Thursday, April 03, 2014

Jan and Bill Saxman ... preserving Virginia's past in 'Log Home Living'

The restored Saxman cabin in Highland County, Virginia.
(Photo from Log Home Living)

A log cabin, a dedicated Staunton couple, and a love of Virginia came together to restore a log cabin in Highland County, the getaway escape for these business owners in western Virginia. It's all featured in this month's Log Home Living magazine in an article written by Holly Smith with photographs by David Brown.

It takes a special vision to look at a dilapidated old cabin of worn wood, warped floors, and crumbling foundation, and see a finished product. Yet that's exactly what Jan and Bill Saxman, the parents of former Staunton Delegate Chris Saxman, saw when they set out to restore the old two-room log cabin on their property in the Allegheny Mountains, a project that Jan saw completed shortly before her passing in 2013. In photos, the transformation can be seen as well as the loving interest that went into the finished product set in this picturesque rural area.

Ah, Jan -- she was one of a kind. It's almost possible to hear her input especially when she wanted to keep the rusted-yet-intact cabin tin roof. Her vision for saving a piece of Virginia's history was completed in a place that now holds her memory.

No comments: