On June 20^th, there will be a dedication service on the grounds of Lonesome Cabin, built in the early 1800’s on Beaver Dam Creek in Burns, TN.  The public is invited to attend beginning at 11 am.

City and County officials along with State Representatives will be present.   There will be Blue Grass music, games and even a wade in the creek if you wish.

Light lunch will be served after the ribbon cutting, which will be done by the oldest living descendant of the cabin who is 99!

Gardening Partners members are encouraged to attend to help identify native plants and look into the possibilities of researching what type of vegetables and flowers were on the site in the early 1800’s in order to plant an educational garden for visitors.

The cabin is not visible from the road and there is a narrow path for cars so there will be police and fireman at the entrance to assist with parking.

The entrance is located on Hwy. 96 four tenths of a mile from the intersection of Hwy 96 and Hwy 47.

For more information see the Lonesome Cabin website http://www.ausfam.com/lonesome/index.html or Facebook page, contact any member of the Friends of Lonesome Pioneer Park or Gardening Partners member Dianne Hotvedt.

GUEST COLUMN
BY
JERRY PERELLA

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.  His name is William (Bill) Austin.  On Saturday, June 20th, at 11:00 am, Bill is going to part with a family treasure.  Dickson County, and the town of Burns is going to be the recipient of a very valuable gift.  Bill will officially hand over the keys to “The Lonesome Cabin” to Mayor Landon Mathis.  Bill’s 99 year old mother will do the honors of cutting the ceremonial ribbon.
Bill is a direct descendant of William and Dicey Austin who built this cabin in 1821, and raised 10 children in it.  They are buried on the property along with several other Austins, in the family cemetery.  The main cabin is still standing after nearly 200 years, and sits on nearly 9 acres of wooded, beautiful land, complete with a creek that runs year round.
Bill and his family could have easily sold this valuable property, which in today’s market would have fetched more than $300,000.  This was not something he wanted to do, however.  Too many memories and rich family history are attached to this serene and peaceful place.  Instead, his vision is to turn this into a museum and family-oriented park that all of Dickson County can enjoy.  A five-person board was created to oversee his dream, and I am proud to be one of them.  The others are Gail Jones, Bob Deal, Dianne Hotvedt, and of course Bill himself.
There could possibly be as many as 50 descendants traveling from all over the country for this event (one all the way from Alasksa.)  We would like to invite everyone to please come to our dedication at the cabin because this is YOUR park!  As donations and money from fundraisers come in, we  have plans to build a covered pavilion, restrooms, a walking trail, and a museum.
Our event will be FUN!  You can tour the cabin, visit the old and historic cemetery, kick back and listen to some live Bluegrass music, and feast upon barbeque from Back Alley, along with pizza, desserts, etc.  There will be plenty of local dignitaries to hob-nob, confer, and confab with.  We’ll have guest speakers and proclamations too.  There will be games such as horseshoes, corn-hole, and croquet, so bring the kids!  I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday than free food, music, a taste of history, and wonderful people to visit with.
Again, this event will be on Saturday, June 20th at 11:00am until?  It’s easy to find.  It’s four tenths of a mile on highway 96 from the 4-way stop in Burns where Highway 47 and 96 intersect.  You would be heading in the direction of Lime Kiln Road.  We’ll have a sign and a fire truck at the entrance, and it’ll be on the right.
As Tom Bodette used to say, “we’ll leave the light on for you.”

Jerry Perella
Burns, TN 37029