Buoys Replaced By Structures

Detroit Harbor -

Two of the floating aids in the Detroit Harbor channel, buoys number 4 and 5, are being replaced by permanent structures.  The new aids to navigation will be solid cylinders of steel, cement and stone, anchored by nine H-piles into bedrock, and topped with a steel pole upon which will be a light, solar panel and battery.

This contract, estimated to be in the half-million dollar range, was bid to the Rock company of Pontiac, Michigan.  Door County marine contractor Roen Salvage, of Sturgeon Bay, is the major sub-contractor.  Other subcontractors include the drilling company that bored the holes for the pilings, and suppliers of the buoy cylinders and light towers.

Two of Roen's work barges are shown in the photo here shortly after they began the project.   Pipes of 14" diameter were set into the bottom a the buoy locations, then used as guides as they were drilled out, down three feet into bedrock.  Nine H-piles per navigation aid were then inserted into the drilled holes inside each pipe, and then epoxied into place using a special grout mixed with sand.   The pipes were removed once the epoxy was set

These permanent aids to navigation had been proposed for several years by the U. S. Coast Guard, but funding wasn't in hand until this fiscal year.   The new aids should eliminate drift from station (something that did occur with the older, floating buoys, especially as ice forced against them).  Batteries, solar panels and bulbs can be accessed easily for servicing by Coast Guard Aids to Navigation team members by small boat.  Formerly, a shallow-draft Coast Guard vessel would cross the lake from its home port in Muskegon to lift the floating aids with an A-frame, and its crew would inspect each chain and sinker.  The buoys would then be repainted, with chain replaced, if needed, before being reset on station.  

The tops of the new 12-ft. diameter cylinders will stand approximately 7 1/2 feet above water level, and  have a nearly 20-ft. mast on top of that.  These will make a strong target on radar scopes, and they will also be more easily seen during nighttime or low visibility by vessel operators.  (One of two cylinders is shown in the photo below as it is lifted from the semi to the Roen work barge, alongside Northport Pier.)

Roen Salvage is the largest and oldest marine contractor in the area.  This company typically bids on  marine construction projects such as dredging, break wall and dock construction around the Great Lakes.  From Detroit Harbor, this rig will prepare to sail to the upper St. Mary's River, where several similar, but larger, navigational aids will be constructed.  When that job is completed, the construction equipment will be towed to Duluth harbor at the western end of Lake Superior for another project that will include dredging of 200,000 cu. yds. and driving pilings for commercial shipping.

Actual work on the Detroit Harbor aids to navigation began Monday, May 24, after the equipment had been mobilized to the island. Work is expected to be completed - barring delays in supply of the light towers - by Friday, June 8th.   The steel cylinders that shape the base of the aids and the light pole assemblies are pre-fab items subbed to another company in the Fox Valley.  Delays in receiving those items could possibly prolong the project's completion.

Shown below is Don Sarter, Construction Supervisor and a 39-year Roen employee, who also operates the tug Stephan M. Asher that tows and positions the work barges.

Not yet known, but to be determined soon, is the fate of the dredging application by the Town of Washington for the Detroit Harbor channel.  This application, submitted earlier this calendar year, is believed to have cleared the citizen's committee that reviews such applications.  If so, it now awaits further review for approval by the WISDOT secretary, and finally, approval and signature must be given by Wisconsin's governor.   If approval is given and funding is released, this would mean a huge improvement for Washington Island, a major dredging operation that will widen and deepen a  navigation channel last touched in 1937!

This project could possibly be undertaken yet this calendar year.  However, approval and funding dollars through a Wisconsin Harbor Assistance Program Grant to the Town of Washington must first receive approval in order for any dollars to be allocated.  There were four or five other Wisconsin commercial port applicants, each with worthy projects competing for those same dollars.

-  Dick Purinton

WITH SUMMER COMING ON

Framed by the lightening holes in the main fore and aft structural bulkhead,
Con McDonald and Hoyt Purinton install foam blocks
in the aftermost compartment of the ferry
Robert Noble.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Spring at the Detroit Harbor ferry dock typically means painting, cleaning, assembling systems drained over winter, and minor modifications in readiness for daily operations.  This spring has been different in that there were several, major projects to complete.   By mid-May, we're nearly there.

Pete Nikolai and Eric Brodersen
open a mold containing newly
expanded, closed-cell foam block.

Hoyt Purinton with pile of blocks
in workshop.

Robert Noble


This ferry was at Bay Ship for all of November in late 2011 for new engines and gears and new cooling, hydraulic and fire systems. This was extensive work resulting from the replacement of original (1979) Cummins diesels with CAT engines.  The major emphasis was to reduce emissions levels and lower the gallons of fuel consumed per hour of running time.  (So far, fuel consumption is under 7 gallons per hour, per engine, at running speed of 1100 to 1200 rpms.)

Once back in her Detroit Harbor berth, our crew cleaned and repainted the entire Noble engine room.    In late February, as a result of the Coast Guard recalculating vessel stability for the Robert Noble, it was determined that due to a newer formula than that under which it was designed in 1979, additional measures would be needed to conform with required stability.

While there were several options, the one least invasive and least costly involved adding inert, light foam material to the aftermost compartment.  That is what we chose to do, and in the accompanying photos, block production and installation are shown.  The objective is to displace water that might, in an extreme flooding situation, fill the after compartment.

We were fortunate in this project to have new soft patches, removable covers over each main engine. These were installed as a part of the re-power project.  With the starboard hatch removed, eight-foot long blocks could be maneuvered into the after compartment.  Steel flatbars, 1/4" x 3", will be bolted to frames, securing the foam blocks between the frames.  

Starboard, aft void with foam blocks installed.

Robert Noble deck, with hatch over starboard
engine removed.

