Spring Cleaning at Old Michigan CityPart II!!

The old master, Jake, teaching Larry the fine art of sanding wood inserts for the stairs!!


This should be fun carrying up a couple flights of stairs and hallways etc...


Now this is tight!!!


Kate hauls mulch over to the new flower bed..


Gals planting, Guys supervising...hmmmmmm


Sue planting one of the new Day Lillies!


Dave gives Jake another piece of wood to be "custom cut" to fit!! The new floor is designed to both cover the conduit and give the stairs a good stable base..


Doyne nails down a section of the floor...

Cindy raking while Frank and Mary are discussing Mary's 50th birthday which just happened to be today, the day of Spring Cleaning-- what a party!!


Looks like we planted some gorgeous tulips last year!


Group shot of most of the guys who worked on removing the old chimeny and building the new wall supports and base for the stairs...

Doyne's Crew! They look very proud!!


Missing from the group shot, Dave hands over one of the stairs that will be...


handed up to Doyne for storage in preparation for Sunday's assembly of the stairway.. You sort of build from the top of the pole down...


Dave shows off the multiple head dings he endured while meeting up with a cross beam support for the old support system (he forgot to duck!!)....that beam was removed and replaced by a much better wall support system (holds up the roof above it much better).


Birthday girl, Mary, with husband, Jeff, watch the day's images on my new G4 laptop while eating a great supper at Bridges Restaurant, just down the road from the Old Michigan City Lighthouse!

Spring Cleaning Images Part I

Great turnout!

Great work!

Boy!!! Your group really knows how to work hard. A GREAT BIG ATTA BOY TO ALL OF YOU!!!
Ruthie

Looks like the group covered a lot of ground. Keep up the great work.

looks like everyone had a lot of fun

Day Two Crew: Highly Trained Sprial Stairway installation crew.. These six Hoosier Lighthousing Club members have agree to take on the task of actual installation of the stairs...


We won't be able to show any further pictures of the stairway because it is top secret until the 30th Anniversary of the Michigan City Historical Society gathering on June 8th at the lighthouse when they will be officially unveiled by Bill Younger...

Or until Harold sends me some prints to scan since after I took this picture this morning , Sue and I had to leave for our nephew's confirmation..

Great Job Everyone, and it looks like most of you enjoyed a well earned round of Mike's Lemonade!
Bob

I got a report from Doyne and Cindy that everthing went well and that June (Director of the Michigan City Historical Society) got to be the first un-officially up the almosted completed stairway... they said that the smile on her face was priceless...

There is still some more work to finish the stairs up like adding the brass hand rail etc and they (the Coles) with a little help from the Bradys and Hemmings will get that done before the Anniversay gathering!!

I wondered what that chimney was doing there just below the lantern room. Was this lighthouse powered by a giant flame? Now that I received the latest LHD I know why it was there!

Congratulations to the Hoosier Lighthousing Club and all those who worked so hard both indoors and out. You should be very proud of your accomplishments.

It is such a great feeling to work on helping a lighthouse. I know our club just helps (at least right now) in spring cleaning. But even that is a wonderful opportunity and experience. It just makes you feel good (even though my legs are a bit sore after climbing the tower 8 times yesterday) I just wished we lived a little closer to help with MC as well. I know several of us have “duo” club memberships, so I guess that means that we all help even if it is in “spirit” only. One scary thought though is letting Bubba & Jake handle tools!

Congratulations guys…and as Paul said under Fort Niagara…you hugged a lighthouse and it hugged back!!

Patty

"Mission Accomplished" We had a good work day yesterday to finish up this phase of the stair project.The weather did not agree, so we were not able to spruce up the yard like we would have wanted and the inside work took longer than we thought. We worked steady from 8:30am to 9:00pm. Of couse we had a lunch (pizza) break. I hope you are all as happy with the results as we are! Maybe Paul will give you a picture or two. Or will he keep you wondering until next weekend? We will see.
We will miss seeing all of you at the Regional but had to make the choice of a work day at Michigan City or the Regional. You all know how that is. But we hope most of you will be in Michigan City for the 30th Anniversary on you way home. We will be there for the ribbon cutting. See you there.
Cindy and Doyne

OK, Cindy talked me in to giving everyone a sneak peek at the stairs!!!



Don't they look great!!!

Our Hoosier Lighthousing Club members have had the opportunity of purchasing a stair, which will have their name on it when we get all 16 stairs spoken for... cost $100

We have 15 of the 16 spoken for right now and if by next weekend the last one isn't purchased by a club member then I will open it up to forum members to purchase the last one...



Dave Hemming chose stair number 8 as the one that he had purchased... He picked it out himself or should I say he marked it himself!!!!



Here's the crew picture at 9pm after they had climbed the completed stairs to the lantern room...

It Just Doesn"t Get Any Better Than This!!!

Great Shot, Paul!

Paul,

Great pictures and great work. Looking forward to climbing the new stairs.

Thanks Guys...

The last stair is now spoken for!!

It sure is looking good. I can't wait to see the real thing!

Very nice job and some great pictures.

great group effort!

Its so much fun to be a part of a hard working group. It was great to see the smile on June's face when she saw a dream come true. Kudos to Paul for making this all happen! Lets not forget the close relationship that Dave developed with step 8. :p They seemed to really bond well.
Doyne and Cindy

I'm proud to be associated with so many hard working and giving people! Way to go, friends.

Since John Chidester can't make it on this Sunday (he is visiting with his parents in Port Huron on Sunday), I arrange a special tour of the Old Michigan City lighthouse today as he headed from O'Hare to Holland, MI...

He just called me and thanked me for the $30 tour.. It was $30 he figured since they wouldn't take his money but he bought $30 worth of shirts and postcards and the like...

He is heading out to the Pier Light for some pictures then onward to Michigan!