Water and Waste at Bemis

I've actually been retired now for 13 days and this is Stephen Christopher's 4th birthday outing. He and Cassie are enjoying a ride at GattiTown (similar to Chucky Cheeses') - he for sure is enjoying, I'm not so sure that Cassie isn't going to cry.  Now with all this free time on my hands (NOT!!) I've got a lot of work to plan and get ready for my time when I go back to Bemis. 

February 13, 2009

I must have went to Bemis mid-April to meet with and establish some sort of plan to have the well drilled at the driller's first opportunity.  In any case my 4 sisters came up for a Saturday afternoon jaunt.  Yep they, like my brothers before them, got lost and ended up coming in late that afternoon.  They found their way to Elkins at the Walmart and got directions on how to get over the mountain and come in the "back door" from the north end of town. Because of the condition of the road I won't go that way anymore (had a rock puncture a tire on my last and final trip). But they made it and came in very excited about the "momma bear" and 3 cubs that they encountered coming over the mountain.  At least they knew enough not to get out and try to catch one of the cubs.

April 18, 2009

Now I remember why I wasn't able to work more on the place in Bemis immediately after I retired. Stephen took a job at a new church in Hopkinsville, KY (1 3/4 hours away) and we ended up keeping the kids quite a bit during the early transition. They finally found a house and although the house didn't need a lot, there was a lot of time involved with traveling and helping them getting settled (of course seeing Stephen Christopher and Cassie may have affected us some).

May 2, 2009

Certainly is rocky - and sandy underneath that grass, should and does make for good field bed for a septic system.  Of course if you have been there you will recognize this because of all the rocks that are sticking up from the years that the river has influenced the terrain in the valley.  We took most of these big rocks and either covered them up or pushed them to the river bank.  There was one, very big rock - almost box like - about 3 feet on a side that I wish we had kept in this area for landscaping. This septic system may not meet code, but knowing that most of the camps in the area are nothing more than a 55 gallon barrel with maybe a few feet of leech bed (and I never smell septic anywhere) I feel good that this tank and the leech field that we installed will more than accomodate the traffic we have at the cabin.  I know it smells better than the two holer just to the east of the field bed.

September 10, 2009

Brother Tony came up to help me install a pump in the new well and to complete several other electrical projects that had been hanging. Lydia and David were glad to be there, although I'm not sure they weren't just glad to be spending time with their dad more than they actually liked the place.  They didn't catch any fish, but then they didn't get lost or fall in the creek either. The guy who placed the septic tank had filled it with water to hold in place during construction and we placed the pump into the tank to insure that the used pump would run and move water. It seemed to work well and we proceeded to make up the piping/wiring and drop the pump into the new well - which had been drilled over the summer.  I should have gotten photos of that rig - it was quite a "Rube Goldberg" and was held together with bailing wire.  

September 14, 2009

Sue decided that for my birthday we should go to the beach, and we ended up going to Sandestin, Florida.  Beautiful place, but I still had a lot of work to do at Bemis. I fished a little while we were at the beach but I don't recall catching much - went down to the pier towards Orange Beach and saw some porpoises and a sea turtle which was pretty cool. I think we shopped a lot at the outlet malls there.

October 2, 2009

When I got back to Bemis for the annual fall stocking/fishing get-together, I was able to get Ron White to come up from his campground and with the help from his tractor/front end loader we were able to fill in the ditch and get the ground somewhat leveled around the well head and over the line going inside the cabin. The pump was in and pumped the water - which was very good. Ron told me that most water in town had some severe iron problems but so far the water is good - if we can get it pumped up (I'll expand on that in another post). I had time and sowed some grass to help make things look better. 

October 22, 2009

When Tony came up he brought a kitchen counter top and a stainless sink in his van that he had found at a Habitat store.  He was good enough to connect the water feed and drains and "WALA" we had running water in the kitchen. He also hooked up the hot water heater and we not only had hot water for the kitchen but for the shower and bathroom as well.  Things are really looking up!!!

October 22, 2009

OK, now what I have to do is crawl under those pipe and open the valves (that you can't see) so that I can blow out the water and winterize the place before I leave.  I've done that 3 times now, plus crawling back under in the spring time to close the valves before turning the water on.  I've currently decided that the first thing on my agenda is to get the valves where I can access them without having to belly crawl under the house - I can't make that crawl much longer.

