This week’s topic and my outlook were aligned perfectly for P52!
Cabin fever is definitely in my blood. I was very sick for two days. Let me explain more.
The cabin, top right, is located at Des Moines’ birthplace. You can read the historic marker at the Historic Marker database. Because two rivers converged (a confluence) at this point, and water travel was the main mode of transportation, this was an important post for the government to have. I chose this angle in order to show the confluence in the background. If you geocache, you might want to visit.
The house, lower left, is a log cabin, too. When I first heard about this property, I drove around looking for a log cabin with visible logs and felt really dumb for not finding it. Then I learned more of the story: Urban legend has it that the house was built around the log cabin. A firefighter from years past said so. And the property is on the Most Endangered List! Which brings me to my next point.
My city had a CLG Program (Certified Local Government) presentation before subcommittee this week. I hope it is adopted. As I drove to the Des Moines log cabin, I thought about the contrast between it and the parking lot, street, the stadium and other buildings around it. I don’t think the cabin is an eyesore. I think it has inherent value just standing as it is, very small, humble, and full of cracks. West Des Moines, on the other hand, seems to want everything to match and be shiny unless it’s in Valley Junction. With so few historic structures, with their inherent value, serving as natural launching points for educational conversation, and their relieving contrast to traditional suburban structures, a City CLG Program could be very valuable in its grant offerings and civic and neighborhood pride. What timing with P52, eh?
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