There are always projects to be done on Seguin Island. Some are relatively small, easy, and fast – if you know how to do them! Others are ongoing or repetitive, requiring a larger investment of labor, money and time. Most are completed by the Wednesday Warriors (WW), summer keepers and annual volunteers. Select projects, such as the replacement of the Boat House sill and completion of the Whistle House roof repair, are executed by paid professionals, like those who installed the 14 KW solar system at Seguin. They were aided by WW and FOSILS’ board members, Rick and Chris, who lived on-island and worked long days with the installation team.
Regardless of size, duration, or source of labor, each project is important when it comes to preserving this 225-year old historical landmark for future generations to experience and appreciate.
When discussing the quality of a recent keeper-completed project with Cyndy, she said, “Our mantra for improvements and repairs is ‘BTB: Better Than Before.’ As long as it’s BTB, we’re happy.” So, here are some BTBs from Seguin this summer:
Charlotte (not pictured,) Cyndy, and Debby teamed up to clean and polish each of the 284 individual glass prisms that make up the Fresnel lens. Just think, this now annual labor of love used to be a daily chore when kerosene was used to light the lamp positioned in the lens. The oily residue from the smoking wick had to be removed from the prisms in order to optimize the visibility of the light…and to pass inspections too!
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The following projects were initiated and completed by Keeper Chris, with some hands-on assistance and QC (Quality Control) “help” from me!:
Repainted and replaced screens on doors to Keepers’ Quarters & Museum
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At each of the landings at the bottom of the Keepers’ Quarters bi-directional porch staircase, removed bricks, placed weed barrier, re-laid bricks, and “re-mortared” with gravel-sand collected and hand-carried up from the end of the Cove Trail .
Some of Keeper Chris’ other un-photo-documented projects include:
- Hung wooden bookshelf in Keepers’ Quarters
- Installed new clotheslines
- Sorted/ assembled accumulated materials and debris from all building for future use, disposal, or recylcing
- Repaired water line from cistern to cove
- Repaired cove stairs
- Replaced stair-rail uprights on keepers’ quarters porch staircase
- Repainted informational and directional signage
- Repaired composting toilet leaks ( Actually, we have photos of that, but ewww!)
- Summer-long baking and, when available, berry picking! Yum!
But wait, there’s more, coming to a futureblog screen near you!