Washington


The Robert Noble had been used during the first week of May under a provisional Coast Guard certificate, while a warranty repair was in progress on the Washington.  The Washington's starboard engine had a bad rear crankshaft oil seal, the second time this seal had failed in two years, for a two-year old engine. The flywheel housing was determined to be the cause, ever-so-slightly out of round, and a new one was located to replace the original.  (The casting was slightly off from the factory, unusual, but not unheard of, and a new one was located in Germany with identical bolt hole characteristics. It was air-freighted to Green Bay where our engine awaited at the CAT/FABCO shop.)  The repaired engine was then delivered to the island last Thursday morning and lowered in place through the soft patch opening.  It was in running order by late afternoon, and the Washington was immediately placed back on the line.  Crossing our fingers, we believe this ferry is now in top mechanical order for the upcoming season!

Arni J. Richter


During the latter part of February 2009 while routinely inspecting the Arni J. Richter's aft below deck compartment, crew members discovered what proved to be a slight trickle of water.  (This was determined over a period of several weeks, as there can also be tiny leaks under gaskets surrounding deck hatch covers, as well as condensation collected on the shell plating.)  Closer inspection, monitoring of the suspected area, and conference with the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office in Sturgeon Bay led to a determination that several small weld fractures had occurred above the starboard skeg.  The two skegs on the Arni J. are fin-like structures attached to the underside of the hull, through which the propeller shaft protrudes.

Worker prepares skeg for new shell plate, an area of
convergence of multiple planes, and which requires extra care
to avoid shaft log movement during heating, cooling
of welded members.

A crew from Bay Shipbuilding came to the island on an afternoon ferry, bringing with them grinding and welding gear and steel plate, and they spent the next fifteen hours, until early dawn, welding the fractures and installing framing stiffeners.   These repairs were intended to be temporary, only.  In two years, the plate in the area of concern would need to be cropped and repaired to Coast Guard satisfaction.  That is when the next scheduled dry docking exam for the Arni J. came due.  That required hull inspection and repair period took place this spring, during which time the affected areas surrounding both port and starboard skegs were addressed.   Substantial  5 ft. x 5 ft.  x  1" inch plates were inserted above each skeg to better carry the weight and absorb stresses.  New interior framing running both fore and aft and thwartships (side-to-side) was also added.

Because of this work, the Arni J. Richter was in the yard from early April to early May while subject areas were prepared for new plating and framing.  Examination of the existing areas led to various discussions regarding proposals to fix problem areas, and this, too, added to overall time at the yard.

In the end, it can be said that the fractures found in welds were likely a result of several different factors, not just one.   Vibration, plate movement and stresses at various points can be expected in a vessel that runs through ice.  Ice encountered in the Door can be heavy and hard, and there are times underway when it passes continuously between the two skegs, funneled into the blender-like mix as it passes through the propellers.   Had this ferry never operated in winter, it is likely the problems seen would not have developed.

The framing structure in surrounding areas over the skegs, in retrospect, appeared relatively light, given this vessel's mission on a year-in, year-out basis.  There were also signs that a closer fit of plating and higher quality welds may have forestalled or prevented failure.

Interior shell in areas over skegs received extensive,
deep framing to carry stress and reduce plate movement.

During the entire time the Arni J. Richter  was operated, following the  initial recognition of the problem in March 2009, the intermediate measures we adopted under Coast Guard and naval architect direction proved to be prudent and satisfactory.

Now, each of our ferries, upon completion of the foam block project, will be in excellent shape for summer operations.  By mid-June, a ferry may operate 10-12 hours each day, for the next three to four months, before the schedule begins to wind down.

- Dick Purinton

Machinists (man at right) took hourly readings to
determine change in shaft log
alignment. Welders and fitters tailored
their work to minimize movement.

CREATURES DOMESTIC AND WILD

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Springtime means renewal, and at the Beneda "farm" there are baby chicks, seven of them.

In time, they'll produce eggs of varied colors, something Evy, and now her boys, will look forward to in the months to come.

Shown are Zander with Nerf gun, Atlas holding his chick, Henny Penny, and Evy with Zander's chick, Penny Henny.  ("Ya, it's confusing," Zander says.)   Cousins Aidan and Magnus also have chicks, which they named Nothing and Goldie Miner.

Keeping chickens is one step in moving from a city environment to the island country side, a learning experience for all of the boys.

Down on the Bayou


When warm weather came along in March, the snapping turtle population buried in the mud of the bayou came to life, much earlier than we've typically seen.

The turtles were sluggish at first, some with a five-inch cake-layer of muck on their backs as they emerged from winter's hibernation.  The turtles warmed themselves each day in the sun, if the sun was out, floating on the water's surface or crawling into the nearby grasses, warming to a point where they might exhibit fairly brisk movement in the latter hours of the day.  When nighttime and cold temperatures came on, they ducked back into the mud, or under the weedy banks where they've created underwater dens.

On the warmest, sunny days, we witnessed males briefly clashing, and males and females in a reproductive attitude.  These creatures have been living in muck, reproducing in mucky water, and perpetuating their species much as they've done for the past three million years.  Reptiles that have not perceptibly changed over such a span of time are to be admired for their ability to survive, and the bayou harbors a sizable population of perhaps several dozen adults that winter in relatively close quarters.

-  Dick Purinton

NEW LIFE - TILLIE AND TUG

Washington Island -

Although it may seem like old news in today's 24-hour news cycle, the birth of twins April 22 to the Gunnlaugsson family is still big island news.

Shown above is a proud  dad, Joel Gunnlaugsson, with daughter Tillie Ann.  Tug Allen is in the family car behind him with his mom, Krista, and big sister, Greta, age four.  Paternal grandparents are Jeanie and Kirby Gunnlaugsson, who were in Green Bay for the arrival of the twins.

This was already second or third ferry ride for the twins who, besides their initial homecoming, required several health check-ups in their first ten days.  The newborns each weighed over five pounds at birth, and they are healthy and doing well.

The name Tillie is from a relative of Joel's, Aunt Tillie, and Tug is Scandinavian for "strong," a unique name with a likable sound.  It is not hard to imagine Tug with a career on the water.

