WINTER DOCK WORK

Detroit Harbor scene.  In foreground, the Standard Oil pier,
later Hansen Oil, and as of late 2014, Ferry Line north dock
Behind that is the former Cornell dock, now Island Outpost,
with Chris Andersen and his freight boat Wisconsin.
(photo taken in 1949 by Bob Williams)
In the background are several abandoned vessels in the shallows,
near what was the Chambers dock, now  the location of the Town's
launch ramps and the Island Clipper pier.

- Washington Island, Wisconsin

Like many waterfronts, Detroit Harbor changed over time, but many of those same appendages that were fishing or freight piers years ago remain in place, raised up and shored up over time as better materials and construction techniques, and capital to make improvements became available.

The dock in the foreground was owned at one time by Standard Oil.  It looks quite trim, capped with concrete, and it was used as a platform for unloading barrels of petroleum products, as well as transfer and other freight from the Anderson Transit's American Girl and barge Oil Queen.  (The Island Electric Co-op, with diesels placed into service in 1946, was using several hundred thousand gallons of diesel annually, and the Oil Queen helped to fill the tanks that kept those engines working.)

In the 1960s a good portion of the Standard Oil pier was enclosed with steel, with sheets driven outside the existing timber cribs.

Over time, the timbers that made up the old pier deteriorated, and so have the steel tie-backs and whaler supports that hold the sheets from tipping outward shown significant corrosion.  Much of the pier's interior wooden cribs and steel tie backs will need removal, or replacing, in a shoring up process designed to strengthen the dock before new fill and a concrete cap are added.

Detroit Harbor is frozen solid, and has been for the past
several weeks.   Here, Rich Ellefson and Joel Gunnlaugsson
are shown on the pier.   Several openings were made along
the pier face for examination of existing
dock structure.

Steel arrived Monday by semi, and work is now underway, much of it undertaken by ferry crew as a winter project.  So far, they've been favored with mild and sunny January weather.   Tom Jordan, Island contractor, has some of his equipment on site to help break up the old concrete cap into smaller pieces, eventually to be trucked away.  Mike Kahr of Death's Door Marine will bring a larger machine later today, for driving sheets into the bottom.   This is an ideal time of year to get this sort of work done, as all of it can be done from the existing pier structure - and of course, there are few, if any, onlookers to get underfoot.

Con McDonald (L) and Tully Ellefson
cut steel for new dock brackets to support
tire fenders.      

With mild weather and relatively modest winds, recent ferry crossings have been excellent.

Other than a few fishermen on weekends, traffic is made up primarily of service providers, suppliers and Islanders who need to travel back and forth.

-  Dick Purinton

WHAT'S NEW ON THE WATERFRONT

Shown on the former Hansen / Standard Oil pier are Ferry Line
Vice President Rich Ellefson, Coastal Engineer David Wentland
and Ferry Line President Hoyt Purinton.

Washington Island -

Changes may appear to happen slowly on Washington Island, but they do happen.

The major news in this entry is about a change of hands on the property that was Ray Hansen's, most often referred to as either the Hansen Oil or Standard Oil property.

The pier and the upland property that supported the oil storage and transfer business, so critical to the island these many years, had been cleared of tanks and associated pumps and piping quite a few years ago, when storage was moved to a new Hansen tank facility near East Side Road and Town Line Road.

Except for an old shed containing a few related fuel transfer items, and seasonal boat moorings, the property has been mostly vacant since that time.

As adjacent landowner, and a business dependent upon water frontage and mooring for its vessels, the Ferry Line had expressed interest in purchase of the property, a transaction that was accomplished in the early days of the fall season.

While no long term plans have yet been made, initial efforts will stabilize and repair the pier.   Coastal Engineer David Wentland, of Docks & Marinas, Inc., Green Bay, will offer a plan on how best to repair the pier, work that could be done yet this winter from shore.  Attention will then be turned toward the treatment of upland property, how to best to mesh with adjacent properties, and whether safe public access opportunities, such as pier fishing, can be included and managed.

Historical note:   Hoyt Purinton, great grandson of J. W. Cornell, received the Title papers on the property intended to be purchased September 12, 2014.  This was exactly 104 years - to the day - from the date when John W. Cornell purchased the same land from Bo Anderson and Ole Christiansen.  Cornell, we presume, later sold to Standard Oil, and more recently the title was transferred to Ray Hansen who assumed ownership of the property along with the Standard Oil distributorship he already managed.

Season about to close

This week marks what for all purposes is the last of the "busy" fall tourism weeks, although we anticipate lively traffic yet through the end of the month, especially while fall colors are vibrant.

Our schedule for the ferries to and from Northport cuts back Oct. 20 - from eleven to six trips.  Many island retail shops will soon operate with curtailed hours or days of the week.   The Cherry Train - an air conditioned ride that can be miserably cold on certain fall days - is nearing the end of its 2014 track, soon ready to head for the roundhouse.  And at Jackson Harbor, the Karfi's schedule to Rock Island ends Monday.  Columbus Day is the last day of service.

I took my last turn at the Karfi's wheel Tuesday with Tony Woodruff as my crew.  The time seems to fly each one of those days I've been aboard.   I've enjoyed the full schedule of Rock Island trips - when campers and piles of gear await us on the docks at either end for a quick turn-around - as well as the softer fall schedule, when Tony and I pass the time between trips talking sailboat designs and past cruises with nostalgic regret for the short summer just passed.  (If we were tuned in to the ice boating season, our regret would soon be replaced!)

The fall weather and shorter days make the realism of camping or tramping on Rock Island less appealing to visitors.  It was just yesterday (Wednesday) that high velocity westerly winds and the small handful of Rock Island travelers, led to cancellation of the afternoon's two trips.   But overall, 2014 ferry traffic made it a good tourism season, and we look forward to seeing the next one roll around.

Apple cider at the Farm Museum and the Fall Harvest Festival Dinner at Trinity mark two major events on the island this weekend, paired with outstanding tree color everywhere.   Hardly any leaves have so far fallen, and the tree colors now may be placed in the 40% range, turning much later than many other island autumns.   There are still plenty of great fall days to enjoy.

 -  Dick Purinton