Florida Senate - 2013 (NP) SR 1804 By Senator Hays 11-01794B-13 20131804__ 1 Senate Resolution 2 A resolution recognizing master craftsman Jeff Penuel 3 for his painstaking restoration of the Carr Family 4 Cabin in the Ocala National Forest. 5 6 WHEREAS, the Carr Family Cabin is a historically 7 significant structure located on 46 acres of wild land donated 8 to the Ocala National Forest in 2007 by Tom Carr, and 9 WHEREAS, the Carr Family Cabin was built 74 years ago by a 10 local Florida Cracker craftsman, using the Carr family as his 11 labor, and 12 WHEREAS, the Carr Family Cabin was the location where Tom 13 Carr’s brother, Archie, a famous naturalist, was introduced to 14 Florida’s wild lands, setting the stage for his lifetime 15 commitment to this state’s ecological conservation and the 16 global plight of vanishing sea turtle populations, and 17 WHEREAS, the Carr Family Cabin is often compared to 18 naturalists Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, Aldo Leopold’s 19 “shack,” and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ Cross Creek, and 20 WHEREAS, in 2007, with the Carr Family Cabin in imminent 21 danger of collapse, the United States Forest Service 22 commissioned the exterior bracing of the disintegrating 23 structure, contracting with local custom-home builder Jeff 24 Penuel, himself a direct descendent of Florida Crackers, and 25 WHEREAS, in 2008, the Carr Family Cabin was determined 26 eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic 27 Places, and 28 WHEREAS, with the Carr Family Cabin braced, the United 29 States Forest Service formed a partnership with the Umatilla 30 Historical Society which gave birth to the Friends of Carr 31 Cabin, and under the umbrella of the organization’s tax exempt 32 status, funds were raised to restore the cabin, and 33 WHEREAS, the Friends of Carr Cabin once again turned to 34 Jeff Penuel, who, over the course of the next 4 years, lovingly 35 and painstakingly restored the structure, donating significant 36 time and resources to bring the project to completion, and 37 WHEREAS, in 2012, the Society for History in the Federal 38 Government awarded the Carr Cabin Restoration Project the 39 distinguished John Wesley Powell Prize for outstanding 40 achievement in historic preservation, and 41 WHEREAS, the restoration of the Carr Family Cabin is 42 testimony to Florida Cracker determination and the power of 43 community partnerships, NOW, THEREFORE, 44 45 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida: 46 47 That we recognize master craftsman Jeff Penuel for his 48 painstaking restoration of the Carr Family Cabin in the Ocala 49 National Forest.