In spite of varied political opinions, most of us with private inholdings or other interests in the National Parks can agree that shutting the parks makes no sense.
Much of what the government does makes no sense to me. If it were run like a private business, it would be bankrupt. Oh. Never mind. It makes no sense any way it gets examined.
There are 12 cabins still standing in Wilsonia that were sold to the government. They now sit empty, neglected, useless, abandoned, falling down, looking sad, of no use to anyone – not private folks, not the government, not park employees, not concessionaires, no one.
As someone who owns a cabin (in Mineral King), who loves cabins (my business name is “Cabin Art”!) and is devoting several years of my life to documenting the cabins of Wilsonia, this makes me sad, puzzled, baffled, and frustrated. As a self-employed, tax paying citizen, it infuriates me! (But, I will conduct myself with dignity here.)
What a waste. The only people who benefited from the sale of this cabin were the sellers. That strikes me as a fairly short-sighted decision on the part of all involved. I have a lot to say about the matter, but since this blog is primarily about drawing a book on the cabins of Wilsonia, I’ll hold back.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope this post wasn’t too off-putting.
Jana,
As an older Wilsonia resident, I can empathize with your comments, big time. My parents were still alive and enjoying our cabin when the government made the decision to buy up as many cabins as the budget allowed, use some of them for park service employees and raze the others to “return the area to nature” so everybody could enjoy the national parks on an equal level….smacks of socialism to me, but that is a personal opinion. The “government” actually “hounded” residents to sell. The cabins were apprised for value and the barrage of letters and calls began. It was a very aggressive effort and some of us complained to local Congressmen about it. I am not sure that helped but it felt good! If there was value in this governmental effort, even to the people who chose to sell, I doubt that it was significant. The effort finally waned and you are observing the sad result. Not a good thing.
Well put, Pat, very well put! Thank you for giving us the story from the perspective of one who witnessed it. “Not a good thing” feels like an understatement.
Jana, thank you for documenting the totality of Wilsonia vs. the more sentimental aspects.
Abandonment seems to be a theme throughout governmental systems and decision making.
Knowing the true value of historical places, and preserving them is our collective responsibility.
I come from a very strong attachment to Wilsonia (as you know), as my maternal Grandfather built cabins there. As a child, I could not know all the politics of the thing, but my Soul knew the pricelessness of life in Wilsonia. Again, thanks for standing up!
Susan, thank you for commenting on this post. I was of two minds as to whether or not I should include this aspect of cabins in Wilsonia. There won’t be room in my book for any of the government’s abandoned cabins, but I can certainly find room on the blog to address it a little.