pop’s cabin
I am so honored to have been a part of this project. This building represents not only close to 100 years of history, but the birthplace of a spiritual movement that has radically transformed hundreds of thousands of lives.
The ripple effect of faithful men like Pop McKenzie, his son Bill McKenzie, and now an entire new generation of leaders continues to impact leaders for Christ.
The cabin that started it all was originally built around 1930. Alex “Pop” McKenzie acquired the cabin when he moved his family from Dallas to East Texas. For years this cabin was a favorite spot for the McKenzie family to convene and spend time together.
In 1967, Bill approached his dad and asked if he could have a portion of the land to build a camp on. The first Pine Cove building was erected that year and the following summer, Pine Cove officially opened to campers. For years, the little cabin was a home where full-time staff lived. Early on, Pine Cove began offering a morning trail ride to campers which was followed by an authentic “cowboy” breakfast. This affectionately became known as the “Trail Ride Breakfast”. Fifty-four years later, and this is still the campers’ favorite activity. Even those who do not relish the riding experience still rush to sign up for the Trail Ride Breakfast. When Pine Cove asked me to restore this cabin, I felt the weight of responsibility to maintain the integrity and significance of this sacred building.
My team removed all “additions” that had embellished the inside and deconstructed the building down to the studs. The floor had to be leveled as there was a 6” drop off on both the North and South ends of the building. The roof was lifted to remove the weight from the walls in order to accomplish the leveling of floors. We took great care to leave every original log wall as untouched as possible.
I added a real stone fireplace, found antique wood floors to replace the rotted wood, and turned the original bedroom into the Pine Cove museum documenting its history.
I purchased two 8 foot live edge wood tables to feed the hungry campers every morning. I also found antique replica chairs covered in authentic cowhide for seating.
We added an additional bedroom and bathroom so that this cabin could be used for housing visitors.
The charm, the history, the spiritual significance all shines through this adorable cabin.
