Stabbur under

construction

for Hanska

centennial

Dutchman making log

building that is typically

found in Scandinavia

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The pleasing scent of pine permeates the air as you travel up Frank Vandeveur's driveway, three miles south of New Ulm on Brown County Highway 13.

Long, heavy, thick white pine logs without bark are lined up parallel to the long driveway.

To the right of the house is what looks like a log cabin without windows.

The structure, called a stabbur, will be dedicated at Hanska's Centennial celebration Aug. 3-5.

Stabburs were designed to store food and protect it from rodents. They originate in Norway and other Scandinavian countries.

Vandeveur, who is from the Netherlands, and Hanska officials created the building's design using photographs taken during recent visits to Norway.

Thanks to his breadth of knowledge of the logging world, Vandeveur located the white pine wood in northern Minnesota.

Courtland Industries delivered the huge logs by truck to his home last spring.

Calling the construction of a stabbur a labor-intensive process is putting it mildly.

Vandeveur's first step was to peel the bark away from the logs by hand with a two-handled draw knife or shovel-like bark spud. The bark thickness determines which tool is used.

On a good day, Vandeveur peeled four logs.

Next, he treated the logs with latex material to prevent mold growth.

The log notches in the corners of the stabbur are one foot square.

Vandeveur is almost ready to work on the pitched roof that will include a rubber membrane and sod laid in two directions.

Although he needs some help for that job, he has done the majority of the rest of the work himself.

Mike Paulson of Hanska will do carpentry work on the log building that will be wired for electricity.

After the structure is complete, Vandeveur will take it apart and transport it to the south end of the park on Hanska's main street.

There, he will assemble it again.

The project got off the ground in 1998 when the Hanska Business Association earmarked $10,000 towards the construction of a stabbur.

The James and Ferdie Aumundson Estate included funding for the project, estimated to cost about $70,000, according to Hanska Mayor Arne Smesmo.

The stabbur will remain in the park and become a Hanska tourist attraction, according to the mayor.

Vandeveur said the stabbur will draw many tourists to the area.

"I'm sure a lot of people will come out to see this," Vandeveur said. "This will help New Ulm too. We look forward to getting it set up. It's a slow, slow process working with logs."

He said logs were dried for two years before they should be stained. Winter heat must be limited the first year.

Other stabburs in the state, near Bemidji and Duluth, have become tourist attractions, according to Smesmo.

He said some of them were built here. Others were sent from Norway and reassembled here.

Smesmo praised Vandeveur's work.

"He is very articulate which is what you need when working on a project like this," Smesmo said. "We also need to give full credit to the Aumundson brothers, our forward-thinking pioneers."

Keepsakes and other historically significant items will be housed in the stabbur, according to Smesmo.

The Norwegians used log buildings to store grain and dried and smoked meat. The upper floor was used to dry meat, according to Vandeveur.

The size of stabburs in Scandinavia was a sign of wealth, according to Vandeveur.

Vandeveur is amazed at what a small number of Hanska people do with their annual community celebration and coming centennial.

"It's unbelievable what just a handful of people there do," Vandeveur said. "How many other towns in Minnesota that size are able to do that kind of work? You hope the next generation can keep it going."

Vandeveur plans to move to Alexandria later this year.

He said the landscape in that area, with its lakes, woods and forests, will be good for his woodworking pursuits.

He plans to continue making log houses, cabins, gazebos, log furniture and other products from wood after he moves up north.