Home Sweet Home
Jan 13th, 2009 | By Leonard Legends & Legacies | Category: Legends & LegaciesTold ya I’d be back before the end of the month! And before I forget, be sure to check out the really old Bridgewater Leonards Map over there in the right column. That’s new, too.
Joe Zamiska late 1930s
In this case, it’s pictures of some of the last occupants, the Zaminski and Caster families, with the cabin in the background. Neither family is related, as far as we know…
Joe Zamiska Jr. and family occupied the cabin from 1930 until 1953. That’s little Joe III on the left, taken in the late 1930s. See those white-ish strips between the logs? It’s actually filler, used to plug the cracks or “chinks” between the irregular logs. Filling those cracks was called “chinking” and it had to be done on a fairly regular basis as the filler material (usually mud and straw) dried or decomposed and fell out.
I know this because I built my own log cabin a few years ago, just to have the experience. I cheated. I used those eight-foot landscaping timbers that are flat on two sides. But I still had to fill the gaps to keep the rain, wind, sleet, and varmints from getting into my new tool shed. What I learned was, it was most likely the women of the household who maintained the “chinking”… as they are usually the ones most worried about “varmints.” Or… because it’s a pain in the butt and the men would ignore it.
Barry Caster & cabin foundation, circa 2009
The Casters were the last occupants of the infamous Leonard Log Cabin. It was dismantled in stages between 1979 and 1983 (not burned as we previously thought). Allan provided five more pictures of the exterior, along with various members of the Zamiska family, but so far, no interiors have turned up.
I did TOO build a log cabin.
Now go check out the Old Bridgewater map. Scoot!
Cheers!
Rick
I sure do love your obsession with “THE IRON MAN”. It does sound kinda cool and really separates the families when we discuss them, so I vote to keep it
Annie
These pictures of the cabin are just great, Rick! Was the cabin “re-erected” somewhere after it was dismantled? I definitely want to get together with Allan this Spring to visit the foundation. I am one of those people who wants to enter any old abandoned house I drive past and explore. I am going to ask my Dad if he knew any members of the Zamiska or Caster families; I bet he did!
I talked to my Dad and unfortunately he doesn’t recognize the names mentioned above…
Anna – I’m a bit of a comic book geek, I can’t resist.
Shannon – From the sounds of it, people just took pieces of it when they needed them. And I’m not sure there’s any sort of relationship between the Leonards and the Zaminska/Casters. Pretty sure the property had already been bought and sold by the mine.
I spoke to Allan last week. He told me about the cabin and how the people who lived there we slowly dismantling pieces of it and using it for firewood. He also told me there is a cemetery behind it and he got permission from an elderly lady to visit. The woman also has a list of all who are buried in the cemetery.
Awesome! I wonder if that’s where Caleb Sr. is buried? I thought someone told me he was in Bealsville Cemetery, but I’ve never seen a picture of his gravestone.