Joel is a ferry captain, the Town of Washington Chairman and County Board Supervisor for northernmost Door County, in addition to his duties as father of three.  Krista, always smiling, even when running, as she often did along Main Road in recent years, is now fully engaged again as a mom.

Congratulations to the Gunnlaugssons on their new additions.

What's in store for island children and families?

Tug and Tillie join an elite, dwindling group of island youngsters approaching school age - a group that has grown smaller with each recent decade.  An aging population is a hallmark of this community as much as a declining school enrollment.  The cost of education per pupil is already high, with 65-70 students in K through 12, despite the doubled-up classes in each room.   The traditional island model that employs a full-time teaching staff for a handful of children at some point approaches one-on-one tutoring.   Even classes that, for the most part, have already doubled-up for efficiency, have declining numbers of students per teacher.  For that reason, new ways of looking at island education are being considered by the school district and staff.   It has led educators to consider the declining class size as an asset - rather than a disappointing yardstick - for future learning opportunities.

At a recent school board meeting, the sentiment "go forth and multiply" was expressed, in so many words, by an enthusiastic audience member.  But this edict would be a tall order for young, married couples, and maybe, an unfair pressure to place upon them!   Wishing for population increases also presumes there will be employment opportunities and the means required to raise children.

Population, economic health, and job stability are among the key challenges impacting the island community's health looking ahead.  Would diminished educational opportunities discourage those same young families with children who could help to bolster the island's school system?

It is like the old adage, Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?    Increasing family size may enlarge the school, making local education more efficient.  A balanced population could also help the island economy to grow over time, provide young business leaders and the necessary skilled service providers.  However, good jobs and job opportunities, a challenge in any community much less one with sharp seasonal swings in activity, remain elusive for families who might otherwise relocate here if those opportunities were present.

The island community needs to be supportive of the young families we do have by listening to their needs and goals, and by providing resources when possible to encourage and include them as part of the larger island family.
  -  Dick Purinton

CALLING ALL TURKEYS

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

We're in the middle of the spring turkey hunt, and island hunters have been out prior to sunup, sneaking into field and forest before the birds get down from their tree roosts to set up hunting blinds and decoys, and to get themselves situated for approaching birds.

What else might motivate a hunter to load his gear in an open aluminum boat - a long-barreled shotgun, backpack with decoy and turkey calls and a bicycle - and then motor over to Detroit Island before the sun was up, ride his bicycle a mile or so down the rough dirt road, listening for tom turkeys calling as he rode?  

The hunting on Washington Island has been pretty good, or so the reports seem to indicate, but after several unsuccessful outings near home, Hoyt decided to try Detroit Island.

Shortly after bicycling south, to a point approximately 2/3 of the island's length from the boat landing, and having heard several turkeys, he got off his bicycle and successfully called a tom to within shooting range.

Then, with his bird in hand (approximately 25 pounds), shotgun and backpack filled with gear, he pedaled back to the boat landing and motored home.  He was back on Washington Island by 7:30 a.m., where these photos were taken.  

Hoyt pointed out two middle tail feathers that weren't yet fully developed in pattern, and he guessed his bird was perhaps two years old.  The spur length, half an inch at most, seemed to confirm this.  But as for weight, this bird was a handful to lift, and must not have been an easy partner for riding double.

Turkeys are wary, having excellent eye sight and very sharp instincts, and yet it is hard to refer to them as being smart.  A case in point:  several weeks ago I looked out my window to see a tom turkey challenging its image in the chrome fender of my pickup truck.  This activity went on for over an hour, until dark, with occasional pecking at the bumper and the lifting of his beard in what seemed to be an aggressive, self-promoting manner.  During this time, he left a dozen or more deposits, littering the asphalt at the truck's rear bumper.

-  Dick Purinton    

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

AUDUBON'S BIRTHDAY

Robin's nest with two eggs at island ferry terminal entry,
observed by Atlas Beneda and Mack Ellefson.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -   

How do eggs hatch if the mother is off the nest for long periods of time?   We're about to find out.  This smoker's kit near the west entry of the ferry terminal may have been a secure place to build a nest, but its location means foot traffic passing nearby approximately ten hours each day.   So far, we've not once observed mother robin.

Today is the birthday of John J. Audubon, and in observing his birthday I reprint here the flyer sent to C. H. Thordarson, collector of books on nature, science and English literature during his lifetime.  Thordarson was solicited as a very active and interested collector for a set of Audubon folios, books that are approximately two feet wide by three feet high.  Engravings were made in Europe that reproduced Audubon's life size renderings of American birds, which were then hand-colored. 

From a prospectus sent to Thordarson by book dealer Walter Hill on Sept. 20, 1913:  

THE GRANDEST WORK EVER PRODUCED ON ORNITHOLOGY

AUDUBON (J.)        BIRDS OF AMERICA.    The Genuine Original Edition, Complete Set, containing 435 superbly coloured plates engraved by W.  H. Lizars or R. Havell &  Son, from drawings by AUDUBON.

4 vols. double elephant folio.  Fine set in contemporary full red morocco, g. e. 1827-1839.        $3250.00

The 435 plates in this Magnificent Work, illustrate 1065 species of birds – all delineated in their natural size and colours.   Cuview expressed the opinion that this work “is the most magnificent monument that art has ever erected in Ornithology.”

Everyone who attempts to describe the plumage of a bird, realizes how inadequate language is to convey a just idea of the richness and peculiar beauty of Nature’s living tints.

Each plate is one of the original copper-plates engraved in London and accurately colored by hand by W. H. Lizars or R. Havell and Son;  their extreme beauty makes them particularly desirable for mural decoration, and their rarity tends to make them exclusive possessions.  

“There has never been a keener eye than Audubon’s” says “Old John” Burroughs, and these plates in their unparalleled beauty, accuracy and spirit, prove it.  They form size 38 x 25 ½.   The plate-mark, or the size of the picture itself, necessarily varies, as the birds are in all cases represented of the size of life.  They must not be confounded with the copies made in 1861 by lithography, which are not in the slightest degree worthy of comparison with originals.

