Our Cabin
If our cabin could only talk, it would tell you many things
Like baby Norman swinging in his little baby swing
Like Grandpa cooking breakfast on the wood stove in the cold
And Grandma Alys by the fire, the grand children to hold
Of courting days for Norm and Barb, so young and full of dreams
And before too long a honeymoon beside the babbling stream
Our cabin could tell of love ones, friends and relatives, too
Who've enjoyed the warmth and comfort that we love sharing with you
It could tell of little babies as they came along all three
They learned to love the out of doors just like Norm and me
They were greeted each dawn by the birds happy note
And they often took their naps out in the boat
Now Jay brings home fish for the frying pan
While Jodi spends time working on her tan
Jim would rather boat or ride the motorcycle
And with the girls he's still rather fickle
The TV and telephone were never missed up there
For solitude is special for folks who really care
The card games, the barbecues, the wiener roasts and more
The conversations with people we love, are really at the core
We share these thoughts from the cabin and all the love that's there
With our loved ones across the miles about whom we really care
We pray that in this season...sometimes filled with stress...
Through thoughts of loving memories you also will be blessed
May the peace of God be with you, no matter what you
And may you choose to be happy and loving in 1982!
-Barbara Jack- copyright - December 1981
Our Cabin Back Story
This sketch of our cabin was done by our son Jay while in college in 1981. It is a winter scene and shows the snow deeper in the front where snow slides off of the roof. Because it is on Forest Service land and the roads are not plowed in the winter, you must ski, snow shoe or snow mobile in to see it this way. Norm's Grandfather, Jim Jack, purchased it in 1936 and gave it to his son. Norm was born 3 months later. His mother said the cabin then had a loft and they hung a baby's springy swing from the rafter. Bill and Alan, the older brothers would run through the cabin and give Norm a push as they ran by. The 5th generation of the Jack family are still keeping it up and loving time there.
It is wonderful to think that Norm, our children and grandchildren have never known a day that this amazing piece of heaven hasn't been part of their lives. For 6 years Norm and I lived at the cabin full time in the summer and wintered in Arizona. After having a drug reaction I got very ill. We decided it was time to come back and live near the U of W doctors. We are in a small apartment but during the summers we do our best to get to the cabin often. This spot is our "touchstone". Our special place where things remain very much as they have always been. Everyone needs a place where they rest and recover. It may be a park, a hike, or a place you rent or buy. It can become one of the constants in your life.
My family did not own a summer cabin, but for us the ocean and clam digging with extended family was something we all did together. In fact our daughter, Jodi, asked about my wool lucky clam digging hat this year. I have been wearing it for about 50 years and this year on Easter weekend I passed it on to her. She looks good in it, too!
