Looking for ideas to save this old cherry wood

[mzgarden]

    
We have a 125+ year old farm house and DH is building an addition to just about double the size of the kitchen.  When he tore off the siding, he discovered the side of the house had originally been sided with cherry slabs.  The old cattle farmer behind us is the nephew of the original owner and he confirmed the house had been built by neighbors getting together, sawing down trees on the property, milling them and building (that's so cool).  So anyway, I want to leave these slabs visible when we dry wall the rest of the addition.  I'm not sure what to do between them and what I can do to seal them to avoid bugs but still leave the rustic look.  I don't want chink between the boards as it will take the focus away from the wood itself.

Any thoughts?

[here to stay]

Battons?  Wainscoting with the cherry acting as the panels?  Pull it and repurpose it?  It would make a lovely kitchen  table or even counter.  Or simply treat it as a shiplap wall with strips on the reverse to cover the gaps?

[here to stay]

Shelving to cover the gaps? Or make it into a fake door with old glass knob and hardware?

[Bear Foot Farm]

If you're good (and careful) with a router, you could straighten and uniform the shape and size of the spaces and inset another strip of wood that could be stained to match.

It might require some hand work with chisels near the end walls.