It may be noted that this is an extraordinary opportunity for the buyer and one which may not occur again.

A complete set of the work sold at auction for over $4,000.00

When Thordarson purchased this distinctive set, he added to the many rare and unusual books already in his library.  He collected up to the time of his death, a count that approached 11,000 by 1945.  These books were housed in special book cases, custom built for his collection in his Chicago office.  Later, in 1942, he transferred those cases and his library to his Rock Island boathouse where they remained until 1946. 

One reason for their removal to Rock Island was that Thordarson believed his books would be safer on Rock Island in time of war, should German bombing of Chicago become a threat.  Second, and maybe as practical a reason, was that the Thordarson Electric Manufacturing Company was bought out by the Burgess Company at that time.   His office items and files were moved to the basement of his factory, but the books and carved furniture were moved to Rock Island boathouse, a structure he believed to  be nearly fireproof, for safekeeping his books.

Following Thordarson's death in 1945, the University of Wisconsin entered into an Agreement to Purchase with the Thordarson heirs, and with that agreement in hand, the books were moved to Madison for their protection, complete inventory, and contemplation of how they would be incorporated into the library system.  This move also bought time for gaining additional university support and the arrangement of funding.  

The Thordarson library was ferried from Rock Island to Gills Rock by the Griffin, then by truck to Madison, where it then resided in the crowded old library building, now home of the Wisconsin State Historical Society.  A new university library was built in 1950, and the books were moved into the new building.  Volumes from the Thordarson library, selected books from that library that included the Audubon folios, formed the basis of the university's new rare book collection, kept in a carefully controlled environment.  Other volumes not considered rare were set out on shelves with other library books for borrowing.   

University officials stated at the time of their purchase that the value of the Thordarson collection was in scholarly research, and it was not intended as an investment.   But in fact, the value of his collection, with many individual volumes considered among the finest and rarest examples of early English language books in this country if not in the world, has appreciated considerably.  

Perhaps the most valuable among them are the Audubon folios.  

The entire Thordarson collection was purchased by the University of Wisconsin in 1946 for $170,000, plus a broker's fee of $30,000.   According to an internet auction source, an original Audubon folio set fetched $8,800,000 in 2000, and a single engraving brought $150,000.  By 2011, the auction sale of a "rare double-elephant folio"set had risen to a record $11,500,000 and a single print may now command $200,000.

The dear price of a set of Audubon's books today is supposedly a good thing, in that owners and dealers will be less inclined to sell plates separately, something that had been done in past years.  Also, most copies now reside in institutions, such at the University of Wisconsin rare books collection, where they will presumably remain intact for future centuries.

-  Dick Purinton     

UNPLEASANT BUSINESS

Washington Island, Wisconsin -


A smile, a pleasant greeting and an upbeat air are considered wonderful traits when you are face-to-face with customers on a daily basis.

No one did this better than Jason Carr.
However, Jason Carr was sentenced today on three felony counts in Door County Circuit Court by Judge Peter Diltz.

Carr pled guilty to three charges of felony theft and in so doing, waved his right to a jury trial.  Carr had earlier paid restitution to the Ferry Line in the amount of $28,000.   As a part of his sentencing, he will spend 30 days in the County Jail, pay a $500 fine plus court costs on each of the counts (numbered 39 in all) and will carry the felonies as a record.  The remaining 36 counts, Class A forgeries, have each been dropped, but they will remain on record as per the plea bargain with the State, as represented by District Attorney Raymond Pelrine.

This is unpleasant business for all concerned.

A complaint against Carr was filed August 25, 2011, following several months' investigation.  The investigation was triggered by Carr's own private conversations in which he admitted theft as a ticket seller over a several-year period.  Until late June of 2011, he had been not only a trusted ticket seller for the Ferry Line, but he was extremely well thought of by fellow employees and customers alike.  It was with concern for Carr as an individual, as well as for the significance of the crimes he had allegedly committed, that charges were brought forward through Sheriff's Department to the Door County District Attorney's office.

During his sentencing, Judge Diltz took time to personally address Carr, stressing not only the seriousness of his crimes, but also the breach of trust with the Island community that had supported him.  Diltz read into the court record the following letter from the Washington Island Ferry Line, Inc., signed by Richard and Hoyt Purinton, company managers and owners.

Because of the nature of the ongoing investigation and then proceedings over the past months, it was not possible, nor was it considered prudent, to publicize Carr's alleged actions.  However, with sentencing now completed, to not inform the public and our customers about this unfortunate turn of events also seems improper.

March 12, 2012

Door County Circuit Court

Judge Peter Diltz

c/o  District Attorney Pelrine

Letter to Jason Carr:

    

Washington Island Ferry Line appreciates your timely restitution for money stolen while you worked for Washington Island Ferry Line as a ticket seller.  We know the penalties under law in sentencing by the Court are not insignificant. 

However, because of your accepted plea agreement, you haven’t had to respond to questions concerning your crimes in court, and for that reason the public has learned little information about your crimes.

You told an investigating officer that you had been stealing for “five or six years.”  If that was the case, then the total stolen by you as an employee is five or six times the amount you’ve returned in restitution.   Apparently, you resumed work each spring during those years with intent to continue stealing money.  You shielded your stealing from others, even as you repeated your crimes, year to year.

Then, shortly after you were officially investigated for stealing, you expressed to several Washington Island friends in conversation, and to others through your Facebook page, words that indicated you were proud of your undetected theft. 

As your former Ferry Line managers, we think your breach of trust is as damaging as the money that was stolen.  Many people – your co-workers, the ferry customers, island neighbors and others – knew and respected you as a pleasant-mannered, smiling employee, often the first island person they came in contact with upon arrival at the ferry dock.  What they didn’t know – and we didn’t realize – was that the money paid to you by them you then put into your own pocket. 

By doing so, repeatedly, you’ve broken a bond of trust among co-workers and customers, and friends.  How will you now turn that around?  How will you help others to understand that you recognize what you did was wrong?   How will you go about regaining trust from a community that has supported you in many ways? 

