Recycled Park houses provide a home, sweet home

By Helen Westie
Sun staff writer
These days, when half of a mobile home is transported down a highway on a flat bed truck, people rarely give it a second glance despite the ominous presence of an escort vehicle with a WIDE LOAD sign. But when an entire highway is taken up by a house moving slowly along, now there is an irresistible attraction that will never fail to draw a group of spectators. Such was the case six years ago, in the fall of 1998 when a group of locals teamed up to move the old Brooks House from the North Bar Lake area to M-22, south of Empire at LaCore Street.

The preparatory work had been completed. The house’s owners had engaged the Jonassen Moving Company of Hart, Michigan for the endeavor and hired local builder and urban planner Robert Foulkes as the contractor. A permit was granted from the state police to block off M-22. The Empire Village Council had approved tree-trimming all along the proposed route. Private land owners agreed to allow movement across their property. The Michigan Department of Transportation arranged to take down the blinking light at the corner of M-22 and M-72 (Front Street) and then return it later on. Century Telephone, Consumers Power and Charter Cable were also alerted. Skid boards were added to the house at the eaves, in order to deflect small tree branches while en route. The wrap around porch had already been removed.
The Jonassen Company had constructed a web of I-beams bolted together. And placed below the house, which was then lifted with hydraulic jacks and slid onto a truck, were a set of wheels and axles. At this point a police inspection of the house on the truck was required.
The route stretched from Bar Road to Voice Road, but also included a detour across the field where the Dunegrass Festival was once held, because of a line of Maple trees, and through the Catholic Church parking lot (with the priest’s permission, of course) to M-22 and, finally, south to LaCore Street.
What an effort!
Obviously, the task was slow and cumbersome. All went well until just before Fisher Road, as the truck was proceeding on LaCore, a large tree limb caught the roof of the house and stopped the truck. Backing up did not help. The house was stuck.
With M-22 completely blocked off, the crowd of onlookers had swelled to about 30 to 40 people who now were highly amused. Luckily, there were many community elders present who gave permission to saw off the offending tree limb. Foulkes gave the order, and Jeff Grant from White Oak Frame Company provided the saw and completed the job to the cheers and applause of the crowd.
The truck then slowly proceeded on across the field, the church parking lot and on to M-22.
In the spirit of historic preservation
In the 1970’s, the United States Department of the Interior acquired 71,000 acres here in northern Michigan, which became The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The lives of many people changed forever when the new branch of the National Park Service purchased their homes and farms. The sellers were sometimes granted a “Reservation of Use and Occupancy” for a stated number of years. The reservations ranged from five years to 25 years, or even the lifetime of the owner, depending on individual circumstances. When the reservation expired, the park took possession.
This ongoing process originated in the 1970’s and continues even today, according to Tom Ulrich, Assistant Superintendent of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. “If the house is an historic site, the park seeks to preserve the property,” he said. “If it is not of historic value, one possibility is to issue a contract to a demolition company on a bid basis and the house can be razed. The contractor may offer a house to interested parties who can arrange for its removal, thus sparing the house from demolition.”
Park ranger Bill Herd estimates that under 20 local homes, including the Brooks house, were moved through a process similar to the one described above, and more may follow suit in the future.
Several houses in the Village of Empire are of special interest because they have been moved from the National Park and recycled. The large farmhouse now on the south end of the village where LaCore Street meets M-22 was moved from Stormer Road, and once owned by Irwin and Lillian Beck, who sold strawberries, raspberries, sweet corn and other vegetables from their 40-acre farm. Robert Foulkes and his wife, Robin Johnson, an architect who designed and built one of the homes in Empire’s “New Neighborhood” now own and occupy this farmhouse. The house was too wide to go down the road, so a large east wing was dismantled, and the historic parts were recycled and used in the restoration. The size of the house was shrunk down to what it was in 1924 and positioned in the new Empire location with the same orientation. Robin and Robert are doing the finishing touches. He feels that “recycling the old farmhouses into the Village of Empire is a unique chance to keep alive the historic character of the town. This house is now referred to as the Beck House.
The next house south on LaCore Street, known as the Brooks House, was moved from the North Bar Lake area and has been completely renovated and restored as a turn-of-the-century farmhouse. Ben Weese, Robert Foulkes, James Foulkes and Chris Hall formed a partnership and are responsible for saving both the Beck House and the Brooks House. Weese, a retired architect, and his wife Cindy, Dean of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, sometimes live in Chicago. They are part-time residents in their home on LaRue Street in Empire. Ben was in charge of the repairs and restoration of the Brooks House, and he is the new owner.