October 2009

Ok, the weather is not cooperating for work on this day, so I took advantage of the situation to go down and catch a couple of trout to prove to Sue that I had actually been to Bemis.  That's all for now, I'll post again soon.

October 2009

Bemis, Exterior Remodel - 2008

After very little firm committment and no written contract (I did have substantial telephone discussion and email trade with the contractor about what I wanted to do) we got started with what I hoped to be a successful remodel that would suit Sue's requirements.  The southern end of the cabin (shown here) had the walls extended to normal height and all rotted wood was removed and the floor was jacked and braced to level.  You can see the new roof and finish trim on the entire building and the hardie board siding beginning to be put on.  

May 20, 2008

The guys (3) working on the project weren't pretty but they were actually pretty good and did most of what I expected. Of course, working with a contractor that far from home was not something that is recommended. I did take a week of vacation here to check on progress - I believe this was the third time that I was there in early 2008.

May 20, 2008

The weather cooperated very well that week in May, and as you can see the cabin is starting to shape up quite nicely.  New electrical power feed is ready for hook-up by the power company - that actually came later in the week.  The TV antenna was removed and later replaced by satellite - a nice improvement and worth what I pay to be able to see most stations - local stations (Evansville, IN) are not available  - but we do have east and west coast ABC and CBS as well as all the DTV channels we have in Indiana!

May 26, 2008

New electrical feed has now been installed, this included a 100 amp breaker service that brother Tony came up and helped me complete. The contractors also installed the crawl space access that you see under the electrical meter - this access is only for the 12 foot additon on the north end of the cabin. You can see that a bond fire is in the making - have to get the wind right else we could burn down the cabin. Hard to see in this photo, but on the left beside the closest porch post is the location of the well. The pump base is visible, but this timing is apparently when the foot valve fell off the pump and I had to pull the pump and try to repair - that whole story will require a post. I realized at this time that I was going to have to get gutters and downspouts on the building to keep from having dirt splash on the siding.

June 28, 2008

I found a good price on some red oak prefinished flooring that I installed in the south end of the building. You can see where it butts against the tavern grade hardwood flooring in the kitchen area.

June 28, 2008

The other end of the cabin received a new bedroom with hardwood flooring, paint and an overhead fan to keep the place cool - I actually found time to make the bed. The doorway into the bedroom has not been finished in the photo. I believe this is the 4th or 5th trip up in 2008.

July 28, 2008

Boy was it hot this July.  This young family is obviously enjoying the coolness of the water.  Like most of the locals I used the stream to take my daily bath (the locals mostly just showed up on Saturday for their weekly ritual) while I was there in July. After painting, laying flooring or just mowing grass the water in the stream refreshes one's well being and helps provide for a good night's sleep.

July 2008

A small bathroom, nice sized shower provides all the conveniences of home except no water yet.  The tile flooring was a Home Depot special that I put down without too much trouble. Did this make six trips or seven?

9/22/2008 (Almost my birthday)

I couldn't resist submitting a photo of brother Carey's lodge near Ferrum, Virginia just to let you know that if this place were on my land in Bemis I never would leave. Oh well, at least he lets me stay there when we go home to visit.

10/21/2008

I'll try to get at least one more post out before the end of the year.  It is tough trying to shop and keep grandkids and create posts that will make you want to go to Bemis and see if you can catch a trout.  Take care and if I don't write again before ..... Have a Merry Christmas.

