July 14, 2004
White pine mast appeal for Maritime Alliance
Wisconsin Menominee Indian Tribe donates tree that will be future mast for the sloop 'Welcome'
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
At 68-feet tall and weighing in at six tons, the future mast of the sloop Welcome has hit town.
Arriving last week via truck transport, the 35-inch diameter mast-to-be represents the next step in the volunteer effort to restore the replica of an 18th Century British sloop.
Members of the Maritime Heritage Alliance traveled to Neopit, Wis., last Wednesday to receive the tree from the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. The white pine was more than 100-feet tall when harvested for the Welcome, taken from a 250,000-acre forest that has been preserved by the tribe for more than 140 years. Some trees in this forest are more than 150 feet tall and 200 years old.
"This is quite a gift, there's nothing quite like it around here," said Rich Brauer, president and co-founder of the Maritime Heritage Alliance. "We have some pretty good trees in Michigan but none quite as true, straight and perfect as this one is."
Having the mast in Traverse City starts the final chapter of the 12-year restoration project.
"From my perspective, on the board, this represents the final large component that we were missing," Brauer noted. "It's going to be a tremendous piece of the puzzle that is now in our possession."
After searching in Michigan for a white pine with a straight, branchless trunk of the needed height, Maritime Heritage Alliance members connected with the Menominee Indian Tribe in June. The tree was harvested last week, a donation greatly appreciated by alliance members.
"We really solved a very major problem with this tree, we are very excited about it," said Jim Rowlett of the Maritime Heritage Alliance. "The tree, after it got cut down and after they gave it to us, we had to move it here. That's another story."
Phil Jonasson, who owns a structural moving company whose forte is large or unwieldy objects, transported the trunk. Jonasson is a friend of the Alliance: in 1992, he transported the Welcome from Cheboygan to its current location at Elmwood Township's Heritage Harbor along West Bay. Rowlett said that Andy Alpers of Alpers Excavating maneuvered the trunk from Jonasson's truck onto some railroad ties placed on the pier.
"To unload it, that's easier said than done - it doesn't just roll off the truck," Rowlett said. "So Alpers turned up Thursday morning with a front end loader, a huge piece of equipment and they lifted this huge piece of timber off the truck for us."
The all-volunteer effort to restore the 1775 sloop will continue apace, noted Brauer. He hopes that volunteers will have the sloop in the water "sometime soon."
"It has taken 12 years and a lot of blood, sweat and tears from tremendous volunteers who have given their all to the process," Brauer said. "They are thanking us to have such a cool thing to work on."
The Maritime Heritage Alliance procured the 55-foot long sloop from the State of Michigan in 1992. It had been built as part of the United States Bicentennial celebrations in 1976 but then neglected. Members found it rotting in the weather 13 years ago in Cheboygan, with blue tarps flapping ineffectively about it.
Recognizing a potential jewel that dovetailed with their mission of preserving Great Lakes maritime heritage, they began the process of acquiring the Welcome from the state.
"Basically our beloved Maritime Heritage Alliance rode in on white horses," Brauer said. "I think honestly they were thrilled to see our track record on the Madeline [a 92-foot replica of a 19th Century schooner owned by the Alliance.] They thought this group of boat nuts was perfect for the Welcome."