Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Harsens Island Schooolhouse Grille lesson planning November 17th, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
TODAY! Schoolhouse Grille Bluegrass Festival (A Be THERE or Be SQUARE Event)
Get out and play on Harsens Island!
Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival slated for Mid August
Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival slated for Mid August
On Harsens Island they'll be celebrating summer old school -- literally.
The playground of the historic former two-room Harsens Island Schoolhouse will come alive with the sounds of traditional and contemporary bluegrass music and the aroma of smoky barbecue on Sunday, Aug. 15 when the island hosts its first-ever Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival.
The Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival will play out at the Schoolhouse Grille, 2669 Columbine on Harsens Island from noon to 9 p.m. Tickets are $20, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Harsens Island Lions Club Family Emergency Fund. (See box below for ticket sales locations). Traveling to Harsens Island, which is about an hour from Detroit and many other Metro Detroit and Port Huron area cities, includes a $7 ferry ride (in your car!) on the Champion Auto Ferry.
For festival producer Kate Hart, the event on the Lake Saint Clair island is about hearkening back to simpler times when families took leisurely Sunday drives, enjoyed picnics and barbecues and listened to roots music in a beautiful setting.
"There are few places as beautiful as Harsens Island," said Hart, who fell in love with the island and moved there two years ago. "When we planned this festival we chose Bluegrass because it is lively and fun and steeped in American tradition.
"I believe people truly want to get back to basics. This festival allows them to visit a beautiful place, enjoy some of the best bluegrass bands in the region, share each other's company, and feast on mouth-watering, slow-cooked barbecue."
Organizers made a concerted effort to seek regional vendors specializing in natural, organic, handmade crafts. Nearly 50 artists and vendors will display their work and goods at the first-time island festival.
Even some of the sponsors fit the natural theme. Sponsor and event beer provider, Patrick Hool, microbrews his beer in St. Clair adjacent to Sue's Coffee House, a mom and pop operation. Cooper's Canine of Algonac, another sponsor, sells all natural pet products. Preferred Charters, of Port Huron, will provide old-time trolley rides to festival goers for a small fee, bringing them on a brief tour from offsite parking locations such as Sunset Harbor Marina, Brown's Field and the Lion's Hall.
Between the island beauty, the art and goods and the fabulous fare, festival goers will be kept plenty entertained. But Hart -- a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter who spent the better part of 40 years on the road singing with some of the best in blues -- knew that having the best regional entertainers in bluegrass was vital to a great experience.
"I think we've found some incredible groups for our festival," Hart said. "With headliners Lonesome County we'll have great bluegrass traditions and outstanding musical talent. Skin and Bones leans toward Country and will bring some really interesting elements, including a drummer who plays an amplified 1940s tweed suitcase. Each group has a special quality that people should really enjoy. And at the end of the evening, Deepwater Bluegrass will lead everyone in campfire songs."
Tickets are $20 and are on sale now. For information on where and how to purchase them, see the box directly below.
The musical lineup to date is: Lonesome County, Company of Strangers, Skin and Bones, Balduck Mountain Ramblers, Catfish Mafia and Deepwater Bluegrass. For more information about the bands and to hear their music see "The Lineup!" below and click the links. WYCD and WPON Talk Show Host Sheldon Kay will be the event emcee.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Could not find the Video
BREAKING THE ICE
Hoping to break up slow-moving chunks of ice causing trouble along the St. Clair River, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard dis patched three ice cutters this week.
The cutters — the Neah Bay, the Mobile Bay and the Mackinaw — were joined by the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley.
The vessels split up to attack both sides of the 9-mile ice jam that begins near Marysville in St.
Clair County. It’s causing high water levels to the north and dangerously low levels south of Harsens Island.
| GO TO FREEP.COM FOR VIDEO.
Hoping to break up slow-moving chunks of ice causing trouble along the St. Clair River, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard dis patched three ice cutters this week.
The cutters — the Neah Bay, the Mobile Bay and the Mackinaw — were joined by the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley.
The vessels split up to attack both sides of the 9-mile ice jam that begins near Marysville in St.
Clair County. It’s causing high water levels to the north and dangerously low levels south of Harsens Island.
| GO TO FREEP.COM FOR VIDEO.
Monday, February 22, 2010
ICE JAM UPDATE!
River backed up with nowhere to go
Worst St. Clair ice jam since ’84 clogs 9 miles
By AMBER HUNT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Slow-moving chunks of ice in the St. Clair River have created dire con sequences along the waterway in re cent weeks, tearing apart docks, threatening Great Lakes shipping and leaving some wondering wheth er the start to boating season will be delayed.
“It’s literally like a plug in a bath tub,” U.S. Rep. Candice Miller said Sunday as she announced plans for U.S. and Canadian coast guard ice breakers to begin a joint mission today, chomping through the jam at both ends. The plug, which be gins near Marysville in St. Clair County and continues about 9 miles south, is causing unusually high water levels to the north and dangerously low levels south of Har sens Island, said Miller, a Republican from Harrison Township.
It’s the worst ice jam since 1984, when ice reduced normal river flow by as much as 65%, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Last year, a report by a commis sion on border waterways, made up of representatives from the U.S. and Canada, blamed 1984’s jam for caus ing long-lasting changes in water lev els in the Great Lakes.
That ice jam lasted 24 days and clogged about 20 miles of river, ac cording to the Army Corps. This jam is shorter and could be briefer, but Miller said the potential environ mental impact is unclear.
“It’s a unique set of circumstanc es, and it will be a laborious opera tion,” she said of the ships’ efforts. “But the muscle is coming.”
