My father and two other families from Tulare bought lots in the same area around Grant and Whitney Streets in the mid ’30s, contacted Jim and Jeff and they subsequently built three cabins with the same design during the same time period. I have the original plan framed on the wall up there along with the original information about materials that would be needed. Our cabin on the corner of Grant and Whitney was the largest. There were four rooms: A living room and dining room/ kitchen combination on the bottom floor and two bedrooms, one quite a bit smaller than the other on the second floor. There was no inside plumbing so everybody had an outhouse and a hand pump.
The house directly across the street on the meadow side, owned by Carl and Esther Hampson, was smaller and the third cabin, owned by Joe and Edna Allen, was the smallest. For years they were known as the three bears. The Allen cabin is the only one still standing. It was purchased and remodeled at least twice by Dottie Jamison and her husband, whose name I don’t recall.

There were about a dozen of us children in that part of Wilsonia at any given time in those summers. Those were the days of no air conditioning in the valley. There also were no organized sports like Little League so many valley parents moved the mothers and children up to the mountains for the summer and the fathers, like mine, made a Friday afternoon pilgrimage to the cabins usually loaded with groceries and whatever else wasn’t available at the Wilsonia store, returning to work in the valley late on Sunday evenings.

The days were filled with some chores, but mostly play or hiking or trips to other park areas or games. What a carefree childhood I had!!

I am so proud of you for keeping your schedule going!!!
Love,
Pat