Cabin Fever

Man turning felled timber into outbuilding

June 1, 2007

By Will Elliott/Frontiersman

MAT-SU - For some Valley retirees, staying active means a morning walk to the mailbox and back. Longtime resident Bob Thom has a different definition.

Thom, who is 65, decided he'd build a cabin this summer. And mill his own lumber for the project. And, do it all by hand.

&#8220I'm just doing it for the good clean exercise,” Thom said.

Thom and his wife have lived for 36 years on a little more than 5 acres along the Palmer-Wasilla Highway. Cottonwoods have threatened to overtake the property, stealing water and nutrients from the Thoms' garden and crowding out other trees. Thom cut the trees back three years ago and no one wanted the logs. There they sat until this spring, when Thom thought up a use for them.

&#8220It was just one of those brainstorms,” Thom said.

As his wife, Marilyn, describes it, she mentioned that a little cabin might be nice on the property. The next thing she knew, her husband was building it.

Thom bought a new chain saw and attachment for the bar, then went to work milling the logs into lumber.

&#8220I never sawed a log before in my life,” Thom said. With a little practice, Thom says he's now turning out 2 by 4s, 6s and 8s without any trouble.

Mrs. Thom says that's how her husband has operated all his life.

&#8220He's good at figuring out things on his own,” Marilyn said. &#8220And he's always looking for something to do.”

Thom isn't sure when he'll have the cabin finished.

&#8220Hopefully I'll get all the logs cut this summer. Otherwise I'll just put a tarp over them,” he said.

Marilyn says she and her husband aren't sure what the final building will look like.

&#8220Who knows,” she said. &#8220By the time he gets the boards done, he might come up with a different idea of how to use them.”

The point is just to get outside and stay busy, Thom said, and to see that the felled wood doesn't go to waste.

Mrs. Thom doesn't mind if the cabin turns out to be a shed, or a greenhouse, or something else.

&#8220As long as I stay out of mischief,” Bob said.

Contact Will Elliott at 352-2252 or will.elliott@ frontiersman.com.