Island CTA representatives off on a lark last Wednesday:   Jim Rose,
Christy Davidson, Bill Nauta,  Dick Purinton, Mary Andersen,
(in front) Carol Stayton and Ann Rose.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

The sun was trying hard to shine Wednesday morning when the above photo was taken in front of the Visitor Center.  By noon clouds had filled in and rain began to fall.  We've seen lots of clouds and rain recently, with much cooler temperatures.   Still, we're happy to receive the moisture, and it comes without hurricane-force winds experienced in the northeast.

The purpose of Wednesday's adventures was to familiarize ourselves with businesses and attractions in Door County, to be better Tourism Ambassadors by absorbing "ongoing education." This also leads into the annual CTA re-certification.  The CTA moniker means "Certified Tourism Ambassador." When a visitor center at Norhtport was developed two years, the Ferry Line and the Island Chamber of Commerce decided training might be a good thing, through instilling a consistent and professional manner in which we can apply our knowledge of Door County when serving visitors.  Members of the group shown above work in the Northport Visitor Center, but two are also Ferry Line ticket sales people.   Each of them makes thousands of contacts with visitors in a few months' time.  (There were also several others who were unable to make the trip with us.)

The Tourism Ambassador program, a national program, was brought to Door County by the Door County Visitor Bureau.   Short, four-hour classes are designed to give workers in the local tourism industry a framework for behavior and attitude when serving customers.  An important benefit, in my opinion, comes from the added emphasis on being well-versed, not only in Washington Island information, but for other parts of Door County.   And if the many other Door County CTAs are equally well-rounded, they will be knowledgeable in northern Door and Washington Island information, too.   This concept recognizes the need to be supportive of the Door County Tourism as a whole, large and small businesses and attractions.

Bob Purman gave a short course in the production of
hard cider at his Ellison Bay facility.

Our first stop Wednesday was at Bob and Yannique Purman's ISLAND ORCHARD brand hard cider production plant and tasting room.  Apple varieties known to be superior for making hard cider are grown on Washington Island, then crushed by the Seaquist Orchard press.   Juice is then made into hard cider, currently four different cider products, with at least a six-month fermentation period.  All but a few cases of this year's harvest were left at the plant, but more juice was expected the following day, along with a shipment of yeast.  Hard cider is a labor of love for the Purman's.  While their product has met with solid success thus far in a limited market, their initial investments in land, orchard, equipment, buildings, machinery and in the labor to produce the hard cider product has yet to be offset by revenues.   Their product is an excellent one, our taste testing told us, and it highlights Door County and Washington Island.  Besides it provides additional income for local labor (including Dan Nerenhausen's crew who tends the orchard, helps pick apples, etc.)

Stop #2 was Evergreen School, and we were hosted by its imaginative and creative owner, Karin Overbeck. The visual experience is so unexpected for the first-time visitor that it is impossible to properly describe it here in one, short paragraph.

Our group posed with Karin Overbeck (red vest)in one of her many garden areas on the Evergreen School grounds, 
on County TT east of Sturgeon Bay. 
Karin's combination of artwork and plantings is more than
can be aptly described here in a paragraph.
  

Our third major stop was the Door County Historical Museum, a gem of a museum right under our nose, so-to-speak.

How many times have we driven past the limestone building on the corner of 4th and Michigan in Sturgeon Bay without noticing it, on our way to the post office, Younkers or the bank?

Its a terrific place to spend an hour or two (closed now for the season except for one special Christmas date in December) with no entry fees.  This facility and is funded by the taxpayers of Door County and through donations, so we ought to take advantage of it more often.  My last Door county Museum visit, I admit, was in 1979 when I borrowed the wooden ship's wheel from the original steam ferry Robert Noble.  That was when Otis Trodahl was museum curator and before a major museum remodeling took place!  They are ready for another expansion today, Maggie Weir and Ann Jinkins, informed us, with more visitors and a few large donors being the major roadblocks.

-  Dick Purinton

ISLAND POWER

WASHINGTON ISLAND, WISCONSIN -

When the weather looks as fine as it appears in the photo above, we're right with the world.  However, these pleasant looking, low cumulus clouds sailed southward on the tail end of winds that had blown down trees and knocked out electrical power, both on Washington Island and the Door Peninsula.

School House Beach, Friday morning

Forecast with precision, a cold air, high pressure system finally pushed a low to the eastern Great Lakes.  It had been sitting over northern Illinois since last weekend and was the source of much needed rain here, rain clouds that circulated east-to-west in counter clockwise fashion.  We made all scheduled ferry trips Thursday, as winds shifted to the north and velocities increased.  Around 9 pm our house shuddered.  Over the evening, heavy rains and sharp blasts blew down trees and broke power poles on the peninsula.  Our power remained out until 4 am Saturday.   The north end of Washington Island is still without power, from downed trees over power lines, we presume.

Maggie Swanson answers a generator-powered phone
at the Ferry Dock Friday as Bill Schutz looks on.
Power was restored early Saturday morning to
the Island's south customers.

