The players this year were the following - De, Rich, Jbo & Patrick Barnes - John & Mike Olds - Bill & Mike O'Brien - Rodger - Hack - Patrick's friend - & John Hotze. Please forgive me if I have gotten names wrong. I'm sorry I forgot Patrick's friends name. After a very wet start for some of the gang, we had beautiful weather for the "Main" workday. Lots of good improvements were made to the cabin and surroundings. That ugly mold was washed off the asbestos tiles on the northeast side of the cabin, caulking, window & bedroom door jam painting, spring fence mending, spring bridge overhaul, chimney tuck pointing, added concrete to the drainage area in back of the cabin so that rain water wouldn't soak through the cracks and stand in some areas, installed new stove in main room, replaced old wood burning stove with a good efficient one - it really looks great and works well (Rich is installing the prized old one in his new house), windows were washed, & attic cleaned up a bit. If I missed something please let me know & I will add it. Oh, lots of good food was eaten by all, including De's famous fried "Morels". He can whip up some great biscuits and gravy too. We are all thankful to the great cooks we have on these work weekends.
I need some help with a few of the last names. De told me Roger was a Poll Lock or Hungarian, but I didn't catch the his last name. Than there was "Hack" or "Rock" or something like that. I also forgot Patrick's friends name, the "Air Force Lifer". Sorry my memory is not what it should be. I regret not taking more pictures of workers but I felt a little awkward taking pictures of people. I am always afraid that people don't like having their picture taken. If I get a vote of confidence that people don't mind, I will make sure to take more next year. I really am taking pictures mainly for the website to share memories and create a historical archive of Mossy. I also want to share these experiences with everyone who loves Mossy and to give future generations a glimpse of the past. I know at the time you may not feel much like having your picture taken or plastered all over a website, but I think your grandkids will really appreciate the opportunity to view some of Mossy's history. I would give my right arm to have photos of work parties from 40 or 50 years ago and more. If Bill or anybody should have some, I would gladly scan them in and place them on this website for all the families and members to enjoy.
One interesting tidbit of news that I heard from De was that he has seen and spoken with both Art Helms (caretaker from the early to mid 50's) and also John Collier (I believed he was the son of John Collier, whom Pulaski Rod & Gun Club purchased the land for the cabin from). I think he is in several of the "Old Hotze & O'Brien" pictures on this website. As I recall, De said this has happened in the past year or so. I think it would be great to get in touch with them, if they live around Waynesville, and invite them down for a dinner at the cabin. It would be neat to hear them talk about early recollections of Mossy Spring. Collier spoke with De at the cabin and talked about old friendships with Bill O'Brien and my dad. Collier said he new who some of the people were in the photo above the fireplace. John told De that his dad was one of the men in the photo. De thought John looked to be at least in his 80's. I would think he might be in his 90's judging from some of the old pictures I posted in the "Old Hotze & O'Brien" section.
I must say that Mossy has a great history and it continues on today. We should all be thankful for the good people who continue this Mossy tradition of treating the cabin, the river, the spring valley, the game, & the Mossy families with great respect. I am grateful to witness the new generations are following in our footsteps. jkh