House or Home

I was scanning through the Adirondack Almanac earlier today and found a very interesting article that I thought related to our designing of an Adirondack camp in class. The article was written by Justin Levine, who grew up in the southern Adirondacks and, after graduating from Paul Smith College, worked for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The article, entitled "Hot Showers: Cabin Life Moves to the Homestead, discusses his transition from living off the grid in a small cabin with no running water or electricity to an apartment with his wife to be and stepson. Though Justin does mention that being able to take hot showers is an incredible part of his mornings now, he admits that leaving the cabin where he would "get up and throw wood in the stove and then stand there and let the heat wash over [him]" was extremely difficult. He asserts that his cabin was "more than a house, it was a home" and that it was a large part of his everyday life. I thought this related to the various amenities and features we included in our camps to allow for a certain standard of comfort that we are used to due to our upbringings. I know that many people feel deeply connected to their childhood homes but the intimacy and consistent upkeep of a cabin seems to build a kind of relationship apart from the nostalgia that often connects us to our homes. In the case of his cabin it seems like there is more of a mutual exchange with his upkeep and the shelter it provides during harsh conditions. I also found it intriguing that he distinguishes it as a home (versus a house) because I tend to separate home from the physical structure and apply it to those who occupy it. I would love to discuss this distinction between house and home in the Adirondacks and how those who live in the Adirondacks build intimate relationships with the structures they occupy.

Here is the link for the article: http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2014/11/hot-showers-cabin-life-moves-to-the-homestead.html

It also turns out that Justin has a series of articles on the site called "Cabin Life" that chronicle his experiences if you guys have to take a look: http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/author/jlevine