As we, and many others, took the customary drive around the island to see the extent of damage, watch the waves at School House Beach, and commiserate with friends and co-workers about the lack of power, others gathered at either the Danish Mill (which had its own generator) and KK Fiske (gas stoves, and a source of water next door at the REA) for food and information.   Those two places did a great businesses as they were among the very few places still open.

Down at Holiday Inn on Detroit Harbor, where one would normally think it was protected from northerly gusts, the Lions Club tent that had been erected for a wedding there was not only knocked down, it was torn into pieces by the wind.  The wedding celebration, which is taking place as we write, will be held indoors at the Inn.

Anticipating we might not run Friday morning due to the predicted winds, our crews held in until 1 pm, then started making the scheduled trips.   The Northport Terminal building, normally locked, had been left open for those who might arrive to wait for the ferry.  That was, in retrospect, a mistake, because the northern peninsula power outage meant no water pressure for flushing toilets, and no lights in the rest rooms.  These two omissions, however, didn't stop those who needed to use them, or the dozens of cars who were doing the same thing we were on Washington Island:   driving around to inspect storm damage and looking for a place that had open bathrooms!  It might have been a very ugly scene, had it continued without supervision, but Hoyt rode across on Friday's first afternoon ferry.  He intended to cut and remove downed trees in the parking lot and organize freight in the garage, but nearly all of the first two hours were spend flushing toilets with buckets of water hauled from the dock.

 

Two of Ivan and Micki's "Poopsie's Pots" in Packer green and gold were soon on their way by ferry from the island to stand in for the decommissioned indoor facilities.   And when morning came, daylight and electric lights revealed a surprisingly clean set of rest rooms, thanks to a considerate public.

Attached are several shots taken during Friday.  (The cedar with large burl was taken at People's Park.)

Fall is here!  -  Dick Purinton

CANOE & KAYAK EVENT 2011

Kayakers on Northport beach after completing group
paddle across Death's Door Sunday morning.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

The 2011 Washington Island Canoe and Kayak Event was a success once again, in that the various activities weren't blown out or rained out, and the quality of each activity appeared to be of a high level.  Participants, for these reasons, appeared well satisfied with the offering of challenges and paddling camaraderie.

Saturday's Around-the-Island Marathon Race of 23.2 miles had 22 participants, and all but two paddlers completed the course.  The first six paddlers to finish were bunched quite closely after more than three hours of racing, and in the flatter Detroit Harbor waters they closed on the finish line with an extra kick.  The open water race course conditions ranged from 15 mph headwinds and 2-3 ft. seas, to a rather light West Side downwind leg from Bowyer's Bluff (where paddlers had encountered a nasty chop from rebounding NNE seas) to Detroit Harbor and the Gislason Beach finish line near the Red Barn.

Marathon race winner Kevin LeRoy, Madison, finished with a time of 3:29:32.  The next three paddlers finished close behind:   John Sandborn;  Greg Green;  and last year's winner, John Abrahams.

Coast Guard Auxiliary members Russ Hoganson and John Davies confer with
race course observer Scott Sonic as the Marathon Race began at Gislason Beach.
Coast Guard Auxiliary craft monitored the entire race course, and Sonic's boat
anchored in Washington Harbor was a mandatory race mark.

A half-marathon event of approximately 12 miles ran within Detroit Harbor concurrently with the full marathon.   Half marathon participants raced around buoys set along the harbor's shallow perimeter.  First place finisher was John Harrington with a time of 1:40:12.

Saturday evening at the Trueblood Performing Arts Center (TPAC), Roy and Charlotte Lukes, Egg Harbor,  narrated a selection of their nature photos.  Roy Lukes is considered foremost among Door County naturalists, and Charlotte is an expert on Door County mushrooms, having identified over 550 different species.  Each is eager to teach and inspire others, passing along their respect and passion for nature.  Roy's slides ranged from close-ups of flowers, mushrooms, birds and mammals to aerials of Door County's shoreline, including the Rock and Washington Island shorelines.

The Lukes presentation drew approximately 75 audience members, and the evening marked the first official event held in the TPAC since the facility was recently awarded State of Wisconsin public building certification.   The interior looked and smelled clean and fresh, owing to much scrubbing and fresh paint on interior wall surfaces.  

Sunday morning's Expedition Across Death's Door went forward as planned when a large rain cell passed  east of Washington Island prior to the 9:30 am launch time.  The winds were NE, 10-15 mph, and the crossing was a piece of cake until paddlers met larger lake swells in Death's Door, south of Plum Island's Rear Range light.

This Expedition, just over four miles in length, is considered open and exposed waters, but it is open to paddlers with a range of skill levels.  As such, Tim Pfleiger and his associates from Team Leadership Center of Door County closely monitored the group.   Pfleiger teaches kayak skills (which he did most of Saturday during the Kayak Symposium based at Gislason Beach), and the abilities of these leaders were put to good use during the Sunday morning crossing.  One participant rolled his kayak in the Door, but chose to continue, rather than boarding one of the safety boats.  With the assistance of Pfleiger and one of his associates,  this paddler reentered his kayak in short order and resumed paddling across Death's Door, fulfilling a personal goal.