Before it was moved the house included a rap-around porch, which was knocked off by a bulldozer to facilitate the move. A new, smaller porch was added as part of the restoration, and is more in keeping with the period. New siding was also added, as well as new windows, and the house was re-trimmed. The original front door remains on the house, but a new backdoor was added. Original floors were refurbished. The house has a new, full basement. Jerry and Paul Solem of Empire were commissioned to do this work. Ben Weese says that, “it is important to keep the spirit of an earlier community by way of these recycled houses.”
Susan Pocklington has resided in the Brooks House since its restoration. Her possessions and antiques fit the historic period of the house like a glove. Susan is a singer and flautist, and she is the administrative coordinator of Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear, a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve the historic structures and the cultural landscape of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The organization is funded by donations and grants. Susan stated, “Living here is congruent with my passion for historic buildings. The opportunity to live here and be the caretaker of an historic farmhouse which was saved from demolition is very satisfying.” For good measure, she added a white rocking chair, a pot of geraniums, and a white picket fence at the side and back of the old house.
Dave Taghon, who served as Empire village president for many years and is now the active president of the Empire Area Museum, knows more about the history of this quaint village than anyone. “I am a firm believer in this recycling process,” he said. “I give credit to those who go through the trouble of undertaking such a challenge.”
Scandinavian charm and an optical illusion
Thirty years ago Chicago residents Joe Karr and his wife Kaisu obtained the Mary Birdsey House, which was located in the Park on the west side of M-22, north of M-109 at the curve. They had it moved to their property on Lake Street in Empire. Joe is a semi-retired landscape architect and Kaisu, before she became a fulltime homemaker, was a French language instructor. At the South end of Lake Street, this house is hidden from view because it is set back behind a row of Pine trees at the base of Storm Hill.
Jerry Solem and his company crew completely remodeled and refurbished the house, and it has retained the clean lines of the former Birdsey home. The added basement has the original floor joists which support the whole house. Uniquely, these joints are rough tree poles of Beech and Maple, and are visible to this day. Pale yellow siding with white trim has replaced the grey shingles. Windows were widened and others added. The kitchen was extended to the back to form a large dining area surrounded by eight new, long windows which overlook a wooded area where deer and other wildlife appear. New Maple floors were added. The whole modern décor is in natural wood with white accents. This house has a definite Scandinavian look inside and out, a reflection of Kaisu’s Finnish heritage. The house is still in mint condition. The Karrs are now adding a second roof.
Some years ago the Birdseys held a family reunion in Empire at a relative’s home, and the group came to the Karr House to view the changes to the old family house.
As the Karrs’ two children were growing up they often came to Empire in the summers and often on weekends in the winters for cross-country skiing and other activities. The Karrs now hope to spend more time in Empire.
One of the earliest homes purchased by the National Park was the Tom Thorogood home on Day Forest Road on Little Glen Lake. In 1971 Tim Barr of Empire and current owner of Art’s Bar in Glen Arbor bought the house on a bid basis for $75 from the National Park Service. He was obligated to move the house and everything from the site and restore the landscape to its natural condition. In turn, he sold it to the elder Thorogood’s son, Dave, and his wife Shirley of Empire. He also engaged the Jonassen Moving Company, which charged him $2,500 to move the house to the Thorogood property just off LaCore Road on South Bar Lake. They made improvements to the house and lived there several years before selling it to Bill and Sue Chambo, who operate The South Bar Bed and Breakfast there to this day.
Tim purchased several properties from the Park. One of these also has an interesting history. Before the Park bought a building and out-buildings near Good Harbor Bay at 669 and M-22, it was a tourist attraction named Glen Magic. This was an attempt to replicate the Mystery Spot in the Upper Peninsula west of the Mackinac Bridge, which to this day is a successful tourist attraction. Like that one, Glen Magic had a building constructed on a 45-degree angle but appeared to be on straight lines so that an optical illusion gave people a dizzying effect. Before long the enterprise failed and was closed down. Tim bought the enterprise from the park and used the materials, himself, or sold some. He used siding to cover his own home on Aylsworth Street in Empire. The ticket booth is still in Tim’s backyard.