As the rise of the automobile enabled Americans to take to the road, motor courts started popping up. The out-of-the-way nature of these new motor courts also made them a hot bed of illegal activity. The Very Modest Cottage was no exception. It became a place in Beardstown, Illinois, where men could sneak away with their mistresses.

Next life: a hunt club used it as a hideaway for Friday night card games. Next life: an industrious veteran purchased the cabin and one of its siblings, and moved them to a gravel lot in another part of town. Here, he started a business, Jones Trucking.

This lot was next door to Tereasa’s grandma’s home. As a child, Tereasa fantasized about tea parties in the little cabins. Fast forward some 30-odd years later. Tereasa, David and her brother Sam finally agree to rescue one of them. They get wide load permits from two states to get the cabin to its new home at Camp Wandawega. For the in-depth story, check out Tereasa’s first book, A Very Modest Cottage (Hearst/Sterling).