Bemis - A Little History and Purchase (Summer/Fall 07)

Richard Marting took me to Paul Ferguson's camp to trout fish Shaver's Fork of the Cheat River for the first time in about 1971 or 1972.  I remember sleeping in the high roofed part of the cabin shown below (second photo) as I believe the light brown part of this cabin was added on at a later date.  Seems there was a coal stove in the cabin and after midnight the fire went down and we had to dig out of our sleeping bags and recharge the fire (maybe global warming is effecting temperatures - it seemed a lot colder then). Today, you can often still smell the heavy coal smoke in the cool morning air as you have need to go outside the cabin.  As I recall, and Richard will probably correct me, at that time the main cabin was the one closer to the river and when Jim purchased the place he remodeled the "upper cabin" and made it the main camp.  Hard to believe but I have been going to Bemis, West Virginia for near 40 years. Richard shared a photo of Paul and Jim Williams that was dated 1969 but I was not able to download it here because of the type of format (I'll try again in another post).  Before he passed away, Paul sold the place to Jim and I was fortunate enough to purchase it from Jim's widow Dorothy (Dot) in the summer of 2007.  Here is a photo of (right to left) the river cabin, bath house, implement shed, and outhouse. The main cabin porch is at the left edge of the photo.

Are you crazy?  I know that when my wife learned that I was plotting to buy the cabin from Dot Williams she thought I had totally lost it.  Maybe I was/am a little touched? Here is a photo taken in October of 2007 of the back of the cabin - north and west sides (I still get confused about where north is because the river runs due north and that is just plain wrong).  You can tell from this photo that the place isn't the Hilton - for that matter it isn't the Days Inn either. It has changed some and I'll share some newer photos in a later post.

Knowing how much I liked going to WV fishing, Sue - as she most often does - submitted and allowed me to go ahead with the purchase with the understanding that I would fix the place such that she would at least stay there overnight.  You should realize that although Jim had furnished the place with adequate equipment (as Dot well knows, you can find at least 2 of almost anything that you can think of in one of the 6 buildings) you had to secure water from the hand pump outside and the outhouse was about 30 yards from the porch door. As depicted in this photo from November 2008, sometimes that 30 yards was more than most women would want to navigate - even though it is a "two holer".

Why in the world would anyone want to own, or even go to a place in Bemis, WV you ask.  Here are two photos that were taken in October of 2007 that will answer that question.  The 3 largest were all 17" rainbows.
                                            

 I still use this photo as my computer monitor screen saver and reminder for "I need to plan a trip to the mountains!"

In closing, I would relate that a good thing about digital photography is that dates are stamped automatically thus making it easier to tell a story in chronological order.  That same trip, mid-October, 2007 (that's the week that we always try to go because that's when WVDNR complete the fall trout stocking - they normally stock the big brooders then) Buck Belt brought wife Jane, daughter Eleanor & son-in-law Dave and the two grandkids (photo below) down from Cumberland, Maryland to let Jane check out the place. She hasn't been back - must have been the outhouse - but she has allowed Buck to come back with in-law George Earnest and friend Jim Lawrence.  Yes, it does sometimes get cold early in Bemis.

I'll close for now and save some for the next post.

Momma's Apple Butter

How To Make

 “Momma’s Apple Butter”

This description comes from the annual apple butter making festivities

as executed and recorded by members of the W. Clinton and

Eva Guilliams Custer family at brother Carey’s lodge near

Ferrum, Virginia on October 13 and 14, 2011.

Participants – all siblings listed – oldest first:

            Dan Custer and son Keith – Part Time on Friday

            Loretta Sigmon – Thursday

            Lorraine Roberts – Thursday and Friday

            Cathy (Kitten) Guilliams – Thursday and Friday

            Steve and Sue Custer – Thursday and Friday

            Carey and Betty Custer – Thursday and Friday

            Tony Custer – Showed up to collect a sample

            Ann, Roger and Decon Sledd – Part Time Thursday and Friday

Day 1 – Thursday, October 13, 2011

Two days, rather than trying to do it all in one day, adds to the fellowship and creates less of a strain on the body and mind (negotiation is stressful especially for older people).

Main Ingedients:

6 bushels Golden Delicious apples

2 bushels Stayman Winesap apples

Apples should be well ripened, but not mushy. Mushy apples make good cider but are extremely hard to peel for apple butter.

Sugar (to come later)

Cinnamon (last to enter)

Photo Captions:

I’ve tried to place the captions, as well as the directions and pertinent information, at the tops of the photos on the next few pages.  (The inferred recipe and description are written and photographed by Steve….I really did do more than just sit around and take notes and photos!)

 

All participants noted, plus some additional “visitors” that had to get a hand into the fray, were peeling and cutting apples for 4 hours (1:30PM to 5:30PM) on Thursday.  We delivered for the pot: 60 gallons (three [3] 19-gallon heaping tubs) of cut up apples.