You now have an opportunity to begin mending the trust that was broken, by an honest statement to the court, by showing the community in which you live that you are sincere in your acknowledgement of what you’ve done, and that you’re determined to restore our trust in you.

Respectfully,

Hoyt and Richard Purinton, for

Washington Island Ferry Line, Inc.

-  End -

NEW NEIGHBORS

Chad and Evy Beneda in driveway of their new home.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

A few weeks ago I posted a blog entry about family moving closer.  This was the first sort of announcement of the potential future sale of our former Main Road home to our daughter, Evy, and Chad Beneda and boys.  They are now 90% moved in, and have enjoyed being on the Island after moving from their former home in Brookfield.  They still own their Brookfield home and it will have it for sale, shortly.

In the meantime, during the week Chad will travel back and forth to sales appointments, much of it by air, as an insurance representative for Liberty Mutual's midwest commercial accounts, and he will also continue to report to his Chicago office for some of those days when not on the road.   But, if his travel connections work well, starting with the ferry on Monday morning, and if he's able to keep up the pace of weekly travel, Chad plans to be home each weekend with his family.

Their two sons, Atlas, 9, and Zander, almost 4, have also begun to acclimate with school projects and more outdoor time as the weather improves.  Atlas happily pedals to the nearby Island Library for books, and south along Main Road to his Gramma's for cookies and entertainment.

Mary Jo with grandsons Zander, Aidan, Atlas and Magnus
on move-in day.

The Beneda's home is the one "across from the log cabin," or "across from the ball park," also known as the "J. W. Cornell home," or the "Maple Grove Inn" where June and Jake Gunnlaugsson rented rooms in the 50s and early 60s.   It was purchased by Carl and Ethel Anderson in 1963 (Carl was a brother to Ed Anderson, Ethel was a daughter of J. W. Cornell), before being transferred to Mary Jo and Richard in 1976.  

We're pleased to see it still in the family, enjoyed again as a year around home by the Benedas.

-  Dick Purinton

CHANGES AT TRINITY

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Since early December, Trinity Lutheran Church has  been under renovation, the most extensive yet in the history of this church building constructed in 1948.

After the pews, organ, piano and other furniture were removed to temporary, off-site storage, then the carpeting and fiber ceiling panels were removed and disposed of.  Pro Foamers, Inc., of Green Bay sprayed insulation over the exposed ceiling surfaces, providing a much improved, estimated R-35, insulation factor.

While the ceiling was exposed, the renovation work also provided an opportunity to upgrade wiring and improve interior lighting.  The old fixtures will be reused, but a company in Green Bay is refurbishing them with new wiring and sockets that will accept modern, efficient bulbs.

With wiring and insulating complete, the Young Brothers then paneled over the foamed ceiling throughout with pine boards.   In mid-March, the Building Committee decided to extend the project by removing the barrier wall between the narthex (entry) and the sanctuary, an enlargement of the overall worship space.

Pine boards were installed over foamed ceiling.
Bob Young hands trimmed board to Dennis on scaffold.

The original (and often broken) floor tiles were then removed in preparation for new carpet throughout the spaces.

Also a part of the renewal is a new LP furnace with air-conditioning capability, and replacement of the 60+ year old windows which had required storm windows each fall.  New windows are currently being installed with modern, triple-glazed windows.  The new windows are transparent, not tinted or textured as were the original windows.   Because of this change, the new windows ought to admit much more natural light.

Larry (in window) and Dennis Young were
installing windows this Wednesday morning. 

This construction project is being paid for through generous donations, and it is expected to be completed - or nearly so - by Memorial Day, in time for added Sunday worship services, weddings and other anticipated activities.

In the meantime the Fellowship Hall, now in its ninth year of use, serves the congregation quite well for worship on Sundays, and as a gathering place for various church and community activities during other days of the week.

 - Dick Purinton  

Since early December, worship services have been held in the Fellowship Hall 
adjacent to the church.   Here, Pastor Frank Maxwell leads the congregation.  

THEY'RE COMING CLOSER!

Holy aliens!   Zander standing in a field of
crop circles in the Bayou pasture. (Evy photo)

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Nothing as endearing as grandchildren, it seems, and we're now able to report that Chad and Evy Beneda and their two sons, Atlas and Zander, and their two dogs, Dude and Waylan, have moved to Washington Island.

They moved officially one week ago from their Brookfield home to occupy our former home at 1040 Main Road.  Not only does it mean they are now close at hand, they will also become buyers for our former home, keeping the old J. W. Cornell home in the family for one more generation.

We recently received some information from Eric Greenfeldt, grandson of Bill Cornell, to verify this home was built in 1915, one of the first island homes to have a "full cellar."  J. W. and his sons were fishermen, and what is the present day golf course held many cherry trees and current bushes.

Droids coming!


Last week I stopped in from my day at the Ferry Dock to visit.  Zander, 3 1/2, who is quite taken with 'droids and zombies and loves the fear factor they evoke, said, "Droids coming!  Mommy, I need to use your phone to call Jitsch for backup."    Jitsch is his invisible dog, a human who died and came back in the form of a friendly dog.  He's near wherever Zander goes, first appearing in late 2011, shortly after older brother Atlas became owner of a little poodle (real) from the pet shelter that he named Dude.  There are two other friendlies, pals of Jitsch and Zander, named Vicki and Micki, but Zander offers fewer details about those two.

His friends require little care, and they are available to support Zander in his daily battle against 'droids. These friends now live in their own new home near the garden.   On his mother's phone, Zander ordered Jitsch to, "Come over quick!  Bring your light saber and ray gun."   Then, he ran to answer the door as his invisible friends called on him.   It is a daily battle, fueled by Star Wars characters and an iPad game called "Plants and Zombies."

We're pleased to be part of the fun and games, not only of Zander, but all of our grandsons.

From right:   Zander Beneda, Magnus Purinton, Atlas Beneda, Aidan Purinton

EARLY WARMTH

Wheelhouse view on March 14, on our way to
a near-record temperature for the date.

