A deconsecrated church for a small flock sounds good. Yep, without  
proper milling and curing, cottonwood is crazy.

On the south slopes of the Wallowas, white settlers came from  
Appalachia. The oldtimers called cottonwood firewood-- good for  
cookstoves-- bam or biscuit wood. You had to split it while it was  
still green. I suppose a big chunk might burn or awhile but  
biscuitwood was aptly named.

In the Wallowas, the locals called the 70s back-to-the-landers "meadow  
mushrooms." Some of them lived in yurts or tepees. I lived in an old I  
house on a farm homesteaded by orchardists. It was heaven there, mostly.


On Dec 4, 2010, at 7:25 PM, Cuyler Page <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> A little water-powered sawmill near the tiny town of Edgewood where  
> I once lived out here in BC had a contract during WW1 to supply  
> cottonwood lumber for the making of war aircraft.    The story told  
> is that when the supply of structural balsa wood was cut off from  
> South America, the cottonwood here was deemed a good substitute.  It  
> was shipped out by lakeboat and then train to the east coast and  
> then to Britain.
>
> Saw some fresh cut cottonwood used to make fences and cabins by some  
> back-to-the-landers here in the 1960's, and the shapes the boards  
> took was as wandery as the occupants' pipe dreams.   It sure was  
> pretty to see the wandering sculpture of the fences!   Boards would  
> pop their nails if needed to go their own way, but the occupants  
> didn't mind.   They enjoyed running their little mill, and just kept  
> cutting new wood and patching it in wherever an opening occurred.    
> It looked bizarrely wonderful, sort of like a horizontal Watt's  
> Towers.
>
> At that time (before Alice's Restaurant), I bought a little  
> deconsecrated log church to live in.   Built in 1935, it had a  
> vaulted ceiling made of cottonwood plywood.   With the surface never  
> "finished", it still had a whiteish creamy colour.   It was 3 ply,  
> and I never did find out where it came from.   Seemed awfully early  
> for sheet plywood.   The barrel vault shape was framed with arched  
> rafters made up of four layers of 1/2" thick boards nail laminated  
> together.   I guess you would have to say they were made of 1/2 x  
> 4s.   Four layers made up the real inch dimensions used for 2 x 4s  
> here in that era.
>
> I never tried cottonwood for lumber after seeing the lively  
> homestead, but it sure made great overnight wood in the stove.    
> Just like coal.   A single big chunk would last all night without  
> needing a neighbour to keep it burning.    The ash was another  
> story, and that was why none of the other locals chose to burn the  
> wood, but I loved it because I never had to tend the fire in the  
> middle of the night in deep winter.
>
> cp in bc
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mary" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2010 6:52 PM
> Subject: [BP] Vermont store, porch decking
>
>
>> Ruth
>> A few folks recommended species of wood & milling specs for your   
>> store's porch deck. When I was faced with a similar task, I  
>> despaired  that I couldn't get milled cottonwood (not poplar).

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