Entries by Karen Wells

August 1 – Team 6, Day 7

Team leader Kathy Sanders reported in that the upstairs hallway is now painted. Years ago, we scraped and painted the large bedroom beyond the door seen here as we were using it for housing, but this hallway had not been touched since the Coast Guard automated the station in the 1950’s. It’s gotten a well-deserved […]

More good ink

We were covered again in the July 30 Leelanau Enterprise. The article “S. Fox Island continues renovations” features this image of Board Member, Jim Greenwall, of Mishawaka Indiana, landing on the island. Photo credit: Brian Freiberge

July 30 – Team 6 keeps on painting

Team leader Kathy Sanders reports lead remediation is complete on the main floor of the 1867 lighthouse and that she’s moved on to the second floor hall. Various volunteers have worked toward this goal, starting in 2017. Kathy, though, has really been the heart and soul of getting this work completed. The process consists of […]

July 29 – DNR unloads wood, removes “stuff”

A DNR team of Chris, Connor and Mike made a huge difference today. They loaded and unloaded 2800 pounds of lumber, hauled it down the beach and stacked it for use for boathouse repairs. They also did is a great service in hauling obsolete materials & equipment off island. We’ve had a number of inoperable […]

July 27 – Team 6 knocking off projects

The team of Brett, Kathy & Mark is knocking off projects. Here’s Mark painting the metal portions of the oil house. Isn’t it stunning! Kathy Sanders photo credit Meanwhile, Brett took advantage of the scaffolding being set up to paint exterior window trim. Photo credit Kathy Sanders The paint on the basement doors got a […]

Milestone project – lantern room panels complete!

It’s impossible to capture the feeling of having a 360 degree view in the lantern room again. This is truly a milestone project. The original glass was mostly shot out by the time the DNR enclosed the lighthouse with plywood in the 1980’s. FILA upgraded the plywood in 2006 to protect the lantern room from […]

July 26 – Team 6 heads out / Team 5 is a wrap!

Team 6 cleared Leland harbor at 8 this morning, taking advantage of flat conditions for today’s team turnover. Kathy Sanders, Mark Lee, and newbie Brett Neulsen make another great team. Knowing they had an early boat, Team 5 (Barb, Marty & Tom) packed up gear, cleaned quarters for the incoming team, stowed remaining equipment AND […]

July 25 – Team 5, Day 7

This morning was calm. The flags hung down. After the rains, things are greening up. Barb Falkenhagen photo Marty gave a tour of the station to the kayakers while Tom & Barb got to work…doing what Barb calls “creeper jobs”…additional requests beyond their planned task list. They found 4 x 4s for Tuesday’s hemlock delivery, […]

July 24 – Day 6, heading into the home stretch

Despite rain off and on during the day, the team still got two of the five panels installed using a combination of the original stops and the temporary wood ones Tom built to secure things until replacements are fabricated. Barb Falkenhagen photo Even in the rain, the lantern room looks lovely. Here’s Marty test fitting […]

July 23 – Team 5, Day 5

Per Barb, while today wasn’t as dirty as yesterday, it was equally tiring. Lots of up and down and around. With today’s brisk SW wind, the island temps remained reasonable while the rest of the state simmered. Tom & Marty painted the lantern room after a primer coat. Barb Falkenhagen photo As Tom was finishing […]