The natural inquirer, 2004 Spring

Spring has Sprung!

Change continues in our division. The strategic planning process wrapped up with a final meeting at Red Top in March. We will soon move on to Design and Implementation. Expect to be assigned to one of these teams in the near future.
PHS has recently been awarded two grants from the Southern Company and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for longleaf pine restoration and creation of bird and wildlife habitat projects. "These projects affirm our commitment to resource management," said Becky Kelley, who also sent kudos to Cindy Reittinger and Jack Weeks for submitting such outstanding proposals.
Managers' and Rangers' Conference have been scheduled for August at Unicoi. Managers' Conference will held Aug. 9-11 and Rangers' Conference will be Aug. 30- Sept. 1. The focus of the sessions will be implementation of the Strategic Plan but lots of fun activities are also planned. ALL PHS staff will be involved in these meetings.
The Campground Host Gathering is August 24-26 at Red Top Mountain. Contact Lynn Barfield, Volunteer Coordinator, in the Atlanta Office for details.
The Atlanta Office has been reorganized. Business & Support Services includes Business Services, Human Resources/Risk Management, Contracts & Grants Management, and Marketing & Communications. Operations is made up of Resource Preservation & Interpretive Services, and Support Services. Engineering & Construction remains the same.
Manuel's Tavern was the site of Jim Couch's retirement party. Jim is retiring from the Film and Video Unit. His last day was April30. We will miss you, Jim.
Most of you are experiencing the transition of the reservation system from CRS to Spherix. The process involves a number of phases over the next several months.
Cindy and I will continue to harass you to submit articles and photographs. Next issue we will begin a column consisting of "tidbits" - a line or two about useful websites, favorite books , "swap meet" items, etc.

Lynn Barfield, Volunteer Coordinator Jim Couch cleans out his office

Inside this issue:
What the Preslab Can Do For You LWH Museum Vann House Saving History Sprewell Bluff Bums Blind Coincidence Preservation How-To Interesting Artifact High Spirits at Traveler.; Rest Blackpowder Update

2 2 Customer Comments 3 Burning Issue 3 Gopher Tortoise News 4 Vogel's New CCC Museum 4 Natural Home 5 Images 6 Preslab Pointer.; 7 People Profile

COMMENTS? QUESTIONS?

8 We are always looking for ways to make this newsletter more
8 useful to you. Do you have sug8 gestions or ideas on how to im-
prove the newsletter? Criti9 cisms? Comments? Kudos? Let 10 us hear them.

11 Cindy_Reittinger@dn r.state.ga _us or 404-657-0029

11
D e b b i e _W a l l s m i t h @ d n r . s t a t e . g a .us

12

or 404-656-6527.

What We Can Do For You by The Preservation Lab

Do you need help with your artifacts? Do you have questions about exhibits? Linda Bitley, Josh Headlee, Alvin Stewart, Martha Delestrez and Todd Sarginson at the Preservation Lab, can help you. The PresLab is responsible for the preservation and conservation of PHS collections and for providing you with the support you need to properly care for the artifacts on a dayto-day basis. Below are just a few of the ways we can help you to preserve our cultural resources for future generations.
General Cleaning & Preservation Techniques. This includes encapsulation; furniture care /restoration; textile cleaning and repair; and providing preservation supplies.
Collection Acquisition. We will help you with the paperwork associated with donated artifacts; purchasing artifacts; and managing artifact loans.
Cataloging. We can help you to properly catalog your artifacts and maintain your catalog of artifacts.

Exhibits. In addition to being involved in preparing your artifacts for new exhibits (including building artifact mounts), we can help you
with your existing exhibits. We can locate exhibit case fabricators and sources for exhibition supplies and equipment. We also frame documents and photographs for display, as well as make minor repairs to exhibit cases and make suggestions to help improve your exhibits. We can make new mounts for your artifacts so that they are exhibited to their best advantage while ensuring their protection while on exhibit.
Artifact Reproduction. We can reproduce historic photographs and works on paper, in addition to locating reproductions to replace damaged or sensitive original artifacts .
Environmental Control. We can install UV film on exhibit cases or windows and UV filtering tubes on fluorescent lights; advise you on

