While most Penn State students sit in class armed with textbooks, pens and notes, much of Susan Hughes' classroom experience consists of working with stone, logs and plenty of dirt.

As part of her core curriculum, Hughes (junior-architectural restoration and preservation) is developing her own course of study in the bachelor of philosophy program by restoring and preserving the Simler Tavern, a hewn pine log cabin built in 1799 in Philipsburg.

She hopes to involve the community in the project, as well as turn the final product into an 18th century eatery.

Hughes, 41, is enrolled in the bachelor of philosophy program, which is administered by the Office of Undergraduate Education.

The small, rigorous program is intended for students whose focused interests cannot be met utilizing traditional majors, Jeremy Cohen, program committee chair, said in an e-mail.

"Students work with a faculty preceptor (advisor) to design their own programs, taking advantage of interdisciplinary approaches and culminating in a senior thesis or project," Cohen says.

A faculty committee interviews candidates for admission and also meets with the "B Phil" seniors who present their projects or theses as part of the program's requirements, Cohen says.

Hughes began her project in 1998 when she started the initial work on the 18 feet by 28 feet structure. Peeling away the layers on the outside of the building, Hughes eventually unearthed the original logs beneath several renovations.

John Henry Simler lived in and owned the Simler Tavern, which was built in 1799. In 1819, the tavern closed, Hughes says. Then, two bakeries operated out of the building and the Salvation Army had quarters there. In 1930, the building was turned into apartments. By 1997, all apartment residents had moved out, she says.

Private citizens who are descendants of Simler bought the old tavern and donated it to the Philipsburg borough for the purpose of restoring and preserving it. A private donor is funding the project, she says.

Hughes, who is also a descendant of Simler, learned about the tavern from family members. She decided to take on the job, trekking from her home in Madera to Philipsburg three days a week.

With such a large task in front of her, Hughes enlisted the help of Roland Cadle of Holidaysburg.

"There's no one else in the U.S. that's comparable to this man," Hughes says.

Cadle, 51, is a self-taught expert in the field of log cabin restoration and has done this type of work as a livelihood for 20 years.

He built his own log home, constructed log huts for the TV mini-series "George Washington" and has moved log houses to New Mexico, Michigan, Indiana, Vermont and Ireland.

He also lent his talents to Hollywood when he made Mel Gibson's powder horn for the movie, "The Patriot," and the powder horns for the movie, "The Last of the Mohicans."

At the Simler Tavern, Cadle teaches and guides a small crew of workers in the restoration.

While more than 80 percent of the original building is still in place, the group has replaced rotten logs and filled in missing pieces with white pine and spruce logs from other buildings with the same amount of weathering as the Simler Tavern, giving it the look of 1799, Cadle says.

"We don't want to hide the evolution," Hughes says. She wants the tavern to appear exactly as it would have when it was constructed, so she and Cadle search for evidence when restoring the tavern. For example, they found evidence that the interior was paneled, and the tavern was not merely an exposed log cabin.

"Basically, we let the building talk and show us what it was," Hughes says.

Each log is v-knotched to fit together, Cadle says, which is "typical of frontier architecture."

"When we reknotch we use a broad axe just like they would have done," Cadle says.

They are looking for indications of the types of technology available during the 18th century, the methods of construction and the materials used.

They are restoring the entire original flooring, original paneling and the fireplaces on the first and second floors. The crew has already jacked up the tavern, replaced logs and re-laid parts of the stone foundation, he says.

During the course of their work, Hughes says, they found a pre-Civil War shoe and clay marbles. Hoping to find more artifacts, Hughes says, "We're going to have an architectural dig here with high school students." The dig is scheduled for April 28 and 29.

"We're a little bit over a month into the actual restoration," Cadle says. It should take about three or four months to complete, he adds.

By May, Hughes says, the team should be finished with the log tavern.

Then comes phase two — a 30 feet by 30 feet two-story period timber frame addition to the back of the building — which Hughes hopes to complete by the summer of 2002.

With the addition, she plans to turn the building back into an 18th century eatery and serve period food, a plan that should bring in continuing revenue so the community will not have to pay for the tavern.

Heated by fireplaces and lit by candlelight, the building will completely model the old tavern, with the exception of a modern kitchen in the new addition.

"I want them to walk into the house and see the atmosphere of 1799. I want it to be an experience, not just some log house sitting on a corner."

Hughes, who decided to go back to school after staying at home to raise her children, says historic things intrigue her and she is completing this project so that her children and other young people in the community will appreciate the building as much as she does.

"We encourage community members to come and visit," Hughes says. To involve the community in the project, Hughes and Cadle have scheduled a hands-on log hewing demonstration for 9 a.m. March 28. There, interested persons will have the chance to help the crew hew a six- and-a-half-inch thick, 28-feet-long replacement log for the cabin using a series of axes.