May Workday Finishes Longstanding Chores

May 16, 2008

In addition to our regular steadfast crew of volunteers, our May 16th workday included 7 special volunteers from the Air Warfare Command unit of Patuxent Naval Air Station. The Navy volunteers were a great help and arrived ready to tackle a few longstanding tasks, such as the flag pole repair and returning a very heavy chimney cap to the roof. Unfortunately, the flag pole was rotten and buried into the ground, so we were unable to lower the flag pole gently. Once the pole was on the ground, volunteer Hobie Statzer inspected the pole for damage only to discover that a portion of the pole had cracked. Imagine our surprise to find that the sliver of wood that splintered actually had nails in it already, so this was damage from a long time ago. The volunteers banded together to caulk, repair and sand the flag pole back into shape. Meanwhile, several volunteers worked on hoisting the very heavy chimney cap up to the roof. Just to keep things interesting, Don of Tri County Stump Grinding quickly ground the remaining stumps in the yard, which made the yard look better but also will prevent future damage to important structures near the roots. Lisa Owen and Sandra Sableski continued working late into the day scraping and sanding the Potomac River Side porch in prepation for a much needed coat of paint.

We would like to thank all of our volunteers, with a special thanks to Commander Joel Doane and the Navy Air Traffic Controllers for volunteering to help us on a very productive Saturday! We hope to be able to raise the flag at the lighthouse at a future open house. this will be the first time that the flag has flown over the Point Lookout Lighthouse in many years.

Lisa Owen, ACAN Chad Coreley and AC3 CJ Seling heave-ho on the roof while AC1 Christopher Thornton guides the chimney cap around the rain gutter and roof tiles

AC3 CJ Seling makes easy work of placing the chimney cap in place, while ACAN Chad Corley and Lisa Owen look on.

Don of Tri County Stump Grinding gingerly grinds a pesky stump that threatened the 1927 windmill foundation. Call Don for all your stump removal needs at: 301-481-8207

Hobie takes a sledge hammer to remove a piece of sidewalk that created a trip hazard. We plan to replace the sidewalk in the very near future.

Hobie serves double-duty by using the weed eater to pretty up the fenceline.

Lisa sands the porch in preparation for a desperately needed coat of paint.

The team works to pry the I-Beams loose from the flag pole.

Once the flag pole was down, the crew began sawing away rotten portions and repairing splintered wood.

The pole gave way at the base due to years of water damage and rot.

AC2 Darius Latta shows off the latest fashion in t-shirts. To protect eyes from the stone shrapnel that was flying through the air, Darius sacraficed his t-shirt for the effort.

Flag pole repair volunteers pose for the camera. Back row, from L to R: AC2 Darius Latta, ACAN Chad Corley, AC1 Christopher Tornton, AC1 Joseph Mitchell, Ac3 CJ Seling, AC3 Mitchell Montgomery. Kneeling: AC3 William Valleta.

Photos by Sandra Sableski