprised we did not get tetanus! The actual compartment that we used was tiny...three people could sit (not stand) in it and it was incredibly strong. We lobbed concrete blocks on it and it did not fail. The laws of distributed weight helped a lot. Needless to say I never spent the night in that one...despite the "strength" of it.

KD also offered greater detail on the Monk's Hill Project as well as The Rage Cage (although I think he may have some of his data mixed up...he confuses TMHP and TRC a few times in his missive). KD remembers a lot about those two cabins that I had forgotten. Both cabins had "running" water (courtesy of jury rigged 2 liter bottles, rubber tubing, and a faucet) and "electric lights" (courtesy of a 6 volt lantern and a light switch...used until the candles could be lit), but only one had heat...the Monk's Hill Project. That foray into climate control was a disaster. While KD gives a very detailed account of how it was built and what happened, let's just say that a 55 gallon steel barrel and aluminum down spouts do not make a furnace...at least not one that is safe. KD was in charge of building it and I agreed the design should have worked. The downspouts were attached to the barrel and then pushed through holes in the cabin (to act as a radiator). I went inside and laid down as the fire was being built and thanks to the laws of air and heat draw...the cabin filled with smoke while I was laying down. I did not realize it at first (I think the carbon monoxide had built up and made me sleepy) but after a lung full of smoke, I woke up coughing. I crawled out with smoke emanating from my clothes and KD and Carp just stood there laughing. That design was altered and we ended up making a fireplace (which I only remember vaguely...it must not have lasted long) out of it.

The Monk's Hill Project had to be defended because of its proximity to homes. There was only a small stretch of woods that separated it from a group of homes that all had kids. To keep the kids out, we booby trapped one of the 42 steps dug (by KD...what a guy) into the hill. Stepping on step 16 would result in a nasty fall. We also put in a lookout tower so we could keep an eye out for any intruders. It was hidden well enough that intruders could not detect the lookout until it was to late. That lookout tower also came in handy when we played war and physical D&D...

KD ends his recollection of our club houses by telling me about the demise of The Rage Cage. KD reminded me that ultimately we abandoned it and let the others kids (who were not in our core group) take it over. We had pretty much outgrown the use of it since we were all over 17 or 18. That chapter of our life had been closed. The owners of the land found it (all the land is owned by someone) and tore it down to keep the kids out.