temperature and humidity monitoring, as well asprovide you with pest control advice.
Fire Protection & Security. We can make suggestions on ways to reduce opportunities for theft and artifact damage; and provide security devices and sensors to protect open exhibits.
Collection Storage. We can provide advice on proper artifact storage techniques, assist in organizing storage areas; and provide short term artifact storage.
Disaster Preparedness. We can help you create a disaster preparedness plan; provide you with an emergency box; and help with artifact removal and recovery
Whenever you have a question related to artifacts, please call the PresLab. There is no such a thing as a "dumb" artifact question. Partnering with you to take care of the "stuff' is part of our job, but we need to hear from you to know how we can be most helpful.
Preslab@dnr.state.ga.us
770-389-7811

"Making History Come Alive" by David Burke LWH

Becky Marshall with Walter Cronkite Page2

By now, almost everyone has heard about the new FDR Memorial Museum at the Little White House. It was dedicated on April12, the 59th anniversary ofFDR's death here and the 8oth anniversary of FDR's first visit to Warm Springs. What started out as a swim in the warm naturally heated waters led to a governorship, a presidency, the New Deal, victory in World War II, runner up to Person of the Century and finally the new museum near FDR's rustic cottage. It's here that history will be told and that's the story of how polio and Warm Springs changed the man who would become president and whose legacy so profoundly resonates today throughout the world.
Exhibits in the new n,ooo square foot museum include the New Deal, Rural Electrification, World War II, FDR's "Inner Circle" and of course, Fala, FDR's dog. The new site movie features Walter Cronkite as narrator Throughout the museum are interactive exhibits, background music and videos of archival film footage in highlighted areas-truly making history come alive.

Saving Our History by Julia Autry Vann House

Salvaging an 1800's corncrib donated by the Hix family

Numbering the logs will help in mconstroction

As ~he ChiefVann House expands by acquiring the land Just west of the historic mansion, it also looks to save portions of our precious heritage. With the recent donation of a large 18oo's log corncrib by Richard and Angie Hix, the Vann House has begun the efforts to save old log plantation structures that will otherwise be destroyed and relocate them to the western property Dr Dave Crass and the DNR archaeologists will be searching the 85 acre track to try pinpoint the location of structures that were once part of the Vann plantation. At that time special care will be taken to "reclaim" the site by placing the Hix corncrib and similar salvaged structures closeby where Joe Vann's outbuildings once stood.
Sammy Stockbury, Robbie Graper, and Joe Thomas of DNR's trails crew assisted Jeff Stancil, Derek Gray

(Vann House)and Mr. Hix with the delicate removal of the crib from the Hix property. Special care was taken to number each log in order to reposition the structure as close to the same way it was originally built as possible. The crib will be stored until the fundraising drive to purchase the western property is complete. Vann House manager Jeff Stancil explained, "We are thrilled with the Hix family's generosity These old log structures are so rare and this one was due to be destroyed until the Hix's read about our efforts to reclaim the Vann property in the local paper. It is wonderful for us to be able to witness the rebuilding ofthe Vann plantation using real structures. It not only aids with our efforts to educate people about 19th century Cherokee life, but it also saves our history and craftsmanship from vanishing forever."

j
J I

Controlled Burn by Ken Lalumiere Sprewell Bluff

The nature preserve's burn unit conducted a controled burn of appro. 300 acres at Sprewell Bluff Natural area that borders the state park. The fire went great with good weather and a real good burn. The fire was used to burn fuel and to control sweet gum patches located in some areas of long leaf pine and hardwoods located through out the park. The burn was March 11 and 12. The green up after the burn is great. From the pictures below, you can see that burning really makes a difference
VOLUME 2, NUMBER 2

