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| Photos by Kathleen Rolfsrud |
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| Click to enlarge and see the big tractor |
A small crowd of relatives and friends gathered yesterday at the Simenstad homestead in rural Nisswa to witness a door-raising. Jennifer and her boyfriend, Joe, are restoring the log cabin on the front edge of his parent's property. The project is creating a bit of a neighborhood stir, as the occasional motorist slows down to gander at what's happening to the old landmark today, gets an eyeful, then resumes speed. A new roof sits almost finished atop the gutted hulk, the foundation has been restructured, foam insulation applied, and by yesterday it was time to install the atrium door on the second floor bedroom. The hope is to get tight for winter work.
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| Joe covering his head. OMG! |
Punctual Uncle Bob trundled up astride his 1958 Farmall with a massive hydraulic bucket and protruding spar, looking like an iron unicorn charging down Red Oak Road. When he's not out boosting atrium doors for his nephew, Uncle Bob can rip your tree logs into custom planking with his back yard sawmill, loan you a jack to raise your woodshed, or elevate shingle bundles onto your leaky roof. A good man to know.
Joe rigged up a rope sling snaked through Dad's iron clevis, keeping the dangling door frame just the right height to slip over the forward edge of the balcony. Ever so slowly, Uncle Bob eased the unlikely assembly into position and before you knew it, the whole dang thing had popped squarely into the opening Joe had carefully leveled and nailed. A couple of screws to secure the weather edge and then handshakes all around. This Old House had a new door.
Then back inside for Mom's warm biscuits and bowls of hot chili. Yesterday was no barn-raising, but somehow you got the feeling of what one might be like.
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| Jennifer and Bob steady the window on the balcony. |