St. Clair River levels sink as ice piles up in waterway
U.S., Canadian icebreakers to join in attacking the mile
9- jam
By AMBER HUNT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
To visualize the conse quences of a 9-mile long ice jam in the St. Clair River, try a quick visit to the Mc Machen Boating Center along North River Road in Harrison Township: The building, which straddles the land and river, is visibly slanted toward the ab normally low water.
Turn the handle on the front door, and gravity quick ly takes over, slamming it open.
“Usually we’re sitting straight,” said Bill Mc Ma chen, whose son, Mark Mc Machen, owns the busi ness.
The jam is causing floods to the north and low water levels to the south.
The U.S. Coast Guard is ex pected to begin a joint mission today with the Canadian coast guard that should eliminate the ice jam this week, U.S. Rep. Candice Miller said Sun day.
The jam, considered the worst of its kind since 1984, can be traced to a single week of pleasant weather in late January.
That spell of mid-40-de gree delight softened the ice that had formed atop Lake Huron.
Then came some wind from the north, and the ice broke apart, headed south in chunks toward the river’s mouth, got carried away by the current, and bottlenecked in the narrower waterway of the river, said Bryan Tilley, a meteorologist with the Na tional Weather Service in White Lake Township.
“Once things loosened up in January, it wasn’t able to solidify back into ice,” said Tilley.
Along the river south of Al gonac, the water dips low enough to expose unpainted portions of seawalls. In some areas, the river bottom is vis ible through the ice.
And although swans swim ming upstream might be stealthy enough to dodge the problem, some boats haven’t been so lucky: Every day this month, the Coast Guard has had to rescue ships that ma neuvered into the thick of the ice, only to find they had no way out.
Don Chase, a controller with the U.S. Coast Guard Command Center in Detroit, said icebreaking cutters have helped free local lakers, freight ships and tankers ever since the first ice jam was re ported about three weeks ago. “It’s our job, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to keep that river moving for flood relief and commercial traffic,” Chase said.
The ice chunks are slam ming into docks along the way, wreaking havoc on mari nas such as Mac Ray Harbor in Harrison Township, where Gerry and Diane Prainito house their 33-foot Four Winns power boat.
Diane Prainito is worried that low water levels and dock repairs will delay the start of the boating season.
“You can see the ground, the water’s so low,” said Prai nito, who took pictures Sun day of the ice jam along M-29, just north of the Russell Is land ferry.
The U.S. cutters — the Neah Bay from Cleveland; the Mobile Bay from Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and the Mackinaw from Cheboygan — will be joined by the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley from Parry Sound, Ontario.
The ferry service to Har sens Island will be suspended until the icebreakers com plete their mission, Miller said.
■ CONTACT AMBER HUNT: 313-223-4526 OR ALHUNT@FREEPRESS.COM.
By AMBER HUNT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
To visualize the conse quences of a 9-mile long ice jam in the St. Clair River, try a quick visit to the Mc Machen Boating Center along North River Road in Harrison Township: The building, which straddles the land and river, is visibly slanted toward the ab normally low water.
Turn the handle on the front door, and gravity quick ly takes over, slamming it open.
“Usually we’re sitting straight,” said Bill Mc Ma chen, whose son, Mark Mc Machen, owns the busi ness.
The jam is causing floods to the north and low water levels to the south.
The U.S. Coast Guard is ex pected to begin a joint mission today with the Canadian coast guard that should eliminate the ice jam this week, U.S. Rep. Candice Miller said Sun day.
The jam, considered the worst of its kind since 1984, can be traced to a single week of pleasant weather in late January.
That spell of mid-40-de gree delight softened the ice that had formed atop Lake Huron.
Then came some wind from the north, and the ice broke apart, headed south in chunks toward the river’s mouth, got carried away by the current, and bottlenecked in the narrower waterway of the river, said Bryan Tilley, a meteorologist with the Na tional Weather Service in White Lake Township.
“Once things loosened up in January, it wasn’t able to solidify back into ice,” said Tilley.
Along the river south of Al gonac, the water dips low enough to expose unpainted portions of seawalls. In some areas, the river bottom is vis ible through the ice.
And although swans swim ming upstream might be stealthy enough to dodge the problem, some boats haven’t been so lucky: Every day this month, the Coast Guard has had to rescue ships that ma neuvered into the thick of the ice, only to find they had no way out.
Don Chase, a controller with the U.S. Coast Guard Command Center in Detroit, said icebreaking cutters have helped free local lakers, freight ships and tankers ever since the first ice jam was re ported about three weeks ago. “It’s our job, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to keep that river moving for flood relief and commercial traffic,” Chase said.
The ice chunks are slam ming into docks along the way, wreaking havoc on mari nas such as Mac Ray Harbor in Harrison Township, where Gerry and Diane Prainito house their 33-foot Four Winns power boat.
Diane Prainito is worried that low water levels and dock repairs will delay the start of the boating season.
“You can see the ground, the water’s so low,” said Prai nito, who took pictures Sun day of the ice jam along M-29, just north of the Russell Is land ferry.
The U.S. cutters — the Neah Bay from Cleveland; the Mobile Bay from Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and the Mackinaw from Cheboygan — will be joined by the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley from Parry Sound, Ontario.
The ferry service to Har sens Island will be suspended until the icebreakers com plete their mission, Miller said.
■ CONTACT AMBER HUNT: 313-223-4526 OR ALHUNT@FREEPRESS.COM.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Another Sustainable-Green Asset!
Jeff Shook owns this range light on Harsens Island. http://www.lighthousefriends.
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