New Trees

by
New Maple at ECC

The Culver Tree Commission purchased new trees and they were installed over Memorial Day Weekend.  Their funds are limited so the number of trees planted this year was fewer than in the past years.

Easterday Construction Co., Inc. has lost several trees along our street scape and the Tree Commission has slated one of our trees, a Wild Cherry, for removal.  We’re not the prettiest face on the street, but I do think our large Oak trees along the street add character.  When I was growing up there was a huge tree in the center of our loop drive, but it has been gone for more than 20 years, recently replaced by a volunteer Tulip Poplar.

For those of you that don’t know, the Culver Tree Commission accepts donations for the purchase of trees.  I spoke to Tree Commissioner Dick Brantingham several times over the past few years about starting some replacement trees along our street scape.  This year we received two Maple trees and a Honey Locust. 

Tulip Poplar in circle drive at ECC

We made a tax deductible donation of $100 per tree to the Marshall County Community Foundation in the name of the Culver Tree Commission.  I would consider that a bargain.  On top of getting a nice tree planted, the Culver Fire Department takes care of watering the new trees in the first year.   (If you’re interested in taking advantage of this and helping the Culver Tree Commission next year, contact Dick Brantingham or Mike Stallings.  You can also contact the Town Hall to let them know you’re interested in helping.)

When I first moved back to Culver, I lived on Ohio Street in the house currently occupied by the Wesley United Methodist Church Thrift Shop.  One of the nice things about that location was the beautiful tree-lined street.  We have several such streets in Culver.  Thanks to the efforts of the Culver Tree Commission, we will have more in the future.

CEF Girls Cabin Progress 6-6-11

by

The cabin is nearly complete.  We are in the process of installing screens and window hardware.  Shelving and electrical will follow shortly.  It’s almost sad, but tomorrow all the beautiful cedar you see in the picture above will be stained to match the existing cabins.  This will only be done on the exterior.  The interior will be allowed to age naturally.

Both interior and exterior structural members are held together using custom plates bolted at the joints.  This is similar to the materials used originally.  Siding and other wood members were assembled using non-staining galvanized nails.  The roof deck is visible from the bott0m here.  The deck is made from tongue and groove 2 x 6 cedar.

The cabin should be complete next week.   None too soon as Woodcraft Camp will be starting shortly.  We want to be out of there before 200+ elementary school girls take over this part of the camp!

2011 Forty under 40

by
Images taken from the Tribune Business Weekly, May 30, 2011
Yesterday I attended the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce’s Forty under 40 luncheon at The Gillespie Center in South Bend.  I was there as Chairman of the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC).  Jennifer Laurent, MCEDC Executive Director, was one of the honorees.  I was pleased to see that Andrea Cook of The Midas Center in Plymouth was also there as an honoree.  MCEDC is working to increase our regional ties and the recognition of these two influential women from our community can only help this effort.
Tracy Graham, former Notre Dame football player and current South Bend entreprenuer, was the keynote speaker.  He gave a motivational speech on the future of South Bend, refuting some of the negative connotations left by the Newsweek article naming South Bend #8 among America’s dying cities.  The University of Notre Dame, the convergances of transportation nodes and the high speed internet access provided by the Metronet were among a few of the positives he listed.  For better or worse, regionally our fortunes are somewhat linked to those of South Bend.
 
Thank you to the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County and the Tribune Business Weekly for recognizing two of Marshall County’s bright young women.  Now we need to press the honorees to continue their efforts and not rest on their laurels.  Jennifer?  Andrea?  We’re waiting!  What are you going to do next to put Marshall County in the spotlight and on the map?  Best wishes for future successes!

Culver Academies Woodcraft Camp Cabin

by

We are currently working on a new cabin for the girls’ section of the Woodcraft Camp.  We are duplicating the existing cabins as much as possible, using cedar for nearly everything that is exposed.

We had a false start where we got off square due to tree roots, but we regrouped and are back under construction with walls standing and our first rafters in the air.

Culver Academies have 70 cabins in the Woodcraft Camp as well as about a dozen or so other accessory buildings.  The camp has been in its current location for almost 50 years.  Prior to that it was part of the main campus.  The Woodcraft Camp program is celebrating its centennial this year.  I’m not sure what all will be included in the celebration, but I’m guessing they will do it up right.

From A Salute to the Woodcraft Camps by Robert B.D. Hartman

The cabins have changed very little over the years.  The first one was built as a display and transported to the site for placement on concrete piers.  The roofing material has changed over the years, going from cedar shakes to composite faux cedar shakes, to the current use of architectural shingles; and some of the hidden structure has been changed to treated lumber.  Beyond those changes, great pains have been taken to match the authentic original designs.

As I’m writing this, more changes may be in the works though.  We currently have a variance application at the State requesting a waiver on the new rules that would require this cabin to have a fire sprinkler system.  Aside from the fact that this would be the only sprinkled cabin on the site,  it would be extremely difficult and costly to extend adequate water lines to supply a sprinkler system.

The plan is to have this new cabin completed in time for the 2011 Woodcraft Camp starting in June.  We’re pressed for time due to the wet weather we’ve been having, but we’re making good progress.  Watch for more enteries here as we progress.

For those of you interested in additional information on the Culver Academies Woodcraft Camp, I would suggest you take a look at A Salute to the Woodcraft Camps by Robert B.D. Hartman.  I have attached a copy here.

Boy Scout Trip

by

We received a solicitation from Boy Scout Troop 229 which is serving Culver now.  They have 6 scouts from the Culver area in the troop of 24.  They are planning a trip to Philadelphia (Independence Hall), New York (Statue of Liberty) and Boston to visit and learn about historic sites.  The trip will include an overnight stay aboard the USS New Jersey which should be a treat.

I went through the scouting program, from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, and it is generally a good program.  This trip sounds like it should be a great learning experience for the scouts.  Since I was unfamiliar with this activity before receiving this letter about it,  I thought I would share it here.

Last year was the 100 year anniversary of Scouting in the United States.  Something I learned when we completed the Boy Scout Cabin at Culver Woodcraft Camp last year.  It’s a good program and hopefully these scouts will learn a lot and volunteer to pass it on to the next generation.