Shoreline and boathouse damage
First off — we are still open.
The only negative impacts to the estate were to things near the shoreline. The Mansion was untouched.
In fact, when I first arrived I ran to the front of the mansion to get video of the gorgeous winter wonderland that was happening at Glensheen that morning.
As I stood there getting footage I could here the rumblings of the lake, so I headed there and soon saw the magnitude of what I heard. What I heard were 15 foot waves that put our boathouse and shoreline in even more critical shape.
Sadly, the wave action destroyed the bottom half of the temporary barrier we installed to help protect the inside of the boathouse. Now, the waves flow directly inside the boathouse, moving random debris and rock around the boathouse, destroying interior historic elements such as the original windows and burying others in beach rock that has flowed in.
At a minimum we will need to rebuild the temporary barrier wall and clean out the debris and historic elements we can reach inside.
Of course the best long term solution would be to rebuild the historic pier which was “L” shaped. This would have created a break wall which today would have saved the boathouse from getting slammed by the 15 foot waves. Sadly, that repair is over $4 million. We don’t expect that to be covered by an online giving campaign, but is one of the reasons we have been at the legislature the last two cycles. Once complete, the boathouse will be dramatically better protected.
In addition to the damage to the boathouse. Our historic shoreline, which was built a hundred years ago, also took a beating. Large chunks are now missing, other pieces have washed up on shore, sometimes 20 feet from the lake. Clearly, another large Glensheen masonry project will be needed at some point.
This includes the shoreline just west of the boathouse, but also the rock wall in front of the carriage house. The wave action was so strong that it knocked over the woodpile on the backside of the carriage house.
In regards to Bent Brook, a large amount of beach rock has washed ashore and has completely damed up the mouth of the stream and has shoved wooden debris up the stream past the stone bridge. We will need to rent some heavy equipment in order to take out the wooden debris, but also to help break open Bent Brook to the Lake.
The most visible damage is to the new outlook that was just rebuilt after the water event of 2012. Thankfully the outlook was built well and survived the massive waves. But everything on top of it washed away.
Here is some before and after action
What washed away?
Gravel, some decorative stones, but also almost our entire line of white adirondack chairs. In addition, we lost at least 3 Loll Lollygagger chairs. We did find 2 of 9 white chairs in Tischer Creek. One of the two is still floating there with part of the boathouse barrier. The white chair looks a little like R2-D2.
As you can you see we have our work cut out for us and with some help we can get these repairs made. Hey… maybe we can build that pier to save the boathouse from future 15 foot waves.
If you are looking to make a donation to help with the repairs, first and foremost, THANK YOU. Here is the link to make a donation online — http://glensheen.org/donate/
Thanks for reading!
