Older Versions

Well, the rebuilding is coming along; all of the walls are built, with sheeting, lying on the floor waiting for the weekend to be put up.  Not really being a framer, the walls were quite a challenge to design.  Thankfully the cabin is in an unorganized township so we can use city building codes as a guide rather than law.  For the most part we've stuck by the code, especially given the cabin is right on open Lake Superior, ... and in 1919 a hurricane blew down most of the coal dock in town.

So, the front of the cabin is all windows, just so we can get a good 'bird's eye' of the upcoming storms.  We can thank someone at Thunder Bay City Hall for their boo boo in accidentally ordering a large number of incorrect sized windows during recent renovations.  As a result we procured 7 glazed, tinted top of the line 3 foot by 5 1/2 foot windows that cover the entire front.  That, and a large donated patio door (Thanks Janice and Michael!!) should really open the place up.

But all that isn't why I started this write up.  The new cabin is actually the third (or possibly even fourth) that occupies that present site.  Kim posted the cabin that burned last year.  We were told it was built in 1955 by the Dagsvick and Dahl families.  An earlier house, owned by the Dahl family sat on the same site.  I've found a picture of it on the Gateway to Northwestern Ontario History Website:  Its a very cool site if you are looking for historical pictures of our region. 

This photo is of another house, also called the Dahl house, that burned in the forest fire, it was right beside our cabin. 

Finally, here's a picture of the Jackfish Coal Dock when it was destroyed by that hurricane in 1919.

Awww what the heck, here is one more photo of the townsite, our place (well the original Dahl place) is just in the picture to the left. 


Thanks very much to the Gateway to Northwestern Ontario History Program for the historical pictures.

Darrell