There are several openings built into the 1867 tower stairway. Two were clearly built to access the weights used by the clockwork that rotated the lens. One contained a cabinet whose use is unknown. Its door has long been missing. Skilled carpenter Doug Noren rebuilt it this past winter. It is curved tongue and groove with a kerf next to each seam. This past week’s team installed it.

A “before” image is shown below. While details like this aren’t critical path, they need to be addressed eventually. We pick off such things situationally as we have volunteers available with interest and skills.

Jim (shown below) & Ben also reinstalled one of the smaller original doors that had brought back as a construction sample. It was stripped, primed & painted by volunteers John & Karen while it was ashore.

The frames will need work by a future team.

Many people come together to get these projects done.

The Indiana-based carpentry team of Ben Eichorst & Jim Greenwell headed out on Monday after a two-day weather delay. When reinstalling the restored basement windows last year, they discovered one of the frames was rotten — that’s among their projects this week, along with a floor joist in the Assistant Keeper’s that is failing due to a long-ago water infiltration issue.

Scaffolding needed to do lighthouse soffit repair didn’t arrive in time, so that project will need to wait until next year. The logistics for doing these projects is daunting….coordinating materials, equipments, boats and people!

The team is scheduled to be “on island” through Saturday.

Volunteer Barb Falkenhagen provides an excellent log on her Facebook page. Here are some selections from her July 3 entry:

“It rained heavy during the night and I kept hearing one of the shutters on the lighthouse tower banging, so I finally got up and latched it shut. Tom also latched a shutter on one of the windows in his room.”

“This morning we worked in the tower again fitting new screws, and placing the painted glass stops to the corresponding astragal. We learned that the parts painted yesterday were also marked for placement with little punch marks. After all the proper placements were made we removed them so we could paint. We are letting the paint dry the rest of today and will set the panes of plexiglass and caulk tomorrow.”

Note the four small punch marks in Barb’s photo

Painting the lantern room. Barb Falkenhagen photo.

Volunteers Marty Rosalik, Tom McBride, Barb Falkenhagen and Jeff Brearley arrived today. A key project is working on the 1867 lantern room…. As Marty says “The shop has a view.”

Detroit Locomotive Works built our lantern room and those of many other lights.

The firm went bankrupt years ago. Marty has resurrected the name.

This is a complicated project…on their first afternoon, they’ve already removed a number of the Astragal glass stop screws….complications include this broken screw.

This doesn’t happen by magic…it requires lots of knowledge and equipment.

Cathy, Jen, Linda, Kathy & Sandy arrived Sunday and spent a productive visit performing a variety of grounds-related projects.