Detroit Harbor, Washington Island -   A mass of warm air settled over the upper Great Lakes, creating many record, or near record, temperatures.   Although the breeze is light southerly, and it will keep temperatures slightly lower than inland locations, our day is extremely comfortable for early March.

John Delwiche, our local NOAA weather reporter, was on board the ferry yesterday, and he concurred we will likely have a record warm March, if this pattern keeps up.   His February statistics showed the 4th warmest month on record, and thus far in winter (to the end of Feb.) it was the 9th warmest winter recorded so far.

Because we have a diesel class for our crew, approximately ten men plus Bill Eickelberg of Sturgeon Bay, who is auditing the class out of personal interest, a special ferry crew has been making the daily runs.  Yours truly at the helm, Al Stelter and Con McDonald on deck.   Its been a great change of pace for us - Al and I pretty much ashore otherwise, and Con home from U. Minn. spring break, where he is a freshman.

Jon Sowl is the NWTC Diesel Technology instructor, and he brought along with him several diesel engines in various stages of repair, for students  to learn the differences in the various engine designs, to learn their systems and trouble shoot for repairs. Classes are being held both indoors at the fire house classroom, and also outdoors at the Ferry Line's steel building, where outside the weather has made for a pleasant environment.

On the route, ice has all but disappeared, only a few streaks off Door Bluff visible from a distance.  Spring is upon us.

-  Dick Purinton

WHAT'S THIS?

Large, wet snowflakes driven by gale winds off the lake produced
this winter's heaviest snowfall.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -


Tuesday night into Wednesday morning we received snowfall perhaps greater than all previous snows this winter added together.    The snow came in large flakes bringing lake moisture, and the temperature was at or slightly above freezing.   We awoke with windows on the SE side of our house plastered with snow.  Gale force winds continued to drive snow until late morning, when it cleared and ice pellets, then light rain took over.  About this time, the layer of snow on our windows had slid down and out of sight.  It was a good day to have a full wood box, and to lay logs on the hearth.

What snow accumulated on the ground was mushy and heavy to shovel.  The morning ferry was cancelled due to the high winds, but the afternoon boat at 1 p.m. made the round trip.   Most county schools, including Washington Island Schools, cancelled for the day.  By evening, the wind had settled and the temperature remained above freezing, well after nightfall.

Here is a storm poem, or the beginning of one...


LIFT OFF -

For four days forecasters

Predicted excessive winds

Following a slow-moving low that would

Fill the region with high pressure,

Stormy skies

And damaging gusts.

“It won’t happen here

the old man snapped,

Deaf to the radio’s weatherman.

Just then, the first shingle flew

From the barn roof to

The vegetable garden

Where stalks of sunflowers,

Heads already bowed downward in

Fall defeat, suddenly flattened.

“I fear the window may give way,”

he said, and stepped back as an

Extra-virulent gust of

Pine needles and rain 

Pelted his kitchen observatory.

“Nothing between us and our maker but

Thin glass,” the old woman answered.

“If it’s to be our time, let’s at least have a feast.”

Then she removed from the cupboard shelf

A single can of sardines saved for

A special occasion, and a

Partial sleeve of saltines purchased that spring.

Their house shuddered and shook

And windowpanes rattled within dried glazing.

The two huddled in the coming

Darkness over their small kitchen table. 

They prayed and ate sardines as they

Waited to lift off.

-  Dick Purinton

A GOOD YEAR - 95

Frieda Purinton  

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin -


What is a 'best year' in one's life, especially when there have been 95 of them?   Marriage, children, time with relatives (including her own parents), travel, meaningful contribution to others - all of these, and more, create a life well lived.

Today is Mom's 95th birthday, and with help from staff at the Skilled Nursing Facility at Door County Memorial Hospital (North Shore), and my sisters, Helen and Martha, she will become the center of attention until nap time.

She may not always remember the day or month, but when a party was mentioned for her birthday, she wished for chocolate cake.

Yesterday, when I visited her, she thought the special day had already passed, but with flowers and card in hand, I assured her that wasn't the case.    We communicated in the manner that has proven to be the most successful, given her poor hearing, of using pen and paper, constructing short phrases of conversation, from me, for her to read.  She nods, often smiles, and occasionally asks a question in reply, and this tells me she knows and remembers (maybe more than I had realized).  She can place my words into her thoughts.

Happy Birthday, Mom.   Here's a small gift for you, one who never has gone online, who never learned how to use a computer (or needed one), but for whom life still had, and has, precious moments.   (From a visit in August, 2010):

A VISIT

Right eye partly opened

In afternoon repose

Mother breathes easily and sleeps

And her roommate sleeps too

A few family photos are pinned to the

Wallboard beyond the foot of her bed

Top floor apartments and top floor

Offices are the most sought after

Some people work all their lives to

Achieve top floor status and never get there

By those standards Mom has it made

A mending hip at 93 bought her

This top floor hospital room

Facing sunny skies over town

Where eye level cumulus float by

Three meals are prepared if she cares to eat  

An unwatched television screen

Plays Little House On The Prairie and

A nurse frequently checks in

To determine if she sleeps and breathes

Or just sleeps  

“Have you been up for a walk today?” I ask 

Then repeat my question

Because she didn’t appear to

Hear or maybe didn’t care to hear me

Awake and alert for the moment

She turns her head toward the window

“I just watch the clouds go by”

- Dick Purinton    (This just in - photo at left by Martha Bennett)        

WINTER WEATHER

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

We're approaching the middle of February, a time we often think of as mid-winter.  

The temperatures have been colder the past several days with an overnight low of 10 degrees last night, and also the night before according to my unofficial porch thermometer.   On the harbor the 8-10 inch ice layer may have just thickened by an inch or two, in time for ice fishermen who will participate in the 10-day Lions Club fishing derby that officially starts today.   A few inches of snow fell yesterday morning and covered up the otherwise bare, frozen ground.   It's not what we'd call a typical winter, based on our seat-of-the-pants observations.

