HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-09-30, Page 4Page 4 - Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Lighthouse restoration reveals copper cap
Gerard Creoea
signal -star staff
It was a noisy day Friday at the end
of Lighthouse Street, as workers from
IF Construction of Bayfield sandblasted
the town's signature landmark in the
first wave of restoration efforts for the
Goderich lighthouse.
It was also a day of discovery for
workers and town staff, asthey found
new surprises beneath the layers of old
paint.
"We just discovered the cap is copper -
topped," said parks superintendent Mar-
tin Quinn. "We didn't know the top was
copper."
Helping in the restoration effort, the
town gave IF workers a boom truck for
the day to reach the peak of the light-
house - a move Quinn said made the
job of cleaning off the old paint much
easier.
There are a couple minor issues Quinn
Said need to be addressed while the work
is being done, including holes in the
steel roof and a crack in the stonework.
"It's nothing major," he said. "Just
some things we didn't know about be-
fore."
In addition to the exterior work, Quinn
said the town will be seeking engineer's
advice on how to best deal with excess
moisture in the walls.
"We want to make sure we have the
right advice before the masons come in
next week," he said.
Ian Falls of IF Construction said the
paint removal was coming along very
well last week, and that 99 per cent of
the stone was cleaned and ready for the
engineer's visit.
He said the lighthouse is a unique job
for the company, although they have
done many restoration jobs before.
"I'll be honest, this is my first light-
house," he said. "I'm really enjoying it.
You don't get a job like this too often."
Like the copper -top, the sandblast-
ing crew also discovered the walls of
the lighthouse are made of slate and not
limestone.
"I guess 100 years ago, it must have
been fairly abundant," he said.
Once the masons complete the repoint-
ing, the lighthouse will need about five
days to set before painting can begin.
Falls said they are looking at a new
product offered by BASF Chemicals
that would resist peeling and cracking
for 10-15 years.
Quinn said the paint is still yet to be
decided.
Photo by Dominique Milburn
Workers from IF Construction sandblast
the paint from Goderich's signature
landmark last week, as the first wave of
restoration efforts began.
Celebration of First Nations a response to public input
From page 1
followed by a question and answer period.
Educational storyteller Shannon Thunder-
bird will also take the spotlight during the
event to mix cultural song, customs and
background with her very own entertain-
ing flair. Also on site, an authentic Fry -
bread vendor will be on hand to dish out
the traditional First Nations specialty.
Celebrations of First Nations event co-
ordinatorRick. Sickinger said the family-
friendly festival comes as a direct response
to community outcry for more multicul-
tural and Aboriginal event programming.
"[The First Nations Festival] goes back
to when we were working on a Huron
County cultural plan more than three years
ago," Sickinger said. Through polling and
public input sessions, First Nations and
cultural events came in second only to a
more diverse musical pallet as the most
sought-after community event.
He went on to say that Huron is bordered
by First Nations communities to the north
and south, and boasts a number of First
Nations citizens within its own boundar-
ies. He said the festival is designed to in-
corporate Huron's heritage with its neigh-
bours and its own community.
"What I found was these [organizations
in Bayfield, Blyth and Goderich] were al-
ready independently looking at planning
First Nations events, so the best place to
start for us was pooling our resources and
making it one big event," Sickinger said.
The first annual festival in 2008 drew
impressive crowds to both the cultural
dance and storytelling event in Bayfield as
well as the Blyth Festival author readings.
Sickinger said initial community polling
has rung true in Huron and helped make
the First Nations Festival an instant suc-
cess.
"People certainly are interested in this
kind of programming," Sickinger said.
"Nowadays, I think we're looking for
something unique and different. I think
this festival fills that frame."
Saturday night concert tipkets are still
available for $20 each through the Blyth
Festival Box Office at 1-877-862-5984.
For more festival information, contact
Sickinger at 519-482-5457 ext 8.
The Huron County Celebrations of First
Nations Festival is a Heritage and Culture
Partnership event.
Early French settlers bestowed the name
`Huron' to the `Ouendat' First Nations
people in the upper end of Lake Huron
and Georgian Bay, recounts author James
Scott in The Settlement of Huron County
(1996).
The tract of land where Huron County
is located, however, belonged to the Mo-
hawk and Chippewa First Nations and, be-
fore them, the Attawandarons. It's all part
of Huron's richly woven history that will
be celebrated at sites in Goderich, Bay-
field and Blyth.
Those looking forward to the next spooky
installment of Huron's ghost and ghoul -
filled event, Haunted Huron, will have to
wait until 2010.
The ,Huron County Heritage and Cul-
tural Partnership committees have recently
decided to make the event a biannual one,
creating more room for in-depth planning.
According to HCHCP coordinator Rick
Sickinger, the decision stems from the
partnership's desire to keep Haunted Huron
an event in conjunction with the provincial
Doors Open initiative, but also allow more
time for event round -tables and planning.
And, says Sickinger, more time means a
bigger and better installment.
"The committee got together and.decided
that, despite how popular Haunted .Huron
was, we wanted to keep the two combined,
and so we're going to do it every. two years
to allow for more planning," he said.
ecomes . iannua
"We felt like in 2009 we were a little
rushed, and so we want to look at every as-
pect more closely. It will be back in 2010
for sure, and it will be bigger and better
than ever.'
Sickinger -. saki that the eorrimittee will
be bringing back all of the standards from
the first Haunted Huron event in 2008, in-
cluding guided ghost walks, tours of often -
closed to the public historic places,
themed social gatherings:
"We're going to build on all of those
things, and we're generating really great
ideas," he said. "We just need to take a
little time to put them into place."
Haunted Huron Committee meetings are
expected to start this October.
In the meantime, however, the positive
public reception to one event during last
fall's Haunted Huron near Seaforth, the
Van Egmond House in Egmondyille has.
county even
established its own event on Oct. 30 and
31 touted as Spirit Weekend.
The Spirit Weekend will see the return
of London-based psychic -medium Annette
Sullivan, who will offer individual psychic
readings along with an attempt to channel 4
the spirits of Col. Anthony Van Egmond
and his 'wife Susanna during a weekend
seance.
Last October, about 400 people passed
through the doors of the Van Egmond
House during ) + t . Open Haunted Hu-
ron, making it one 0 the most popular sites ..
among visitors touring the comity.
Doors Open events are happening across
the province this month and next, when :y
visitors are encouraged to view historic
buildings and landmarks in different co.
m-
munities. ¢ �w
m Dan Scw