After the bum

Page3

A Blind Coincidence by Julia Autry Vann House

For years the Vann House has faced an uphill battle between the sun and us. As you know Chief Vann installed huge windows in his 1804 brick mansion, so any furnishings near the east and west windows would receive a good deal of light damage. We rotated the furniture on a regular basis, installed UV shielding, and oiled frequently but the problem was never completely solved. One suggestion made recently was to install Venetian blinds as some Cherokee, such as Cherokee merchant James Daniels, did have wood blinds listed on their property valuations. However, the evaluator for the Joseph Vann estate was remarkably brief in his details. Essentially there was no concrete proof that blinds (or anything else for that matter) were ever in THIS Cherokee home.
After consulting with Historic Preservation it was determined that the damage being suffered trumped the need for historical proof. Everyone agreed that it was likely that the Vann family, being the wealthiest in

the Cherokee Nation, probably had blinds. Thanks to Wanda Thomas, custom made historical blinds were ordered.
Then something remarkable occurred.
On March 15 the site received an email from out of the blue from a Robert Bailey that began, "I'm the Roane County (TN) Archivist and I have found a court case brought by James McCartney against Joseph Vann in 1826 "According to these documents the McCartney brothers (James & John) did over 18 months worth of carpentry work starting in 1819 for which Joseph Vann never paid. The men boarded at the Vann plantation while doing the work. Apparently Joseph Vann did pay the Cherokee men he hired $12 per week, but not the white McCartney brothers. As we combed through the hundreds of pages of court transcripts that Mr. Bailey was kind enough to mail to us, we were stunned to find that amongst the items built for Joe was

"vannetion" blinds! They were" 34 leaves worked out of two inch plank at $4 per leaf."
Wanda had already ordered the blinds before this document was found. We were stunned a week later when the blinds were installed and they were so remarkably like the court description! Coincidence?

Preservation How-To by The PresLab

Preservation How-To is the place in the newsletter where the PresLab staff will describe new and better or easier methods ofperforming some of the artifact care tasks that are the responsibility of the site staff Some of you have sufficient previous training and experience to start applying them immediately. However, ifyou'd still like some hands-on training with the preservation technicians before you start using this new technique, let us know so we can include it in our next round ofstaff training sessions.
In order to keep track of artifacts at your site, it's important for each

to be marked with its own object ID number in a way that is relatively permanent, but reversible if necessary If an artifact comes through the PresLab, we'll mark it before it is sent to you, but most of the time site staff will be responsible for artifact marking once we've assigned the object numbers. To be sure you get the right ID number on the right artifact, at the beginning of the marking session line up the objects to be marked and temporarily label each with its own number written on a tag or card placed with the object. As you work be sure to check the number you will be putting on each object against the temporary tag to be sure they are the same.

Remember, an object with the wrong ID number on it is just as lost in your collection as an object with no number Call the PresLab if you have questions about the best way to mark a particular artifact. The following is a quick new method to mark objects made of hard materials like wood, metal, ceramics, and glass:
Type the ID number on a piece of white acid-free paper using Arial font balded in type size #8.
When appropriate, use the photocopier to reduce the type size further. The number should be small enough to be inconspicuous but large enough to be legible.

Page4

An Interesting Artifact by Debbie Wallsmith

Did you know that we have a

The plush interiors usu-

genuine Wild West style stagecoach ally had three upholstered

in our collections? It's true. On ex- bench seats that allowed

hibit at the Little White House is a twelve passengers to ride

stagecoach that looks like it came inside. It was also possi-

straight out of an old western movie. ble for passengers to ride

It was built around 1878 by Abbott up on top of the coach

Downing and Company

with the driver Luggage

The Abbott Downing Company was based in Concord, Comiecticut and produced the Concord coach. The Concord stagecoach was popu-

was stowed on the roof of the carriage and also on a fold down rack at the back.

lar in the west due to its design

Our stagecoach, named

(Wells Fargo was one of their biggest the Tally Ho, was pur-

customers) and was also exported to chased by the Meriwether

Australia and Africa. They manufac- Inn to transport guests to

tured over 3,700 coaches between

and from the train sta-

TallyHo in front ofthe MeriwetherInn, ca. 1905

1827 and 1899.

tion. When Roosevelt purchased the Meriwether Inn, the coach was also part of the sale. It was used by the Warm Springs Foundation in parades, including victory

coach was moved to storage at FDR State Park, where it resided until early this year when the Preservation Laboratory found several specialists who worked on conserving the coach. Conservation included treating the leather thoroughbraces and fumigation, as well as stabilization and repair of the paintwork.

parades celebrating Roosevelt's successful elections. We have

Do you have interesting artifacts in the collection at your site? Let us know about them.

