The rectangular “Private” sign on the tree to the barrel’s left wasn’t taken seriously by the throngs of curious visitors who reportedly flocked to the structure during its 11-year tenure as a lakeside camp. In 1936, having had enough of life in a barrel—which may have seemed more like a goldfish bowl at times—the original owners sold it and went elsewhere.
Boatbuilder George Powell cuts a scarf joint in an existing stave to splice in a steam-bent replacement. The smaller “kitchen barrel” at left was in better shape, thanks to a roof overhang large enough to direct water from the eaves beyond the outward-bulging walls. The temporary structure at right protects the open doorway.
Restored to a semblance of its former glory, the Pickle Barrel House—now a museum—awaits the arrival of the painting crew.