OLD NOW LIKE NEW

Herb and Marianna Gibson, Hoyt Purinton

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

When fire badly damaged Gibson's West Harbor Resort last November, Hoyt Purinton was one of the firemen inside the building.  His experience crawling around in the smoke came to mind several weeks later when he was scavenging at the Island Exchange (the dump) where he spotted a badly damaged vacuum that had been tossed on the scrap pile.  This unit had a look somewhat similar to one he had seen in the fire that evening, including the badly melted cord and warped plastic parts.

Believing it was the same Gibson vacuum, Hoyt took it home, then called the Kirby vacuum cleaner company in Cleveland to see if their Lifetime Warranty would still apply.  It would, except that the vacuum had actually been registered to Marianna's mother, Bernice Hansen.  However, a paperwork shuffle and an a price to refurbish the vacuum with new parts was agreed to, and in a few months the Kirby Company shipped the like-new unit to the Ferry Line office, but now registered under the Gibson name.  (There was great assistance from the gentleman at Kirby who at one time sailed for Cleveland Cliffs, and he recalled looking toward the island and West Harbor as his ship passed our shores. He then Googled West Harbor, while on the phone with Hoyt, to see what the harbor looked like on the satellite image. The Kirby Company is to be thanked for standing behind their quality product.)

Responding to my request to discuss some ideas, Herb and Marianna came to the Ferry Line office this morning and were reunited with their vacuum.

From the Gibson's description of progress at the Resort, furniture and mattresses are being moved in, with most construction work having been shifted to outdoors.  Their deadline for opening Memorial Day weekend still looks promising, although there is still much work to be done before its ready for customers.

We wish them well and hope the wayward vacuum will help in the reopening process.

[An added note: Bernice Hansen purchased this vacuum after her husband, Art, died, according to Marianna.   Bernice was living at that time in a ranch home on 11th Place in Sturgeon Bay.  When my younger sister, Martha, moved to Sturgeon Bay from Florida two years ago, by coincidence she bought the home formerly owned by Bernice and Art Hansen, where the vacuum would first have been used.]

 -  Dick Purinton

UPDATE: WEST HARBOR RESORT FIRE

Island Fire Chief Pete Nehlsen confers with resort owner Herb Gibson
on plan of action following return of equipment to
fire station.  Nehlsen and several men stayed on scene with one
truck as fire watch.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

By 9 a.m. this Friday morning, nearly all equipment and volunteer fire fighters had been released from the scene.  Fire Chief Peter Nehlsen, one truck, and a few men as fire watch remained.

"It was the smoke alarm that saved us," Herb said.  "Without the alarms, who knows?"    Herb, his wife Marianna, and one daughter, Sara, were sleeping when the smoke alarms sounded, around 4:30 a.m., and he immediately placed the fire call.  With soot on his lips and face, still very much absorbing the impact of events of the early morning, Herb expressed relief that his family was safe.

The building appears to have extensive damage, in particular the easternmost  portion of the building.  This section contained a dining room, game room, large living room area and a staircase leading to upstairs guest rooms.  These spaces were used primarily by resort guests, although the Gibson family welcomed many island visitors who made themselves at home for various club and private functions over the years.  The building's west end, also two stories, had been remodeled within the past ten years and was living quarters for the Gibson family.   From the exterior, it appears to have been spared from direct flame, but it will undoubtedly have smoke and water damage.

How important a role did the Island Fire Department's new ladder truck play in battling the blaze?

"The aerial pumper saved what is left of the building," according to Fire Chief Nehlsen.  "Unequivocally, without it, the rest of the building would be gone."  Heat had blown out window glass in the older section of the resort building.

Perry Jorgenson and Herb
examine damage.

And, from the accounts of several firemen I spoke with, each agreed that the timely arrival of island men and equipment, in particular the aerial truck, were key in knocking down the fire, keeping it from spreading and consuming the entire building.   Nehlsen, who was in the attic pulling down smoldering insulation when I arrived, said the entire attic the length of the building had been on fire at one point, but water directed downward from the aerial pumper stopped the advance in short order.

Nehlsen credited Liberty Grove's firefighters who, wearing Scott air packs, spelled Island firemen when it came to working inside the structure, assisting in extinguishing remaining hot spots, in particular the overhauling, tearing down of interior walls and ceilings.   "That's the dirty work," he said, "the real physical work."  Each LG fireman cycled twice through the structure's interior, he noted, before heading back to the mainland.

Nehsen had already contacted the State Fire Marshall to conduct  a post-fire investigation, routine procedure for such events, he said, and he expected an investigator would arrive later today.

New sheets of OSB were already stacked on the lawn, along with 2 x 4s and tarps, in preparation for closing the building's openings once the fire is out with certainty.   While the early morning  had been calm and frost was everywhere before sunup, southerly winds are anticipated this afternoon.  Island firemen will return around 3 pm to assist in buttoning up the remains of the structure.

-  Dick Purinton  - 11 a.m.

FIRE AT GIBSON'S WEST HARBOR RESORT!

Washington Island Fire Department volunteers responded to fire
at West Harbor Resort, called in at approx. 4:30 this morning.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -
  Gibson's West Harbor Resort, an island landmark wood frame building and one of the oldest commercial structures on the island, experienced a major fire early this morning.   Volunteer firefighters responded quickly, using the newly acquired aerial pumper truck (purchased from neighboring Liberty Grove Fire Dept.) to knock down flames.  Members of the Gibson family, including owners Herb and Marianna, were reported to have safely exited the building shortly after the fire was discovered.

No details of how or where the fire began are yet available, but it appeared as though damage was greatest next to the chimney, the east end of the building.   There are rental rooms on the second floor, and family living quarters in the western end of the building.

By 6 a.m. exterior flames appeared to have been checked, and firemen were about to attack the internal parts of the building to further extinguish burning material.   All units of the Island Fire Department were on scene, including pumper units at the Ferry Dock, where the tankers were being refilled.

Offering to assist, Liberty Grove Fire Chief Chris Hecht sent approximately eight volunteers, led by Liberty Grove Fire Captain, Lee Telfer, across the Door.  They arrived at the Island dock on Jeff Weborg's trap net boat from Gills Rock around 5:45 a.m. and joined Island firefighters at the West Harbor scene.   (Note:  By 7:40 a.m. they were on their way back to Gills Rock via Weborg's trap net boat.)

By the time the 7 a.m. ferry Washington began loading for the first trip leaving the island, water demand had slowed.

The hope is that damage will be confined to the eastern end of the structure, but that may be better determined in the next hour or two with daylight and a better assessment of damage from the interior.

This building, before it became a resort, had at one time housed men working in a West Harbor sawmill operation, prior to 1900.   The property, situated on a beautiful site along the island's western shoreline and also on the small inlet known as West Harbor, has provided rooms, meals, and hospitality to generations of guests for decades.  For over 50 of those most recent years, it has been operated by members of the Gibson family.

  -  Dick Purinton  -  7:40 am