several old photo-

graphs in our col-

lection of the

Ready fora Vvctoryparade, ca. 1930s

The suspension on the coach consisted of twin thoroughbraces made out of rawhide strips which werefolded into several layers to make a 3 inch thick leather spring. Mark Twain once stated that the Concord Stagecoach was like a cradle on wheels. The undercarriage was typically painted bright yellow but the coach body color was the purchaser's choice. Typical colors were scarlet red and green, as well as a cream-color referred to as "straw." Glass windows enclosed the coach and canvas or leather curtains hung above each window, which could be rolled down during bad weather.

coach decorated for such parades. In 1949, the Yancey Brother in Atlanta were hired to restore the coach.
The coach was on exhibit on the grounds of the Little White House before it was moved to the Barnesville Jail Museum. At least
a decade ago, the

The coach after conservation with IFACS ConservatorAndy

Pages

High Spirited Determination and Interpretation
By Raymond Anderson and David Tackett Travelers Rest

A caller asked, "Can I still rent a room?" And to that I replied, "no but you can rent one half of a bed for 25 cents." To that she responded, "Well, in that case, I would like to reserve space for 100 people!"
Over the past 2 years we've often thought about what it would be like to recreate some of the facilities that were used by the Jarrett's. In doing this, the guides would be able to better interpret the site. Though we can no longer rent out beds or accommodate visitors we felt that it would be nice if the guests touring the site could step inside an equipped smokehouse with salt troves, meat cutting tables, and shelves. We also thought it would add to the tour if we built a removable fake wall to hide the water heater and power box in the dry cellar. And beneficial if we added some water troves to the well house and put the doctors buggy on display in the "Son in Law's" cabin along with some other artifacts.
The work began last summer with a discussion with David one day
David: What are we going to do about that stump out in front?
Ray Well, David it really needs to be dug out.
David: How long do you think it will take about a half of a day?
Ray Half a day! It'll probably take about a month.
David: I think I'll dig it up when I'm not mowing or giving tours
Ray That would be a nice summer job to get it removed. It'll put hair on your chest.
Then three months later after it was done David asked: It seems like all that time I spent taking out the stump, and blistering up my hands could have been used better Didn't you say that you thought about having shelves and troves built in the Well House?

Ray Yeah I did.
David: If its ok to use that lumber down in the back, I think I'll build those shelves and troves.
Ray That'd help us in the interpretation of the well house and how it was used, just be careful boy
A few days later
David: Hey Ray come check this out.
Ray Looks good. Now the kids can see what it was like to cool the fruits and vegetables in the well house.
David: You know, if it's ok, I think I'll work on the smoke house.
Ray What are you going to do in there?
David: I don't know on my day off I'll go visit one at another park or something and figure out what they did and how they operated.
Even later:
David: It's a big job Chief, We'll half to cut and hollow a log for a salt trove. Use another one to cut planks for a cutting table and shelves. Also we need to cut a log into about a twenty-inch length and then hollow out it out to make a water bucket.
Ray (sarcastically) What do you mean "we"? And didn't the Jarrett's have a sawmill?
David: Yeah but this would have been like how the Appalachian people did theirs. So it would be specific to the area in general. It also wouldn't cost anything cause I can make all of this stuff for free with a chain saw and logs from Tugaloo.
Ray Free? Sounds good.
Even later still:
David: (exuberantly) Ray! Yeaahh Chief! It's been a long hard project but daddy's built the smokehouse so he can bring home the bacon.
Ray Calm down boy, I know that its been a big job. Our tourists usually only come by once, this is just

one more item that will add to our tour. Many people in today's society have only heard of things that now today we can only tell them about, but we can show and demonstrate how they were used. Good job. David, were you listening?
David: What? Hmm yeah about society and demonstrating. Look I was thinking of working on the cabin and wine/dirt cellar next. The cabin's all junked out and needs to be cleaned. The wine cellar is just as bad.
Ray All right boy, go out there and get back to work.
A little later
Ray There have been discussions with Robert Emery about putting the buggy and model of Travelers Rest into the son in law cabin.
David: (nodding his head) I'll see where we can pull the model apart and carry it to the cabin.
The buggy-we can roll off the porch and down the yard to the cabin. And then after removing the wheels, we can squeeze that bad boy in through the cabin door
Much later:
Ray David, the cabin sure looks great, with the buggy and model cleaned and polished, the display really is nice. I'm sure many of the tourists will appreciate looking at these items. The dirt cellar's looking good, once the fabric curtains and a few jugs and items are placed on the shelves it'll really look like a wine/dirt cellar of the 18oos.
David: Yeah this is such a beautiful moment. Do you have a tissue chief? I'm feeling a little choked up. Nothing like getting a good job done at the park. Let's sing a chorus of "Georgia on my Mind" together
Ray (after a moment of awkward silence) Just go out there and get back to work cowboy!

