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Show E mery County Progress Wednesday, August 4, 1982 9A A - I ; . , jf'-- V A,T iA t J! f A f ' , ; ; ; Jit j Vvi 4 Ji - , hfx-J- :! ', 1 ,T . 'i K m NV i I 1 fe S. ,1 A li, r1 3 1 I " i. ;aTvv-? 'A r !'4 j, H" ' 7 A d , ,1 K; f J W . Lfi!" . , yu? jpw r?'9y4X1lV 4 " v yj A - a:- -. ' f J ' ?mS f & " ? ;' . ' .v, aV j , - V:CJ A " . .- ft 1 i ' ' lj- t - I JALr-r: T'W si The 16-fo- ' , . " -- L s W t i A, "Hi. 4 - - I"! . 5 tree house was created out of rustic and inexpensive materials. Till MU It's the ultimate in playground architecture By KRISTEN D. TAYLOR Staff Writer It wouldnt be hard to find something to do in the summer if you lived on Tom Sawyers Island. And, while Jeff and Greg Schmitz dont actually live on Toms Island, their high tree house provides them with classical playground adventure. The tree house was built for the boys by their father, Mike Schmitz, who is a local 16-fo- ot contractor. Schmitz framed the tree house in a couple of weekends and has added improvements ever since. At the present time, the tree house has swings, a new slide, sandbox, suspension bridge and club house. Many of the materials for the structure were obtained by trading or bartering. Often inexpensive materials were used not only for economy but to create a realistic and authentic look. For example, the outside of the club house is finished with slabs the first cut of a log which is often discarded as waste. There has also been great attention paid to detail. Every single knot in the suspension bridge is an authentic Boy Scout practiced and approved knot. In fact, Mrs. Cindy Schmitz claims that as a den mother, she too has benefited from the tree house. Theres never a problem about what the boys are going to do before and after the meeting, she said. While the tree house is the ultimate in playground architecture, Mike Schmitz has made some definite limits like no glass windows in the clubhouse were going to build shutters! Schinitz puts the same kind of energy and e construction imagination into his business. I enjoy a challenge in my work in fact, the more unusual the better. Schmitz is a native Californian who enjoys his residence in Carbon County. The slower paced lifestyle gives him the opportunity to enjoy the mountains, the desert, hunting, fishing and gardening. Except for the absence of the odor of a corncob pipe, the summer setting is a journey back to a lazy summer day in a very different time. full-tim- Jeff Schmitz demonstrates a new addition to the tree house a giant slide. Greg and Jeff Schmitz enjoy summer heat waves in tree house built for them by their father, Mike Schmitz. photography AL HARTMANN |