South Manitou Island "Spring Bee"

Fifteen independent volunteers descended on South Manitou Island early in June to help get the island ready for the 2011 visitor season. The crew worked under the direction of Volunteer Coordinator, NPS Maintenance Worker David Chew, and NPS Historic Architect Kimberly Mann on a diversity of projects:

• • Rebuilt and painted a portable privy from the ground up at the maintenance yard. These are rotated with units in the field, as needed. The newly refurbished "outhouse" looked beautiful inside and out.
• • Mowed grass and whipped weeds at the cemetery, farms, and other locations as needed. Patty Kelly just wouldn't stop until it all looked really neat and beautiful, logging some 93-hours on mowers and string-trimmers.
• • Removed and replaced a defective faucet on a sink in the ranger station.
• • Removed and replaced the electric power generator at the maintenance building. The two-ton machines, which provide electric power for the island's village area and lighthouse, were riggered by two women and an 18-year old young man.
• • Removed last year's artwork (graffiti) from a portable privies in the field.
• • Painted the floors of privies at the Bay and Weather Station campgrounds
• • Spruced up the August Beck farm's landscape.
• • Cleaned and reorganized the barns and sheds at the Conrad Hutzler farm.
• • Repaired and rebuilt screens for village houses at the maintenance building workshop ...
• • ... while others removed storm windows and put up screens in the village.
• • Repaired and repainted the front door screen at the island's Ranger Station.
• • Cleaned the island's Visitors Center and Museum.
• • Removed encroaching vegetation and swept sand away from the boardwalk, from the village out to the lighthouse.
• • Removed a defective solar cell array battery pack at the maintenance building.
• • Cleaned "whitewash" (gull droppings) off dock with brooms and buckets of water, and pounded down spikes lifted by the winter's alternating freeze-thaw conditions.
• • Rebuilt the woven-wire fence at the cemetery, replacing all the fence posts with "100-year" black ash posts. See the separate page for this project.

Individual volunteers spent between three and nine nights on the island during the first two weeks of June, contributing a total of 648.5-manhours on these activities! It's not "work," of course, but rather "a labor of love," with plenty of time for camaraderie on the job, and congeniality during lunchtime, dinner, and after-hours. As a "special event," the group held a small ceremony at the old island schoolhouse to place and dedicate large antique framed photos of Presidents Washington and Lincoln. A collection of images has been provided by VIP volunteer Gwen Glatz. These original images include:

