Building trades putting final touches on cabin, shed
Jeff Remiker, left and student Ben Koehler install a wood accent to the new cabin. Koehler spent more than two weeks researching and designing it.
By CHRIS PETERSON
Hungry Horse News
Students from the Columbia Falls buildings trades program were busy last week putting the finishing touches on a cabin and a shed for Glacier National Park.
The two-bedroom cabin has the same specifications as a cabin the class built last year for the park — but with a personal touch.
Student Ben Koehler spent two weeks researching and designing a wood accent for the cabin that mirrors the park’s east side mountains.
It’s made of three different woods — mahogany, alder and maple as the piece progresses in elevation. The center will feature a bald eagle soaring through the clouds above the peaks.
“This is the best crew I’ve had,” said teacher Jeff Remiker. “The tolerances are as tight as they ever have been.”
Bob Jellison, a longtime Glacier Park carpenter and tradesmen, works side-by-side with Remiker and the students.
About a dozen students are in the class — some are returning members from last year. They only have a few days to finish up the cabin and the shed before they’re shipped to the park and installed later this month.
The cabin will go to Rising Sun outside of St. Mary.
The structure will be completely turnkey. It just needs to be set on a foundation and have the utilities hooked up.
The shed is interesting in that is upholds Glacier’s historic standards. It has a roof made of fire-resistant cedar shakes and a bright green door that was a popular shade back in the 1920s.
The Park Service and the Glacier National Park Conservancy has funded the materials and tools for the program for several years now and it has additional funding for four more years.
The classes have built employee housing cabins as well as other buildings over the years, including the new Camas Entrance Station, which will be used starting this summer.