The Hoosier Lighthousing Club is doing some Spring Cleaning at the Old Michigan City Lighthouse on May 4th & 5th...
We will be starting at around 10:00AM on both days... ending around 5PM or so on Saturday and a little earlier on Sunday so folks who have a 4 hour drive home can hit the road before dark.

Everyone who is the neighborhood is welcome to stop by and pitch in and help. We will be doing a lot of weeding and groundskeeping, plus window washing and cleaning cabinets etc. Bring work gloves if you plan on helping out.

The more the merrier!



[This message has been edited by engbrady (edited 05-06-2002).]

Paul, can we look forward to some pics of the activities? I hope so!

terry

You betcha!!! I will post some on both Saturday & Sunday nights in this thread..

Go Hoosiers! That's what Dave was talking about last night. Great idea and enjoy the company.
WICBT
Bob

We just had a planning session (5 Wackos) in the Comfort Inn lobby... well maybe we just talked lighthousing but later today I will post some images of a Wacko Spring Cleaning at Old Michigan City Lighthouse...

Day One Spring Cleaning Pictures...

You won't believe what lies hidden around the concrete base..


Everyone spreads out and starts on different areas... leaving no stone unturned



Kate & David attack the Southern edge of the lighthouse, basically starting it all over..



Birthday girl (Friday 5/3) Mary not tiptoeing through the tulips.. guess who is from Holland, MI and has seen enough tulips already this year.



Carolyn starts in on the area around the front porch... of course B Younger is close by supervising the work.


Mark, Roy & Dave recover the South fence & the sign, from the vines and brambles so people can actually see the lighthouse as they move down the waterway.



Harold and Shellie redoing the border along the fence.. rearranging the day lilies basically starting over.



Lunch at Swing Bellys... B Younger supervising lunch also.


The rest of the bunch at lunch... Great burgers! The Club picked up the tab for lunch for the hard working troops....



Heather surpervising the picking out of new plants... nothing but the best for her.


[img]http://216.46.163.97/images/spring/761.jpg[/img]
Karen & John working on the border around the concrete base.. the old brick border was completely buried..


[img]http://216.46.163.97/images/spring/769.jpg[/img]
Wheelbarrows were kept busy all day long...


[img]http://216.46.163.97/images/spring/766.jpg[/img]

Front Row (left to right): Doyne Cole, Cynthia Cole (Lowell IN), Karen Tamlin, John Tamlin (LaPorte IN), Mary Meyer (Holland MI), Kay Toth (St Peters MO);

Second Row (left to right): Jeff Meyer (Holland MI), Roy McBee, Carolyn McBee (Ballwin MO), Heather Hannum (Kokomo IN), Sue Brady (Indianapolis IN), Gary Toth (St Peters MO);

Standing row (left to right): Paul Brady (Indianapolis IN), Mark Wagner (Hammond IN), Kate Hemming, David Hemming (Shelbyville IN), Susan Hannum (Kokomo IN), Shellie Breen, Harold Breen (West Chester, OH), Dave Hannum (Kokomo IN), June Jaques (Director of the Michigan City Historical Society).


[img]http://216.46.163.97/images/spring/772.jpg[/img]
We gathered at Dino's for Great meal for supper... it was pretty quiet time for a bunch of Wackos. I figure it was probably because all were real hungry and real tired..... BTW each member picked up his own tab of a very, very reasonably priced dinner...

Spring Cleaning at Old Michigan City Lighthouse Day II




[This message has been edited by engbrady (edited 05-07-2002).]

WOW!!!!!
You guys are GREAT! What a bunch of professionals. The City must really be thankful for the contribution of the Hoosier Lighthousing Club!

Nice going!

I`m very impressed, looks like the the gang rolled up their sleeves and went hard at it. The finished product has got to make everyone feel very proud.


terry

Although a bit sore, Kate and I had a great time and enjoyed working with a group of people that Have adopted this LH as their own.

A special thanks to Paul and Dave for coordinating this effort and to everyone else that made this wonderful weekend happen. June is a tremendous lady and is extremely proud of this lighthouse as she has the right to be. It's like stepping back in time.

Although their is still work to be done, this "crew" waisted no time in tackling and completing alot that was needed outside. Looking forward to being at the picnic in June.

Dave and Kate Hemming

Thanks for sprucing up a great historic lighthouse! Looks like you all had a great time and left with a sense of pride in all the work you accomplished. Great photos to share help all of us see what can be done if you are dedicated enough and have WACKOs who will give up some time.

Great Job!!!
Derith

We could not have asked for a nicer day or for a better group of workers. Other than a break for lunch, we went steady from 10 to after 5. We had to hurry to clean up as we had a reservation at Dino's for 6.

Man, what a dinner we had at Dino's. Thanks to our hotel clerk, we ended up at what may be one of the last true bargains in dining! Very reasonable prices included rolls, soup, salad, entree and desert!

After dinner, Gary & Kay, Roy & Carolyn and I went down to walk out the pier to the Pier Light. A beautiful evening and a nice walk out to the light, a fitting end to the day.

Anyone who has listened to Bill Younger speak have heard him stress how one person can make a difference. Well, this weekend one club made a big difference for our adopted lighthouse. Something that will stay with me is June telling me "you people are a miracle" every time I spoke with her Saturday.