• smiswb9513.jpg: Newly rebuilt cemetery fence (see more here.)
• smiswb9388.jpg: Claude Fields of Empire (a.k.a. "Morreeese") begins the task of refurbishing the portable privy.
• smiswb9501.jpg: Patty Kelly, "all dressed up and ready to mow." It's a long ride out to the farm loop; almost 2-3/4 miles loop — sorta' like a Manitou Island version of the "Yard Man's" cross-country odyssey. Notice that she goes fully prepared with the "weed whipper," water, lunch, and extra gas.
• smiswb9500.jpg: Andrew Glatz, Margaret Kelly, Lynette Holloway, trying to figure out how to disconnect and remove the island's auxiliary power generator.
• smiswb9503.jpg: Where there's a will, there's a way..
• smiswb9505.jpg: ... and with a little help from their friends ... island maintenance workers Art Schneider and David Chew.
• smiswb9488.jpg: NPS Historic Architect Kimberly Mann and NPS Maintenance Worker David Chew sorting out materials in storage at the Conrad Hutzler sheds and barns.
• smiswb9484.jpg: View of the Beck farm from the grave site of the original owners, August & Lizzie Beck.
• smiswb9511.jpg: Patty Kelly takes down the Spring growth inside the Beck barn. This work can be hazardous when toxic oils and resins from plants like poison ivy, poison oak and sumac are released and aerosolized. Hence the protective gear.
• smiswb9389.jpg: Joe Fields {a.k.a. "Bro") letting his fingers do what walking ... searching for a source of screen material on the mainland. His wife later picked it up, paid for it, and put it on the boat at Leland. There's no air conditioning on the island, but the housing is quite comfortable thanks to the balmy breezed admitted by screened windows and doors.
• smiswb9392.jpg: "The Tic Counters" ... Jean Tsao, from Michigan State University's Dept of Fisheries and Wildlife, Mary Bammer, her intern, and Erik Foster, from the Michigan Department of Community Health. They were on the island in search of Ixodes scapularis (a.k.a. "black-legged ticks" or "deer ticks"), important players in the transmission of diseases such as Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis, or babesiois. Their survey is accomplished mainly by capturing mice and chipmunks and checking them for the presence of nymphal and adult ticks.
• smiswb9405.jpg: "Morreeese" (Claude Fields) in his colorful garb waiting to leave for school house ceremony.
• smiswb9479.jpg: Andrew Glatz, Claude Fields and Dorothy Cooley measuring up "Morreeese" for a grave in the cemetery. Having been fully occupied at the maintenance building, he hadn't been able to join the crew that worked out at the cemetery.
• smiswb9462.jpg: Nothing like a healthy meal — cheese burgers, chips and a Coke (Jack Sheridan)
• smiswb9491.jpg: "The grandchildren" stop by for a visit at "Gwen's house." Frequent campers at the island's Weather Station campground, the "adopted" Gwen as their special "island grandmother."
• smiswb9493.jpg: Joseph Craft, Patty Kelly's grandson, with NPS Maintenance Worker Brad Matson.
• smiswb9494.jpg: Andrew Glatz, after dinner.
• smiswb9495.jpg: Dorothy Cooley and friendly Head Island Ranger Sean Campillo on the porch after dinner.
• smiswb9526.jpg: Joseph Craft.
• smiswb9528.jpg: Brad Matson fixing dinner, with Sean Campillo, and NPS Maintenance Worker Andrea LaValley.
• smiswb9530.jpg: Brad Matson cooking more brats dinner ... a better view of the action.
• smiswb9531.jpg: Back at the house in the village for dinner, with Andrea LaValley, Island Maintenance Supervisor Dennis Steele, Steve Hicks, NPS Maintenance Worker David Chew, Patty Kelly, NPS Historic Architect Kimberly Mann, and NPS Maintenance Worker Art Schneider on "grill duty" this time.
• smiswb9532.jpg: Another view, with Andrea LaValley, Brad Matson (by the tree,) Island Maintenance Supervisor Dennis Steele, Margaret Kelly, Katie Fredericks, Steve Hicks, David Chew, and Patty Kelly.
• smiswb9536.jpg: The kids always get stuck with the dirty dishes. Joseph Craft and Andrew Glatz. (Actually, they were always the first to "turn to" after dinner.)
• smiswb9404.jpg: Off to the schoolhouse with Abe and George. David Chew, Steve Sheridan and Chuck Zolper.
• smiswb9414.jpg: NPS Maintenance Worker David Chew and Ranger Intern Jeff Glossop find the key for the schoolhouse door.
• smiswb9422.jpg: The Sheridan brothers; Jack and Steve — "George's nail goes right here, Jack."
• smiswb9425.jpg: "Children! Come in and take your seats!" says Gwen, while ringing her little teacher's bell.
• smiswb9426.jpg: NPS Ranger Colin Cook joins the group.
• smiswb9427.jpg: Gwen tells the story about how the large size classic pictures of the Presidents were eventually found. Paying attention in the red-striped shirt is Joe Fields (a.k.a. "Bro".)
• smiswb9428.jpg: Listening intently: Jeff, Joseph, Katie, Colin, Patty, Steve Sheridan and Steve Hicks.
• smiswb9429.jpg: Ditto: Dorothy Cooley, Andrew Glatz, "Morreeese," David Chew and Morreeese's brother "Bro" (seated.)
• smiswb9433.jpg: After pressing for several years for permission to restore the island school house, it's a dream come true for Gwen. The pictures are classic, the flag is an 45-star version (each star anonymously representing a supporter of the project or a volunteer who helped with the work,) and all the other furnishings are authentic to the times when the last of the island's children received their education here.
• smiswb9524.jpg: The final result - a view of the authentically restored school room as it is now, on the afternoon of Thursday, June 9, 2011.
• smiswb9465.jpg: "Morning has broken ..." — 5:53am on Monday, June 6th.
• smiswb9471.jpg: Sunrise over "Gull Point" as seen from the lighthouse — island volunteers don't get to sleep in.
• smiswb9472.jpg: Patty Kelly and grandson Joseph in the light stations keepers' quarters. Patty's grandfather, James P Burdick, then the Keeper of this light, is thought to have joined hands with Lillian Vent on this very spot, before the big fireplace, in the winter of 1909. Lillian later became the island's store keeper and postmistress.
• smiswb9538.jpg: Moment of departure ... always a sad time.
• smiswb9544.jpg: More memories for "Burdick" descendants. Putnam Burdick, Patty Kelly's great-great-grandfather, came to the island in the early 1850's, and was once its largest land-owner.
• smiswb9546.jpg: Memories also for Andrew Glatz. He'll be back.
• smiswb9549.jpg: Homeward bound ... work well done.