But how did this past month of January compare with previous Januarys?   Is it just our short term memory tricking us, or was this January warmer?

For those answers we turned to local NOAA Weather Observer John Delwiche.   John keeps accurate daily records for his island location and tabulates them at the end of the month.  But, as an official observer, John's still unable to easily locate and access data from previous years.  In order to obtain past information for comparisons, he is required to register and pay a fee for access, very surprising to us considering he's doing voluntary observation in the first place and represents NOAA's meteorological network at this location. (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a regional office in Green Bay.)

"The best I can do," said John, "is to say that this January's average temperature ranked somewhere in the top ten of Januarys over the 67 years of recorded data.   It didn't quite make the top five.  The average January temperature of 1990 was 26.3 degrees."   John's data for January 2012 showed an average January temperature of 24.1 degrees.  So much for my thinking it was a record month for temperature.  

How about snowfall?   I've only shoveled twice, and that activity bordered on the unnecessary.  I was only looking for the exercise.  Our January snowfall was down, according to John's measurements:  9.9" of snow this year compared to the average of 14.8" of snow.  I thought as much.  Well, my hunch based on time-behind-shovel turned out to be correct.

We did set or tie two records, however, and that was the "Warmest night (highest low) of 30 degrees on 01/27.   Also, the warmest temperature for day 01/07 was recorded this year:  43 degrees.  

"One thing we can say," John noted, "is that when we take the two months of December and January combined, we've experienced milder than normal temperatures.  But just how that compares to other years, again I'm unable to make that comparison."

We hope the data access through NOAA loosens up a bit, for John's and our curiosity's sake if nothing else.

Meanwhile, the current forecast extending beyond Sunday shows daytime temperatures will once again climb to the mid-30s, without precipitation.   Snow cover, according to a Detroit Free Press article forwarded by Fred Hankwitz, which is considered the biggest source of water for the Great Lakes as a whole, remains low.  This lack of snow cover will effect the long term lake levels.  The Corps of Engineers forecasts levels to be initially higher in spring than last year, by 5-7 inches, but this will even out by June when it will remain close to 2011 levels.      

 -  Dick Purinton

TOMATO SPOTTED IN CARIBBEAN PORT

Treasure Seeker on a balmy St. Thomas day.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Yesterday I received two pieces of email with information on the former island ferry C.G. Richter, now mored alongside a harbor boulevard in Charlotte Amalie Harbour, St. Thomas as the Treasure Seeker.  It was spotted by Washington Island property owner and cruise ship passenger Charlie Imig who forwarded the above photo.  Charlie recognized the Walter Haertel designed hull under disguise of pirate facade and tomato-red paint.  The other pertinent email came from David Wright in Washington state, who forwarded a link with photos of the Treasure Seeker from a different angle.

Ten years ago, this ferry was snorting diesel and bucking February ice in the Door passage, making the necessary trip to the mainland and back.  The single Cummins K-19 (500 hp) that powers the Treasure Seeker today worked hard to keep the propeller turning through chunks of ice, maintaining way through fields that sometimes were sliding toward the open lake.   Inside the cabin, passengers visited elbow-to-elbow as the boat sometimes ran freely in open water and other times slowed in deep, rugged ridges, or stews of fine, compressed ice.   Nostalgia comes in many forms, and anyone who thinks of the good old days on board the C.G. Richter will also recall there were many trips that either took hours, or were cancelled, due to overwhelming ice conditions.

Well, you can relive such days in your short sleeves if you sign on to one of the Treasure Seeker's cruises around the harbor to drink rum and cokes and play pirate before going back to the comfort of your cruise ship.  The Hixon family, after fits and starts and a Bahamian grounding that took off the rudder and anchor, motored the final leg in late 2011 from the Puerto Rican shipyard, where repairs were undertaken, to St. Thomas.  (See photos in blog link below.)

Arni, if he were still around, would caution about the exposure to the concrete quay and apparent lack of large fenders.   Its a tough hull, and so we'll wait for more follow-ups to learn how its doing, both pier side and underway with would-be pirates in charge.  It's big, it's red and it's waiting for the next cruise ship to pull in with customers for a pirate ship ride.

For more photos, including some shots of the former Washington Island ferry sitting on blocks in the Puerto Rico shipyard, use this link:
              http://kerryhucul.com/2011/11/17/treasure-seeker-in-st-thomas/

Meanwhile, here's what it looked like a decade or more back in time.  -  Dick Purinton

Life as a ferry:   A load of groceries for the
 island on board  Mann's Store truck.

Detroit Harbor, Washington Island -

Minutes away from the start of the Super Bowl, I took this photo.

If you'd like to simulate what ice fishing was like, for me at least, then stare at this photo for a couple of hours.   The bottom,  8 feet below the 10-inch ice cover, was carpeted with dormant weeds.  I had an especially live minnow on my hook, and good tunes on my headset which made the time pass quickly, but during this two-hour outing I saw no fish and had no bites on the two tip-ups set outside my shelter.

But, in case you think it might have been a dull afternoon, consider the bright sunlight against the shoreline and the moon as it began to rise in the east.   I had uninterrupted time to review what I need to do, what I want to do, what I recently did, this morning's church sermon, that the Packers won't play in the big game today, but that Aaron Rodgers is MVP, the continued, consistently warm temperatures, and how months, seasons and years fly by.  Too much to contemplate for one session on the ice, really.

Had a phone call from Mary Gunnerson this morning.   How thoughtful she is of others, and she called to just say "Hello," and that she remembered this day was Arni's birthday.   Her own situation?  Not good, really, but you'd never know from Mary's voice.   If liver transplants were a fingersnap, and cost was not an issue, Mary would be healthy again.

The fact nothing but my minnow wiggled beneath the ice hole between by boots was immaterial.   The day was beautiful, and around me there was beauty, life, the universe up close and far away.