Paddlers stop briefly near the old
Plum Island fog signal before setting
course across the Door to Northport.

Plans are already underway to refine and improve upon, where possible, the various events of WICKE 2011.

Mother nature, wind and temperature, are always key factors, and the range of weather conditions encountered during this past WICKE weekend is probably close to the average for mid-June.

The safety and satisfaction of paddling participants (and observers) is a major goal of the WICKE weekend.  A secondary goal is highlighting the economic importance to Washington Island, achieved through the purchase of goods and services over the 2-3 day period, and establishing this area as an inviting place to enjoy water sports.  We know that a number of paddlers chose to stay beyond the weekend, and our expectations are that many  will return for canoeing or kayaking later this summer.
  -  Dick Purinton

ISLAND WEEK IN REVIEW

L to R:  John Chapman (TPAC); Terry Patrick, Project Engineer;
Jane Dreger, State of Wisconsin Building Inspector;
Bill Norris (TPAC)

WASHINGTON ISLAND, WISCONSIN -


Before the weekend comes along (and it is almost upon us) and yesterday's news becomes footnotes, there are several notable events to relate to readers.

Trueblood Performing Arts Center

The considerable remediation work that took place on Main Road at the Wilson and Carol Trueblood Performing Arts Center (TPAC) during the past six months received approval from State of Wisconsin Building Inspector G. Jane Dreger for "full occupancy."  

The facility has undergone significant modifications of roof truss supports and exterior walls, remediation items that were required to pass state code following a close-down of the building for public use in November of 2009.  Dreger conducted her final inspection walk through Wednesday morning, along with TPAC Project Engineer Terry Patrick of Professional Project Services, Inc., Milwaukee, and principal members of the TPAC Building Committee, John Chapman and Committee Chair Bill Norris.

Items that were most recently checked to State Code satisfaction were exit landings, exit lights and signage.  Dreger gave positive praise for what will be a building far superior structurally, and in its ability  to heat in cold weather, following the various measures taken to improve footing support for trusses and building wall materials that will raise the insulation to R-24 or better.

According to Norris, the long road to recovery received excellent technical support from the engineering firm hired to resolve discrepancies, represented by Terry Patrick of Professional Project Services, Inc., and the firmness, but also the patience and desire of the State to resolve this facility's deficiencies in the public's interest.

General comments were overheard regarding the canvas sails design element located in front of the building. They now stand out for the first time against the darker colored building siding.   Noting extensive steel beams and cross-bracing to achieve that artistic embellishment, it seemed a pity the structural engineering for the building didn't get the same degree of attention as the heavily built, stand-alone sail supports.

As the signed document was transferred to the TPAC representatives by the State, final exterior cosmetic changes were made to the main entry by Mark Randolph, Tom Jordan, Mike Remke (shown below) and Tim Ervin (painting window trim).

Walter Jorgenson

Word was received this morning that Walt Jorgenson, island resident all his life, passed away late Thursday.   Walt is survived by his wife, Mary, daughters Betty and Jeanette and sons Bill and Paul, and their families which include many grandchildren and several great grandchildren.

Readers of this blog and the 2010 book Bridges Are Still News may remember the piece I wrote about Walt several winters ago.   Retired commercial fisherman and foreman for the Anderson Potato Farm, Walt faithfully followed the daily ferry activities in his later years, especially days when son Bill was on board as ferry captain.

Walt's funeral will be held Monday morning, with military honors.  Our condolences to his family.

Walt Jorgenson behind the wheel of his truck at the ferry dock
on a frosty winter's morning, 2009.

Northport Visitor Center Official Opening


Although the Northport Visitor Center opened its doors to the public for the first time Memorial Day weekend, the official opening was marked Wednesday evening when approximately 60 people representing Island Chamber of Commerce businesses attended a reception held there.

A special ferry brought guests from the island to view the former Northport restaurant space now transformed by a variety of photos, a painting, displays and brochures, all of which is hosted daily 9:30 am to 3:00 pm by Chamber and Ferry Line representatives.   Positive energy emanated through the crowd of guests, fired perhaps by optimism for improved tourism and the possibilities the new Center might offer in marketing the island.

A number of peninsula-based Chamber members also attended, as well as Peninsula Pulse photographer Dan Eggert.   Photos below were taken Wednesday evening by several contributing photographers.

Island Chamber members arrive for Visitor Center open house (Tim Sweet photo)

Island Chamber President, Carol Stayton

(Above photos submitted by Tim Sweet, Jeanette Hanlin, Dick Purinton)

Mary Andersen, Joanne Elmore and Jeanette Hanlin pose in front of oil painting
by Eric Brodersen.  Water lily is in the oil painting!  (Hanlin photo)

-  Dick Purinton