Eastern Oregon When Wood was Cheap


This old house in my back yard was built in 1920 with a solid 2x4 construction. The builders just laid out and nailed together 2x4's horizontally until the structure was completed. Incredibly, a fair number of the pieces were less that 24" long, and many had defects such as becoming slightly narrower down the length. I suspect someone had access to ends and imperfect pieces at a nearby lumber mill. There was an old Franklin Stove and a sewer hole, but no running water. Insulation was one thin layer of cardboard taken from old furniture packaging and carefully pieced together on the inside with a thin wood panel over that. The building had major problems so I took it apart by hand and reused the old lumber to make raised planter beds for gardening.

"Springtime La Grande" • Acrylic on board • 7"x5"