We used Daddy’s 35 gallon copper kettle and provided all necessary heat for cooking using a 4 burner propane gas arrangement that Loretta’s husband, Bobby had fabricated and loaned to us.  All this was set up prior to the cooking beginning on Friday.

Day 2 – Friday, October 14, 2011

Carey had the fire going at 6:00 AM, and brought 1 ½ gallons of apple cider to a bubble before adding the first apples.

Lorraine put two small kettles of the cut-up apples on the stove in the cabin and cooked them so as to speed up the cooking in the pot at the beginning of the process.

As the cooking began and continued, 3 – 4 people were washing and adding apples to the mix – here’s Betty and Kitten.

At all times while the fire was under the pot, someone was stirring the pot in a rhythmic pulsation.  An old rhyme to help the stirrer concentrate on covering the bottom of the pot with the paddle goes something like:

 “Two times round the edge and one up the middle

Every time you touch the bale you have to kiss the kettle.”

Everyone had an opinion on how much heat to use during the cooking – Kitten shares hers here.  Consensus was to keep the mixture bubbling but not enough for the mixture to splash out.

All apples were in the pot by 8:45 ………………………and cooking continued

Dan provided new help…………..and cooking continued…. Someone forgot to tell Lorraine, Carey, Kitten and Betty that a pot won’t boil if you continue to watch it.

Sue got into the stirring act …..and the cooking continued………………..

Apples were totally cooked up by 12:30, and we started adding the sugar. After we added 49 pounds everyone started tasting. Carey said “need more”, Kitten said “just right”, Lorraine said “too much”….everyone had an opinion.  Finally everyone agreed to add another 4 pounds.  After that was added Carey sneaked another 4 pounds into the pot!! We used 57 lbs of sugar total.

After all sugar was added we continued to cook/stir for another 2 hours….the dog (Gunner) was smart enough to stay away from the fire - don’t know what Debbie was trying to show Keith.

Applebutter was completely cooked by 3:00 when we took the fire off and added cinnamon. Kitten put in 5 ½ drams of liquid cinnamon – Carey said it was too much, Lorraine said just right, everyone else kept their opinion to themselves.

We continued to stir for 15 – 30 minutes while the cinnamon propagated through the mix before starting to dip and place in the jars.  Even while we dipped the apple butter out of the pot we continued to stir.  Betty, Kitten, Sue and Lorraine formed an assembly line filling the jars and were finished taking the apple butter from the pot by 4:00 PM.

Carey finished “sopping” all the applebutter from the pot.  Note: Ann continued to stir the apple butter until all had been removed.

All told, we canned 24 gal and 3 pints in quart, pint and half pint jars (some people are still complaining about having to fill the small jars because it took too much time).  With the heat still in the apple butter the lids were self sealing as the lids “set” to the jars.  You can note the color – see last photo – of the apple butter is a reddish brown not dark like some of the mid-west apple butter I’ve seen, and with the consistency of ……..well, apple butter.  We like it almost pourable – not thick enough to have to spoon/dig it from the jar.

If you would like to purchase a jar (quart/pint/half pint) some of the same group annually makes a batch, using the same recipe, at the church where we grew up.  The sale of this batch serves as a mission outreach at Bethany Church of the Brethren located near Callaway, Virginia.  Selling price is less than $10/quart plus shipping.  Contact Loretta Sigmon at Lsigmon@dishmail.net  to see if any is available……just found out they sold out – better luck next year.  Thinking ahead to next year you might be able to volunteer to help in the actual making and thus gain a front row seat to buy a jar.  The fellowship alone provides enough inspiration to make you want to come back.  I know I can’t wait until next year.  Momma’s apple butter may not be what you’re used to but I promise you it is goooood!!!

Here is a photo of the finished product.  I hope you get a chance to obtain a jar and enjoy it as much as we do…..you might even decide to partake in all the festivities and make a batch of “Momma’s Apple Butter” for you and your family.

For posterity's sake I'm going to include a photo of the siblings that was taken after the apple butter making at Saturday's reunion at the lodge.