Extreme Makeover: Build that Bridge!

Please help our families' long-standing permit with the Forest Service to continue to occupy this land by "Building That Bridge!" All donations will be directly deposited to the caretakers of the cabin to purchase supplies and pay contractors, etc. Did you know that they have already spent almost $25,000 on planning alone??

A long time ago people lived a simpler way. Some don't miss that way of life, but I think they would if they had my family's childhood summers. My name is Rosie Bohnart, and I am part of a family with roots that run through a small mountain community buried deep in a national forest.

This forest and this cabin hold many daydreams of childhood summers for many generations in many different family trees. To get to my childhood vacation spot, we had to cross an old-timer bridge connecting two different worlds. The bridge connecting our two worlds has been broken for the last four years, but the caretakers of this land have made great progress! To tthem,it feels like they have moved mountains to get here.

Now it's time to "Build that Bridge". I want to hear people chant "Build that bridge! Build that bridge!" But since this is a long-distance project, I want to see people "Build that bridge" by funding it! Please consider this an investment in future generations and possibly your own! Over the last hundred or so years, this bridge has broken and been fixed by family and friends. Now, the story is different. The Forest Service has plans to have us build this bridge up to standards that are out of our families' financial reach.

Pictured above are my parents, Perry and Kathy (Bates) Demma walking across the bridge last summer. My mom turned 80 in June of 2022, so we made an effort to get all her kids out there for a family reunion. The trip was a success. The memories are made. But the memories made were very different than when I was a kid. We all stayed in VRBOs. We parked on the turn-off and hiked in. What you carry in, you must carry out. So, pack lightly.

Every summer as kids my family and families just like mine went to this special spot inside vacation. It was a long way from my hometown of Lincoln, NE but my parents are huge advocates. Most of my mom's 8 brothers and sisters loved going. Loved bringing their kids. A lot of times there would be multiple families at the same time. All stuffed into the lower and upper cabins. Old-timer cabins with no electricity and no running water. The lower cabin (pictured on the cover page) was originally made for our family that built it and mined in the surrounding mountains. They also built the upper cabin for miners who worked the mines with them. So, the lower cabin has a few walls separating the bedroom from the kitchen and family room.

The upper cabin (pictured above) is a one-room cabin with bunks on the back wall and multiple beds behind the kitchen area. This is where my family always stayed. We fought for the top bunk, so we wouldn't knock our heads. Slept in our next day's clothes, so we wouldn't have to change in the cold. Cooked all food on a wood-burning stove. Used an outhouse for the call of mother nature. And washed with spring water that we brought up in buckets. The outhouse (pictured below) has recently been renovated to Forest Service specifications. This one room attraction is a major issue without a bridge! It needs to be cleaned by a very heavy pump truck. This new bridge has passed the 100 year tests and will be able to hold pump trucks too.

There aren't many old-timers around to teach these lessons of past lives and simpler ways to live anymore. But without a new bridge, the chances of continuing to enjoy this way of life will become less and less likely as repairs are needed, the outhouse needs emptying, and trails need trimming. Please help our families' long-standing permit with the Forest Service to continue to occupy this land by "Building That Bridge!"

Note: All donations will be directly deposited to the caretakers of the cabin! Any questions, let me know and I will get you in contact with them. Did I mention that they have already spent almost $25,000 on planning alone??