Large white pine and table in the field to the north of home.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

(Note:   I've added an additional comment to the foot of this posting...1.28.16)

Readers curious to know about the changing conditions on Washington Island, and who look in frequently at the Ferry Line's webcams, will know that the photo above wasn't taken today.

I took this one while on skis - that's right, cross country skis - several weeks back when I was feeling quite frisky.   I skied modestly, or so I thought, two days in a row, and also fell a couple of times when just standing, talking with my daughter, Evy.  My skis slipped out from under me in quick order.  The result of that outing was further aggravation of my Achilles tendons, both legs, putting me pretty much out of such continued activity since then.  During that hiatus, the snow melted and skiing conditions deteriorated, anyway.

But this morning we awoke to a pleasing cover of about 5 inches of wet snow, delicately blanketing tree branches, power lines and roofs.  Peanuts, when compared to the storm out east, but it's much more pleasant to observe and be outdoors in this kind of a snowfall.  Today's temperatures of 30+ have already melted some of the snow, opening up patches on the drives and lawn.

Skiing partners on this day were daughter
Evy with her dog, Ozzie.  Unfortunately,
those conditions didn't last for long.

A week of cold weather, single digits most mornings, finally stiffened up the ice in Detroit Harbor, so that just one week ago we saw Jeffrey Andersen walking out on the ice, towing his pop-up shanty.  Must have caught a few perch, too, because he stayed until dark.  The following morning Mack Gunnlaugsson towed his ice shanty down Main Road to the shore, and morning after that he pulled it out into the open harbor with his three-wheeler.

Since then others joined in, and now there are half a dozen shanties, and more with pop-up fishing shelters adding to the scene.  Almost all fishermen still use lighter ATVs, as the report I received indicated only about 6 inches of ice on the outermost areas, and not enough to safely drive a pickup truck over the ice.

Digging out in a different setting

We recently added insulation to the attic over our home and attached garage by placing fiberglass batts over blown-in insulation.  Although this space is quite open, and I hadn't known anything was stored up there, a few interesting items were uncovered.

First were two large, framed photos, and we have no idea who the subjects are.  Mary Jo guesses they are relatives, maybe connecting with the Kalmbach side of her family.  The photos and frames are quite bulky, and evidently the once-popular jumbo portraits of those now long gone were of no particular interest to Arni and Mary when they lived in this home.  Partially covered by the blown-in insulation, we guessed they were placed up there many years ago.

One item I quickly recognized was the stainless "destroyer-style" wheel from the helm of the Washington, built and outfitted at Peterson Builders, Inc. in the spring of 1989.  PBI completed outfitting with parts and pieces left over from U. S. Navy contracts that PBI was awarded over several decades.

Jacob Richter married a Kalmbach daughter.  Perhaps
these are relations?

"It don't look or feel right," was a comment I seem to remember hearing the first time Arni stepped foot in the new ferry's wheelhouse on sea trials.  Naval Architect Tim Graul set it right by substituting one of walnut, custom-turned by Dan Austad in his woodshop.

But, just what happened to the stainless wheel was a question I occasionally wondered, and apparently Arni preferred it up in his attic rather than on someone else's wall.

Hoyt Purinton holds the stainless wheel in the adjacent photo.  He and others recall that when  the Washington was ready for delivery to the Island (in mid-June of 1989), a new, wooden wheel was in place.

Of course, with the Washington's power steering, even a wheel could be considered unnecessary, and it is sometimes dispensed with on vessels today in favor of a short stick or jogging lever connected to hydraulics.

Nothing quite like the feel and look of a wooden wheel, however, comfortable in the palm of your hand, as you mentally track the spokes while changing the rudder angle at night.

-  Dick Purinton

Note:  I received an email from Chuck Sena last night, who operated the C. G. Richter when still a college student, and he recalled this wheel - or one just like it - having been used on the C. G. when trips were made in summer to Gills Rock (perhaps very early 90s?)  A phone conversation with Erik Foss, who makes it a point to remember such detail, verified that this might have been the case.  If so, I had completely forgotten about this, so thanks for the correction, Chuck.

The C. G. was retrofitted with power steering at Peterson Builders about 1991, as I recall, when plating was also replaced above the chine at the water line.  This change from cable steering followed what was received by Captains as an improved feature when the Washington was built.  A similar power steering arrangement was engineered by Tim Graul, and it underwent a couple of versions.  The first steering pump didn't hold up as it should, and maybe this first trial was when a stainless wheel was substituted for the original, large maple wheel.   

In any case, the wooden wheel eventually was reinstalled, and it stayed on the boat through the sale to a Florida operator.  The C. G., last I've heard, is operating from St. Martins Island, Caribbean.  

Another feature of the photo I ran above, of Evy and her dog Ozzie on our ski outing, was that a second dog, Roxie, was further down the trail.  Sharp eyes, Erik!  - DP