Page&

Blackpowder Training Update by Debbie wallsmith

The biannual Blackpowder Workshop was held at Fort McAllister from February 16 to 19. Twenty-five PHS staff were certified as blackpowder safety officers at the session. Also attending were 3 South Carolina State Parks historic site staff, 3 employees ofthe Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History and an interpreter from Fort Jackson.
The 4 day workshop is intended to teach staff all aspects of safe handling and use ofblackpowder weaponry PHS policy requires that a certified safety officer be present at EVERY blackpowder demonstration. The trainers for this workshop were: Danny Brown (Ft McAllister), Judd Smith (AH Stephens), Brad Spear (Ft King George), Joe Thompson (Wormsloe) and Chuck Winchester (Pickett's Mill).
On the first day, the trainers provided a brief history of blackpowder and introduced the nomenclature. This was followed by blackpowder storage and handling laws and crowd control policies. The day wrapped up after a demonstration of small arms inspection and maintenance and the preparation of cartridges for both small arms and cannons.
On Day Two the attendees were divided into groups based on the interpretive periods (e.g., 18th century, 19th century). It also involved a lot of hands on activities including drills,

The boys from South Carolina getting ready Hold those weapons straight!

loading and misfiring procedures, and blank firing of the weapons. Instruction on the proper cleaning of weapons followed the blank fire practice. In the afternoon, the trainees headed off to the firing range for live firing and instruction on range safety rules and civilian live fire events. After returning from the range, everyone had to clean their weapons before they could have dinner
Day Three was "Artillery Day" The group learned how to load and fire cannons as well as how to handle a misfire. After lunch, the fun began. Everyone had a great time firing the Fort McAllister cannon. A noisy time was had by all. After the fun, the trainees returned to the classroom to complete a written exam. Dinner that night was a very social event with families of some of the trainees joining the group. There were many tall
tales told on Wednesday evening!
Thursday morning the exam was reviewed before discussion turned to "Why demonstrate?", which prompted a lively dialogue on the range of possible interpretive programs that could be offered at individual parks/sites in our system.
A special thanks goes out to all of the instructors, who worked hard to cover all of the material in such a short period of time.

ATTENNNNN SHUNNN! VOLUME 2 , NUMBER 2

Page7

Customer Comments by Marty
Fleming Toombs House
Site visitors begin their tour and are introduced to the site by viewing a video depicting an interview conducted with Toombs by a newspaper reporter Visitor comment: "That was a real movie of Robert Toombs when he was alive?"
Most people with any knowledge of the Civil War in Georgia are vaguely familiar with Sherman's March to the Sea and often ask the question: "Did Sherman burn this house?"
The 1797 porch was enclosed with Plexiglas panels by the DNR during the restoration. A common comment from visitors is: "So, Toombs had Plexiglas up here?"
The site gift shop offers replica Civil War period coins for sale. The four coins come in denominations of penny, nickel, half-dollar and twenty dollar. Even though, each coin sells for $1.95 customers usually purchase the $20 coin in order to get the most for their money.
Visitor question: "Is this real gold?"
The only sources of heat in the house during Toombs life were fireplaces. Visitor comment: There was a fireplace in every room?"
The Toombs House is a four-story structure with access to each floor by staircase. Visitor comment: "There is a staircase to every floor?"