What a privilege and honor to be part of this great group of people who have joined together to form the Hoosier Lighthousing Club and adopt the Old Michigan City Light. This is lighthousing at it's very best! Thanks to everyone who made this weekend such a fun and successful one.

Dave

[This message has been edited by Dave H (edited 05-07-2002).]

Looking back 3 weeks ago now, some of us got an unexpected souvenir, Poison oak! Can you spot the Poison oak in this picture?



In red is where the poison oak is growing (didn't know it at the time), In Green is where I got it.

Sue Brady told me that Larry Waterson got it too, Dave Hannum told me he avoided it but his wife Sue (who held the trash bags open) got it on her hands. Roy? how did you fare? and Roy, put on clean gloves and wash your yard tools with soap and water before using them again, It can hang around a year on tools.

Just an update on the poison oak. I purchased spray that kills this and sprayed all the plants on Sunday so they should have died. I'm just sorry I didn't see it sooner. I hope no one had the added expense of having to go to the doctor.

Dave Hemming

Mark, it could have been worse. At least you wore gloves. In looking through the photos you seem to be the only guy who was brave enough to show off you pale legs!

Mark, you just can't win, can you? You volunteer your time, do a good job, get poison oak, and then get slammed by Mombo! (LOL)

I feel your pain!
[This message has been edited by Randy Kremer (edited 05-30-2002).]

Oh Randy, you're just jealous 'cuz I haven't picked on you in so long. I have already packed a suit of armor for Rosemont in order to ward off all the punches I'm owed from some of my "special" friends!

Are you folks itching for something else to do?lol Calomine, Benadryl and soft cloth gloves is the Rx of the day or days. My bill is in the mail.

Chuck
ex-medic/nurse/security guard/handyman/chemist/teacher/chief flunky and go-pher

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bigdragon

You needed to finish your post Randy... get Poison Oak, then your son wins a Gold Mark Twain Lighthouse at Bill Event in Woodstock, IL after the Spring Cleaning...

Paul, I was just looking at the bad side of it all! The good would have to be in another post! (LOL)

Mombo, bring it on and be on guard! Remember, Big Dave and I are going to be "tag-team partners" at Rosemont! (LOL)

See you soon!

Randy there was no BAD Side to the Spring Cleaning weekend... I think even Mark with his Poison Oak would agree...

[This message has been edited by engbrady (edited 05-30-2002).]

I knew there was a reason that Roy and I asked Mark to work on the outside of the fence! I bet the poison oak was outside - I seemed to have acquired just a small patch on one arm, and it didn't show up till several days later.

By the way, Sue, I was also wearing shorts for the weekend - I just had the fence to hide me.

Dave

Paul, I would have to agree that there isn't a bad side to doing a worth while cause like spring cleaning at Michigan City Light, but I have yet to see anyone who likes getting poison ivy or poison oak! (LOL)

I'll bet Mark would rather not have gotten it ...
[This message has been edited by Randy Kremer (edited 05-31-2002).]

I'm so alergic to that stuff that I'm surprised I didn't catch it when I sprayed the weedkiller on it Sunday. I just wished I would have wandered over there on Saturday and maybe everyone wouldn't have contacted it. Sorry, Mark, Sue and Dave.

Dave

I was out to Old Michigan City this past Sunday and it looked beautiful!!! You guys did a great job!!!
Sorry to hear you were all inflicted with poison oak and ivy.

Everybody wasn't infected with it... it was Mark mainly and a couple of others had a few spots, but that was bad enough...

I had not seen this part of the clean-up post until today. Your club needs to compare notes with the Tampa Club...they had similiar events when they worked out on Anclote Key in preparation for the big FLA meeting. Whole lot of itching going on!
Derith

I think every work crew should have a Boy Scout with them. They are trained on the subjects of poison oak and ivy. If not at least they should know first aid. This is a plus-plus thing now. The Scout get to practice what they learn, do a good turn, earn points towards Eagle and learn something about maritime history.

Chuck
Cubmaster, Asst. Scoutmaster

PS I don't know what poision oak or poision ivy looks like either. But I will in time for the Matagorda cleanup!

Chuck

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bigdragon

I know what they both look like and that's why I was taking pictures with a zoom lens and yelled "look out for the poison ivy!!" I guess I should have yelled "and poison oak!!"

[This message has been edited by engbrady (edited 06-14-2002).]

From my Boy Scout days:


"Leaves of three; let it be."

Actually, as close as we can tell, it was all pretty much on the outside of the fence (where Mark was) and was fairly well intertwined and integrated with other assorted ground cover. Mark is the only person who got hit much at all, and the little bit Susan and I got didn't show up for several days. I knew there was a good reason that Roy and I were working the inside portion of the fence!

So, our only real sacrifice of the weekend was Mark. (Ain't it wonderful to be loved and appreciated by all!)

Dave

I shoulda known something was up when Dave and Roy threw me over the fence...

After going online to see if I could find pictures of poison oak, what I found was that poison oak can turn into a vineing plant with vines up to an inch in diameter, as it was still early enough in spring that maybe the leaves were not developed enough to recognize them, but after seeing one picture of a piece of cut vine I don't think that poison oak was mixed in... I think it was nearly all poison oak
[This message has been edited by Mark Wagner (edited 06-14-2002).]