Blog No 4 Treehouse and Tower
My dad hired a man with a bulldozer to clear land on our 400-acre farm in the Ozarks. When the highest hill on our land was being cleared, dad asked the bulldozer man to spare a red oak tree that stood at the highest point, and that must have given us the idea. On June 20, 1958, when I was 13, I made the following notation in my little diary: “Began building a tree house on top of the hill.” My younger brothers, Alvin and Garner helped me on the project that began by constructing a makeshift ladder by nailing short boards horizontally across the tree trunk. By the following week we had built a wooden platform about two thirds up the tree and when side rails were added, it became our treehouse.
Once the treehouse was completed on June 30, we began erecting a tower. We anchored long wooden poles from the floor of the treehouse and nailed sideboards to these four poles to provide stability. Finally, at the top of the four poles we constructed a platform surrounded by guardrails that served as a lookout. We carried blankets and pillows up to the treehouse and on July 2 we slept in the treehouse for the first time.
We delighted in climbing trees from an early age and the climb to our treehouse and tower with its panoramic view of the surrounding hills and valleys became an enduring source of satisfaction. Our favorite view was the much-revered Pilot Mountain to the south, an oblong forested butte surrounded by sheer cliffs just below the summit. Almost due west stood Boat Mountain, appearing as a boat upside down with a fire tower protruding from its summit. We mounted overnight camping trips to each of these mountains. Our treehouse and tower turned out to be remarkably well constructed, serving as an observatory to enjoy the beautiful Ozark countryside.
Six years later the structure was showing wear, and we began a radical reconstruction. The overall plan was the same, but this time we cut off the top of the tree at the level on the treehouse which would give a sturdier foundation. On July 1,1964 Alvin and I tore down the entire old structure. We anchored four poles, one at each corner of the treehouse, that projected into the sky about 15 feet. For stability we attached a series of guy wires to the top of the tower and anchored them to the ground with stakes. It was a sound engineering plan as the tower withstood winds and thunderstorms over the ensuing years. When traveling along Highway 65 by bus we kept an eye toward the north and through the breaks in the trees we would spot our tower protruding from the top of the hill in the distance.
During the not summer months we slept in our tree house, not only to escape the heat of our bedroom, but to hear wildlife. We regularly heard whip-poor-wills, barred owls and great horned owls. On occasion we would hear the hoarse barking of a gray fox. One night we were awakened by a pandemonium at the forest edge just north of the treehouse – chittering sounds, growling, and snarling. It took us a little while to realize we were hearing a family of raccoons passing by.