Learn to Burn by Cindy Reittinger
Many of our parks and historic sites use prescribed fire as a management tool. In an effort to ensure that all of our staff are properly trained and equipped we have purchased protective fire gear and established a training requirement. Site staff who burn on an annual basis have recently received protective clothing. They are also required to complete the Georgia Forestry Commission's one-day training program and pass the prescribed burn certification requirements. The class schedule for the rest of the year is listed below. To sign-up you must call the contact listed for the class you are interested in attending.
GEORGIA
Prescribed Burn Certification 2004 Schedule
May2o
Darton College, Albany Call: Jane O'Gorman
229-430-6000
August12 Athens Tech College, Greensboro.
Call: Janice Thompson 706-453-0378
Novembert8 Georgia Forestry Comm, Macon Complex- Macon
Call: Neal Edmondson 4 78-751-3332

Gopher Tortoise Program Materials by Cindy Reittinger

Last year the Gopher Tortoise Council received a grant to produce educational materials about the gopher tortoise and contacted me to see which of our sites would be interested in ordering a set. I took orders last January from all of our parks with gopher tortoise residents and the new educational materials arrived in January/February ofthis year.
Thanks to the Gopher Tortoise Council for a job well done! The materials consist of an informative notebook packed with background information and the option of a Power Point presentation or a slide show complete with script. There

are two separate presentations - a program for adults and another for show complete with script. The background materials cover everything from Conservation Methods and Fire Ecology to other Upland Wildlife and Helpful Websites. It even includes pre and post-tests for schoolchildren.
Program sets were provided at no cost to: Atlanta Office, General Coffee, George Bagby, Georgia Vets, Laura Walker, Little Ocmulgee, Providence Canyon, Reed Bingham and Seminole.

Page&

New Civilian Conservatien Corps Museum by David Foot Vogel

Seventy years ago on a late winter day in 1934, a group of boys between the ages of 17 and 25 disembarked from a train in Murphy, N.C. They were loaded on trucks and transported to Blairsville. These young boys were thin, wore ragged clothes, and appeared to have no direction in life. What was this? Was some community evicting their unwanted hooligans? Nothing ofthe sort. These boys had joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and they had come to Blairsville to live in a camp and build a state park. That state park would become Vogel and 70 years later it is still as popular as ever.

If it were not for these boys and millions like

tdheevmel~Npeadt,iofnoarel satnsdwSotualtde

Parks would not have been not have been protected,

the Midwest Plains would have continued to blow

away, and soil erosion would not have been slowed.

The boys ofthe CCC made a difference. These

Ahandsonexperience-surveyor'sequipment

young men were unemployed as were millions of

others during the Great Depression. This period in

American history was perhaps the most challenging as banks closed, factories and businesses shut down, families went hungry, and people wandered across the country with no sense of direction. The CCC was just one of a score of new agencies started during the New Deal of President Franklin Roosevelt. This administration was referred to as the Alphabet Soup Administration because of the acronyms for the new agencies: WPA, FDIC, 1VA, REA. These and many more helped pull the U.S. out of a dark period.

lemons. We are to this day enjoying the fruits of the labor of these hard-working individuals. To recognize the work of the CCC, volunteers, individual and corporate donors, and the staff of Vogel State Park have contributed to build a museum to honor the works of the CCC. The John B. Derden Civilian Conservation Corps Museum is named for a long time Vogel Volunteer and former CCC Boy who has been instrumental in preserving the CCC history of Vogel. The objective of the museum was to protect the hundreds of photos and arti-

Vogel State Park became a reality in 1934 because of these hard times. This was like making lemonade from

facts that tell the CCC story Through financial and material donations the museum has become a reality This

museum has been a dream for many years.

It would not have been possible were it not

for the generous donations and help of so

many people and businesses. This museum

will be a regional attraction and a source of

research for students of the Great Depres-

sian.

!lt:.~
Outside ofNew Museum

Perhaps the most noticeable feature of the museum when one first sees it is the rough textured brown siding and large posts supporting the porch. This was lumber cut off the park from the pine beetle salvaged trees. The CCC planted these trees when the park was under development. The museum features photo exhibits of camp life; a diorama of a CCC camp; exhibits of various trades the boys would have learned such as forestry, masonry, blacksmithing and surveying; and a photo history of Vogel through the years.

