The Log Cabin of H. G. 'Pat' SHRINER and its fireplace

SHRINER

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 2/24/2011 at 18:36:36

"The Fairfield Daily Ledger"
Saturday, December 10, 1927

REMINISCENCES OF AN OLD-TIMER

THE LOG-CABIN FIRE PLACE

About 1902 H. G. SHRINER, now an artist of note at Lajolla, Calif., came to Fairfield and while here only a few years, left his impring by awakening an interest in art and artistic things that really was of an educational nature in our community. Like all artists, he wanted a log cabin with a big fire place. As I rented him the dwelling he then occupied I agreed to build him a cabin with fire place and sky light. It now stands on the same lot 2½ blocks south of the square on South Court street and now owned by Mrs. Cummings. It has stood 25 years. The bark on the oak logs is still intact and it is seemingly as good as when built attesting to the honest workmanship of two wood choppers of renown who built it. I was told to buy good oak piles, such as were sold to the railroads. I found they were sold by the foot and were expensive. Good oak cord wood was very cheap, so I saw a man who had fine oak timber and was cutting it into cord wood and piling. I asked him if he would just as soon bring the logs in full length and I would cut them up. I was to pay him cordwood price. He said "sure," it saved him cutting it into cord lengths.

So he brought in the long logs just the same as he called piling when sold as piling to the railroad company, calling it cord wood in long lengths. I found the same thing cost less than one half as much as if he had called them piling. There is something in a name.

They built the chimney and fire place and one pleasant afternoon we built a fire to test it, and it drew fine. I congratulated the builders and paid them. That evening we had a lot of friends invited to sit around and enjoy the big fire place. Much to our distress we found the smoke came down and poured into the room. to let the smoke out we opened the door, and found the smoke turned and went up the chimney and the fire burned brightly. We remembered we had left the door wide open when making the test with the builders. The only objection to leaving the door open was that it would be very chilly in cold weather. The next morning we got the builders. They at once knew what was the matter. All needed (sic) was to make the chimney 2 feet higher. They did, it smoked worse than ever. Winney then located the trouble. The neck was too wide. He narrowed it -- if anything it made it worse. A crowd has gathered to see the last test. After discussion it was the opinion of the crowd that all that was needed was to add a couple of feet more to chimney (sic). It was done the next day with no better results. Neighbors came in and said they thought it was about time to give me some practical advice. Why did I not get John Brown the bricklayer? He understood all the scientific principles involved in building a fireplace, which could not be expected from woodchoppers, whose methods were hit and miss. John Brown appeared the next day. He stuck his head into the fireplace and shut one eye, and squinted up the chimney. The knowing look on his face when he straightened up showed he had located the trouble. It was very simple, all it needed was a brick back wall. If I furnished material he would do the work for $5.00. I said "if you will fix it so it will draw and not smoke with the cabin door closed, I will give you $10.00. He accepted, came the next day and put in the wall. If anything it smoked worse. He came back next evening and changed the angle of the wall. No better. He said he would be back in a day or two and make a little change at the neck that would make it all right. He never came back to fix or to collect.

Nearly every day well meaning idle people called and asked permission to look up the chimney and give advice which was a repetition of what we had been told before. We were about discouraged when a good friend, Mrs. R. B. Louden came to our rescue, armed with "The Science of Familiar Things." This book furnished a remedy for all ordinary troubles. It asked, "Why do old farm fireplaces smoke?" The answer was that sometimes if a room was tightly closed enough, out side air was not admitted to make a draft up the chimney. This was in accord with our experience. With the cabin door open the fireplace was a wonder. How simple the remedy. Just drill a 2 inch hole through the back of the chimney, letting in fresh air which, rushing up the chimney, carried up the smoke. The next day we fired up for the test after the hole was drilled even with the bottom of the fireplace. Our crowd was there to see. As near as we could see there was a little less smoke came into the room. Then we heard voices saying, come out here. We went out to back of the chimney and saw the smoke that should have gone into the room solemnly coming out of the hole and crawling along the ground.

A thoughtful neighbor after study said he believed the builders got the wrong recipe. They followed directions for building a smoke house chimney and all we needed was to turn it end for end and we would have no further trouble.

*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I am not related to the person(s) mentioned.