Historic Calcite pilot house restored to 1961 condition at 40 Mile Point
The Calcite Pilot House was rededicated over the Memorial Day weekend at 40-Mile Point Lighthouse Park. Members of the 40-Mile Point Lighthouse Society, local government dignitaries, as well as volunteers who spent countless hours assisting in the five-year restoration of the 91-year old Great Lakes shipping artifact, were at the ceremony on a cool, rainy late-May afternoon.
?It?s such a part of our tradition here in Rogers City,? said society member Jane Kroll, who led the presentations. ?There have been tremendous hours of volunteer hours (put in), and that?s one of the reasons we?re here today,? said Kroll. Speaking at the ceremony were former captain Raymond Modrzynski, who was a third mate when the Calcite was taken to Conneaut, Ohio to be scrapped, along with retired captain Dick Peacock of the Kiwanis Club and Rogers City mayor Beach Hall.
WHEN THE Calcite was dismantled in 1961, the pilot house was removed and brought to Rogers City to be used as a tourist attraction. It was located at Harbor View, Quarry View, and the Rogers City Chamber of Commerce. Kroll said, ?There was the hope that a group of business folks were going to take care of it and restore it and use it as an attraction,? when it was moved to the chamber of commerce.
Gradually, it fell into disrepair and was moved again in 1996 ? this time to the 40-Mile Point Lighthouse. Neglect and severe weather conditions took their toll and there was talk of getting rid of it. ?A lot of people wanted to just dump it in the lake,? said Tom Stone, society member, who has been at the center of ongoing restoration efforts at the lighthouse. The focus of the lighthouse society was the restoration and preservation of the lighthouse, buildings and grounds. Restoration of the pilot house seemed to fit in with the society?s goals.
IN DECEMBER 1998, the pilot house made its final move to its permanent home, but not without undergoing a major, disheartening setback, as the Moran Iron Works crane, attempting to move it to a more sheltered location in the park, became stuck in the sand.
?The first attempt to move it was a disaster. I thought it was going to fall apart right there,? said Barb Stone. ?We said ?now what are we going to do?? We had another company come in who put it on rollers and moved it up to the driveway.? The Moran crane was brought back to reposition the pilot house to its new home, where it was secured on a cement base.
After that, ?it sat for quite a while,? said Kroll. In 1998, the project got under way, and there was a lot to do. ?It was really bad, the way some of the windows were rotted,? said Peacock. ?The roof leaked, some of the floors were rotted out, (and) part of the deck was gone.? The ceiling, in particular, had started to deteriorate, and was held together by several layers of paint. Peacock said
THE EFFORT was a labor of love, especially considering the alternative. ?It would be lost forever,? said Peacock. ?It looks great now,? added Kroll. Modrzynski believes the pilot house looks almost identical to what it did 42 years ago when it steamed into its last port.
Now the pilot house is ready for a full season of visitors. During the years of restoration, Peacock was amazed at the number of people who would visit while the volunteers worked Wednesday mornings. Sometimes, the members of visitors would reach more than 30 before noon.
As word of its restored condition is passed along, the number of visitors should increase. Members of the society, and the volunteers, eagerly anticipate a special visitor next month as the head of the Michigan Department of History, Parks, and Libraries will make a stop in Rogers City. While in the area, he?ll take some time to look at the lighthouse and the Glawe School.