VOLUME 2, NUMBER 2

Page9

ANatural Home by 0. Lee Moon Watson Mill Bridge

It has been said before, "Every red-blooded American ought to build a log cabin." Well, the park staff at Watson Mill Bridge State Park along with the park's local friends group did just that. A few years ago there was discussion of building a bunkhouse at the parks equestrian camping area. Chip Chandler, president of the Friends of Watson Mill Bridge State Park, who lives in a log cabin he construction himself said, "Why not build a log cabin bunkhouse?"
With Chip's expertise in log cabin construction techniques, including original construction and historical re-construction, the project was formulated. Two years ago the park was in the process of constructing a developed campground for equestrians. The log cabin project was begun at the same time using logs from the trees, plus some more, that were cut down in building the camping area. The park staff, under Chip's tutelage, became log cabin "experts" themselves in building the log cabin. It took 18 months to build from start to finish.
The first step, after drawing up plans and selecting a site, was to cut the trees and skin the logs. A couple of volunteer days were held and between the volunteers and park staff, about 25-30 logs were skinned and prepared in the first 5 months. The cabin would take about 148 logs. Seeing things move slowly showed the need for a new process. The park staff enlisted the help of a state detainee crew of 14 men and in the course of one week, 85 logs were cut and skinned. Authentic tools, such as drawknives, were used to prepare the logs. Some of the logs were taken to a local sawmill to be cut producing a flat side for the roof trusses. The park staff put the logs together and while axes were used in some of the notching, in the interest of time,

more modern tools, such as an electric chainsaw were used.
Generally, 2 to 3 park staff personnel did the bulk of the construction, but there were also two volunteer days during the chinking process. The cracks or spaces between the logs had to be chinked to keep out the weather In the old days this would have been done with mud and during the old days, this was often a yearly chore. However, in these modern times, a brown colored cement mortar was used in place of other modern adhesives because it looked more "authentic" in keeping with tradition of mud and it would be permanent. When
the chinking was done, volunteers came to a couple of "chinking parties" and between the park staff and volunteers, the entire cabin, inside and out, was chinked in six days. You may ask, "What is a chinking party?" Basically it's a day when a number of people get together to apply the chinking while having fellowship and food - sort of like an old fashioned "barn raising."
While this log cabin is an authentic structure built much like what would have been done in the "days gone by" - modern components have been added to the cabin. Most of the modern "stuff' is not seen such as insulation in the floor and roof. Also, there is 2-inch rigid foam insulation between the logs,

which is covered and hidden by the chinking. Because of the thermal mass of the logs and the "hidden" insulation, the cabin is very easy to heat or cool. The "modern" HVAC unit doesn't have to work very hard to keep the temperature inside comfortable. A few other modern components include electricity, lights, a refrigerator and the roof is metal. But the structure itself has that "old days" feeling of natural wood logs, rough sawn boards, and of course, the great natural outdoors aroma of wooden logs - air freshener is not used- it's built in by nature.
The cabin is built in the style of a dogtrot, which consists of 2 cribs
separated by a breezeway through the middle with a loft over the breezeway Back in the "old days," the family dog would trot between the 2 cribs and find a nice cool place to stay in the summer and shelter from the rain by sleeping in the breezeway - thus this style of structure became known as a dogtrot. Finally, in building this cabin, a 50 feet by 28 feet structure with a loft, because of the materials coming from the park with the exception of the "modern stuff' that had to be purchased, the cost came in at $7,6oo.oo. But the cost of labor is not included as volunteers and the park staff supplied this. So while the material costs were low due to the fact little materials had to be purchased, the labor costs would have been high as hand fitting the logs together is labor intensive.
After the cabin was finished, it was placed online with the other park facilities and is very popular as is it rented almost every weekend. Each side or unit of the cabin sleeps 8 people and there are 2 units. So, for a unique stay in an old styled handcrafted log cabin with the convenience of a few modern attributes, the log cabin bunkhouse just
might be the thing!

