2006Newsletters

So many people have asked, "when did Armar Bordner die?" According to the Social Security Death Index, he was both November 1, 1904 and died November 20, 1994. (‘90 Daily News photo)

To date, thirty-five volunteers and 517.5 hours later, the ceiling and roof on the Armar Bordner cabin in Swatara State Park are done. Graffiti is being removed, floor boards installed in vent holes, and safety screens on windows.

There are so many more people to thank for their contributions of time, talent, cash, and materials—ELK Corporation, Lowes Lebanon, the Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority, United Rentals, the Lebanon County Conservation District, Swatara Township, Northern Lebanon Rotary Club, Northern Swatara Creek Watershed Association, and the PA Conservation Corps to name a few.

Bordner Cabin Benefactors include: Chuck Allwein, American Water Company, Paul Bird, Terry Baylor, Dick Blouch, Barb Charles, George Clark, Betty Conner, Stan Kastrava, Helen Kriston, Lebanon County Conservation District, Tracy Longenecker, Jennifer Minich, Northern Lebanon Rotary Club, Northern Swatara Creek Watershed Association, Jim Packer, Frank Smoker, Swatara Township, Ray Swingholm, Pam Tricamo, and Union Township.

The PA Conservation Corps gave us an opportunity to work with young men who are earning their GED or going onto college. They arrived at the site with team spirit, cooperation, and a good attitude. The team was polite, and seemed sincerely interested in the project at hand.

To see young people work hard without complaining is rewarding. In the process, we hope that a sense of stewardship, pride and accomplishment were gained.

Of course without the cooperation of Governor Rendell, Senator Brightbill, and DCNR, we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to remake the Bordner cabin a community treasure. Schuylkill County Commissioners, Lebanon County Commissions, Jonestown Borough, and Bethel Township also lent a

hand.

Swatara Creek Watershed Association will continue work at the cabin. For more information or to volunteer at the cabin, visit swatara@mbcomp.com .

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For more information on the PA Conservation Corps, contact Steve Fegley at 717-783-6385

Available Projects:

The Lebanon Daily News and county commissioners Bill Carpenter and Larry Stohler are to be commended for pointing out that the state should maintain and repair the Armar Bordner cabin. The Swatara Creek Watershed Association has been saying this all along, but we feel like we haven’t been heard.

The Bordner cabin is included in the Swatara State Park Master Plan, which establishes the cabin as a footprint on the Heritage Trail and as an interpretive site. The cabin is consistent with the master-plan vision of utilizing buildings with small footprints that incorporate wood siding and natural materials found in the area. At no time during the master-plan process was there discussion of removing the Bordner cabin.

In three short years, the cabin will qualify for national or state historic preservation. Pictures, blueprints and newspaper articles help to document the historical significance of the cabin to the Lebanon area.

The cabin is also noted on more than 60,000 water-trail maps as well as signs at public accesses to the Swatara Creek and on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Web site.

Next, SCWA learned of an offer to give the cabin away, but it is our understanding that the cabin is pinned together and not intended for disassembly. If the logs splinter in trying to disassemble the cabin, no one will benefit from it. Therefore, SCWA offered to do whatever it takes to keep the cabin in its current location. While that offer is still on the table, as taxpaying citizens who support the park, we both encourage and welcome a change of heart by the state to honor the master plan and complete the needed repairs.

At a recent tourism summit, Pennsylvania Director of Heritage Tourism Lenwood Sloan explained that, “Our heritage is defined by the things, land-based objects, that define place and sense and time. Adaptive reuse of these objects involves restoration, preservation and interpretation of those things left behind — something that we can touch from the past.”

Pennsylvania has 125 million visitors annually, and 44 percent visit their families who become the tour guides, the storytellers of our past. They usually travel within a 90-minute circle of their home — day-tripping. The Bordner cabin is a perfect destination in Lebanon County.

In conclusion, SCWA feels privileged to have been part of five meetings in a two-month period with DCNR, Sen. David Brightbill, and/or the Lebanon County Commissioners resulting in a stay for the Bordner cabin. If the various departments within the state work together, we can move forward with preservation of the only remaining building in Swatara State Park. It’s the right thing to do. The cabin’s colorful history should be embraced, not erased.

Update on the Bordner Cabin

So many people have asked, "when did Armar Bordner die?" According to the Social Security Death Index, he was both November 1, 1904 and died November 20, 1994. (‘90 Daily News photo)

Water Under the Bridge