Log Cabin Days kick off at Blakeslee Log Cabin

Brian Haytcher, Star Beacon, Ashtabula, Ohio
·2 min read

Sep. 11—PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP — The Blakeslee Log Cabin was host to Log Cabin Days once again, after two years away due to COVID.

Stephanie Blessing, leader of the Log Cabin Committee, said she contacted vendors who had participated in the event previously, and about half of them returned this year.

"So we had to try to find new people to add to the program," Blessing said.

Among the new presenters at the event are the Ashtabula County District Library, the Beekeeper's Association and a presenter discussing monarch butterflies. There was also a horse-drawn carriage at the event on Saturday.

This is Blessing's first year organizing the event.

She praised the volunteers making the food for Log Cabin Days.

"They try to buy as much food local as they could," Blessing said. "The pork and the corn are locally grown. This bean soup is the same bean soup they've been serving up for decades."

More than 40 pies were donated this year, Blessing said.

"The log cabin was built in 1810, and it had people living in it continuously until the early 1970s," she said.

The cabin was eventually purchased by the Ashtabula County Historical Society, and then it was restored by volunteers, and A-Tech students built a historically accurate barn on the property.

This weekend is the 30th year for Log Cabin Days.

Many of the vendors had been there for 25 years or longer.

"We're hoping for a big turnout because we haven't had it in two years," Blessing said.

The parking lot was full of cars by 1:30 p.m.

In the past, up to 2,000 people had attended the event.

Log Cabin Days will continue Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

"Next weekend we're having an event here called the Reeds and Roots Skillshare," Blessing said. "It's another craft event, where people are teaching classes, so it's a little bit different."

Gregory Kocjancic, president of the Ashtabula County Historical Society, said having the event back feels good.

"If it wasn't for our volunteers, I don't think this would have happened," he said.

The crowd was good on Saturday, Kocjancic said.

"They started showing up at 11 o'clock," he said. "We had people showing up at 11 o'clock, an hour before we started."