Page10

Images
Deweeding Fort McAllister (Danny Brown) Rebuilding the Gun Carriage (Danny Brown)

PresLab Pointers by Linda Bitley
PresLab Pointers is a new addition to the newsletter It's the place where you will find little squibs ofinformation that may be useful to site staffbut are not long enough for a stand-alone article.
In the process of rearranging the Restoration Shop to free up some more work space, we came across a group of rough sawn heart pine planks that Billy Townsend had acquired to repair heart pine floors, etc. in some of the historic sites. If you have a need for them now or at some time in the future, please contact the PresLab. We'll continue to store them until they are needed. They are available to the sites on a first come, first serve basis.
Todd has found an out-of-state vendor that will give us a 25% discount on all types of exhibit bulbs including spots, floods, MR-16's and fiber optic system bulbs. In order to get this discount the order must go through the PresLab. However you will be billed for the order as our budget is already stretched as far as possible. When you need bulbs send Todd a list with the type and number needed and we'll add it to our next order
If you have a fiber optic lighting system anywhere in your exhibit, be sure that you use the right bulb for the system. Using the wrong bulb will cause frequent burnouts. It can also overheat, wrecking the whole system and possibly creating a fire hazard. If you have questions about your system, call the PresLab for assistance.

Is that a cannonball or a REALLY large bird? Debbie Wallsmith
VOLUME 2, NUMBER 2

Soup 's On! David Gomez
Page 11

People Profile

John Thompson, Chief of Operations
Personal Data: Married to Frances, kindergarten teacher at Walnut Grove Elementary; 2 sons: Josh, 19, sophomore at UGA and Seth 16, junior at Loganville High School
Work History : Interim Lodge Manager, Program Manger (SAM, Strategic Plan) Director of Golf Operations 3years, Region 2 Manager for 16 years, Park Manager at Little 0., Park Manager at George T Bagby, Asst. Manager at Magnolia Springs, Intern Region I Office, Seasonal Interpreter at Ga. Veterans . Graduate of Georgia Southern University B.S. Outdoor Recreation 1978
Favorite Pastimes: Tennis, golf, biking, hiking, camping, family
Favorite Movie: Forest Gump, The Green Mile, To Kill A Mocking Bird, Oh Brother Where Art Thou
Most embarrassing interpretive moment: Missy Mallard, fellow interpretive naturalist, sent me a film to show to 350 Camp Safety Patrol kids while I was a seasonal at Ga Vets. It came in at the last minute and I did not have time to review it which is not suppose to happen right? Somehow she sent the

wrong film, which was supposed to be about our natural world and how we are supposed to protect it. I rolled the film and it was an industrial film about how to make steel. We watched it, kids throwing things around the room. Hard to keep them under control. Lesson learned.. I always review films/powerpoints etc. before showing..
lVhat would your advice be to a new interpreter: Review all videos before showing.... .actually I would advise them to answer honestly questions that they don't have the experience/knowledge to answer correctly, write it down and get back with them if possible , always greet your participants with a smile, maintain eye contact, make interpretation fun, interactive, and relate to your audience
Something about yourselfthat probably nobody knows: I'm a 7th generation Georgian from Jefferson County I hitchhiked to Phoenix, Arizona at the age of 19 and I slept on the banks of Colorado River after hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I've bicycled across Georgia four times on BRAG
Favorite book or most used book on the shelfin your office: Oswald Chambers...The Utmost for His Highest/The Bible (home) , the Red Book (office)
One ofthe best or most surprising interpretive programs you've attended: Perseid meteor showers at Ga. Vets-awe inspiring. Candlelight Dinner at Fort King George. I have attended a lot of programs over the years and seen so many of our talented staff and volunteers-it's difficult to claim one. Living history interpretation at Wormsloe, Civil War at Fort McAllister, craft demonstrations!
Preservation How To
Continued from Page 4
Using an Exacto knife cut out the number
Paint a base layer of clear B-72 (nail polish-like archival sealant) slightly larger than the cut out numbers at the mark site.
Using the tip of the Exacto knife or a tweezers, place the number in the wet B-72 and press down all around.
Cover immediately with another layer of B-72 to seal the mark.
You can put the object on display or in storage as soon as the B-72 is dry
NOTE: Office Depot brand copy paper with the red wrapper is acid-free and no more expensive than other copy paper. You can get an Exacto knife at any hobby supply store. You should have a bottle of B-72 in your artifact marking kit. If you don't have a bottle, notify the PresLab and we'll send you some.

Summer Issue (Vol. 2 No.3) -Send contributions to Cindy or Debbie by July 16, 2004