-  Dick Purinton

GROUNDHOG ROUTINE - ISLAND PRESS RELEASE BUST

L to R - Magnus, Aidan, Zander, Atlas

Detroit Harbor, Washington Island -

For the record, it was cloudy this morning and it stayed overcast all day.

We don't have groundhogs on Washington Island, or burrowing gophers, either.  Maybe the deepwater following the glacial melt kept them from our shores.  (These mammals are found on the peninsula, however.)  If it weren't for the news media repeating the results of several staged February 2nd groundhog events held around the country, I doubt I would know what one looked like.

Our grandsons could have cared less as they ignored the outdoor weather and came straight to our room, crowding in our bed to watch cartoons and play Angry Birds on my iPad.  Their attention was trained on  TV cartoons until a new cartoon show began that the oldest two claimed was "for girls."  Once they made this declaration, not even the youngest two cared to watch and the bedroom emptied quickly.

But about that creaky groundhog folk tale.  I suppose it was originally based on actual observations made by pioneers, or perhaps it was a European tradition carried overseas to the New World.  Given what seems a thin connection between the whims of a groundhog and predictions for more or fewer weeks of winter, (there is disagreement between StormFax and Accuweather as to the accuracy record of the leading groundhog's predictions) we could just as well make up our own traditions, starting today, regarding climate and weather conditions, and link them to the economy, as a fun example. (Low Lake Water correlates to Low Economic Activity, etc.)  There are also believers that industrious, fat fall squirrels portend a rough winter ahead. (Squirrels that are not fat in December probably won't be around for the census in the spring.)

I'm going out on the limb, of course, but I will say that four well-fed grandsons in our bed before 6:30 a.m. means we are blessed grandparents.   Groundhogs be damned.

- Dick Purinton

TOWN APPLIES FOR DETROIT HARBOR CHANNEL DREDGING GRANT

Detroit Harbor aerial photo, several years ago.
(Ed Graf photo)

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Recently, on Friday, January 20th, the Town of Washington Board approved an application for grant funds from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and its Harbor Assistance Program (HAP).  This is the first official step taken by the Town toward dredging the West Channel entrance to Detroit Harbor, a vital year-around navigational link for commercial water transportation to and from the island.

Although the case had been made for dredging several years ago by the Town to Senator Russ Feingold, Rep. Steve Kagen, representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Wisconsin's Governor Doyle, the reality is that federal funding allocations take years to work their way through Congress,  even when all political cylinders are "clicking."  It would be a very long shot, indeed.

However, this harbor project fits well within the scope of typical state HAP projects.  In fact, there are several Wisconsin commercial harbors, also with federal channels, that receive assistance on a regular basis in order to improve or expand port facilities and to keep them open through dredging.

When looking at Detroit Harbor's channel and the last time it was dredged (by the federal government in 1937) this may be the appropriate time to improve depths and widen the channel.  It is absolutely essential that Detroit Harbor be kept open and safe for vessel navigation, in particular for the commercial ferries that provide year around service.   It was noted by state officials who reviewed channel dimensions during preliminary discussions that lake levels are low now, but they may drop even lower.  Given the Island's dependency on this navigational channel.  The Town's proposed Detroit Harbor project could be considered urgent in nature.

The grant request amount is for $7.6 million dollars, which represents the State's portion, or 80% of project cost.  This is money that would be paid from the HAP Fund, tax dollars that have been set aside by the Wisconsin Legislature for the Harbor Assistance Program Fund.  This Fund is designed to maintain and improve Wisconsin's commercial ports.  The Town of Washington's contribution of $1.9 million, the remaining 20%, would then be contributed through "tippage," a term that refers to the disposal of spoils at an approved Town site, or sites, with grading and seeding afterward as necessary.

The behind-the-scenes work to put such a project together is considerable, and it balances the local needs for safe harbor navigation with the Town's ability to participate, given the large figures involved.  Obviously, if an actual cash payment from taxes were required, this project could not even be considered.

Chairman Joel Gunnlaugsson and the Town of Washington Supervisors should be commended for their ability to see this project's benefits through the rather daunting amount of engineering and paperwork the application requires.  Included is an engineering study based on recent soundings, and the expertise to complete the application.  The Town was assisted by Foth & Van Dyke Engineering of Green Bay, a company familiar with marine construction projects and also the State of Wisconsin HAP grant process.

Included in the Town's HAP Grant Application were elements of the Engineering Feasibility study and the Environmental Feasibility study. These components ensure that the quantities of proposed dredging spoils are accurately tabulated, and that mud, clay and rock material removed will be disposed of in a manner that will not harm the environment.

The project's scope includes, in general terms, channel widening from 150 to 170 feet, and channel depth from -14 ft. LWD (low water datum) to - 17 ft. LWD.   Since there was little to no silting in the channel in the years after it was dredged in 1937, it is anticipated that given the somewhat predictable lake levels over time, these new dimensions will be adequate for the near future.

It was further noted in the Grant Application that commercial traffic, namely ferry vessels, have increased in draft and beam, and also in the number of annual round trips made.  It may be said that the island community has become ever more dependent for economic and lifeline existence on water transportation, and less self-sufficient than in 1937 when commercial fishing and farming were primary economic contributors and people and goods moved with lesser frequency over water.

Winter harbor photo taken prior to 1995. 

Note:  I was asked a few years ago by a friend who considered purchasing land on Washington Island, "What would happen if the water dropped even more, and the ferry couldn't get into port?"  I somewhat casually replied, "We would all be in trouble then."  
   In fact, as remote a scenario as this seemed, we ultimately have little control over weather patterns and the precipitation and evaporation rates that control the Great Lakes levels.  We could, therefore, just as easily see a drop of several more feet in lake level as maintain or gain lake depth.  If such a drop occurred, we and other shoreline communities would be scrambling to deepen our ports and waterways in order to survive.  This recent Town application for a WisDOT-HAP Grant addresses my friend's question more directly than I did, and it is a fundamental question  anyone who wishes to live here or to own property here might rightly ask.            

-  Dick Purinton