So long, old friend

Today, I managed to make one more stop at Paddletown Hardware before it will close forever later this month.  We were up at our cottage this weekend to have internet, TV and a telephone line installed.  Technically, the lines for all three items are already installed, we just had them all activated.  We went to Harrisville for lunch at our favorite restaurant, The Old Place.  

After lunch, I dropped Deirdre off at our cottage and I drove back into town to pick up some cash, buy Powerball ticket, and stop by Paddletown Hardware one last time.

This store has been a mainstay in Oscoda since 1937.  Soon it will be gone.

The discounts on all items are now 50% off listed price...

I strolled into Paddeltown Hardware to take in the moment, as well as to look and see if there was anything I needed.  The store had been pretty well picked over, but I managed to find a hammer and a CFL light bulb.  I actually needed a new hammer, and the light bulb was an added bonus.  The rest of the hardware and supplies there were not anything that I needed.

When I was wandering round, I saw an open door that lead to an office.  Tom Ruedisueli, the owner was sitting at a desk and he answered a phone call.  I waited outside the office until the call ended and I introduced myself to him.  The conversation went like this:

Me:  Hello.
Tom:  Hello.
Me:  You don't know me, but I am Paul Kratochwill.  I wanted to let you know how sorry I am that your store is closing.
Tom:  Yeah, we did our best.
Me:  We bought a cottage about 2 miles south of the Au Sable River in 2010 and we have been coming here for all of our hardware needs since then.  Your staff has always been the so helpful and friendly.
Tom:  Thanks for the kind words.  It had been tough the past few years, but the road construction on US-23 last year did us in.
Me:  Again, I am so sorry about your store closing.
Tom:  Thanks for the kind words.  I really appreciate it.

And that was it.  I took my hammer and light bulb to the check out and I was warmly greeted by the cashier who is losing his job in a few days, and I spent the last $10.40 I will ever spend at Paddletown Hardware.

So long, and thanks for everything you did for the community for over 75 years.

Requiem for a friend...

Late last week, I saw the following Facebook post from Paddletown Hardware:

Paddletown Hardware

27 March

Friends and Family,
As of April 1, 2013 and after 76 years in business, Eymer & Duchane Inc.dba” Paddletown Hardware “will be going out of business." As a valued customer, we wanted to inform you that we will be holding a going out of business sale Saturday, March 30-for “FACEBOOK Faithful” favorite customers.

Then on April 3rd we will offer to the general public access to the closing sale. It will be a “Dutch Auction” type of sale with the discount taken off higher each day until merchandise is gone. We will sell fixtures and equipment also, so keep that in mind too. We will accept cash or checks only. Credit decisions will be up to Tom or Karen before the sale with those whose current balances are caught up having preference.
In an effort to clear out our inventory we will be offering unprecedented discounts on all of our popular items for only those who mention seeing this on FACEBOOK. It is an event not to be missed!

I was stunned.  This is a corner hardware store in Oscoda, Michigan.  

As readers of the blog know, we own a cottage on Lake Huron just south of Oscoda.  We purchased the cottage in January, 2010.  When you buy a new place, what do you likely need?  A new shovel, a new rake, stain, paint, sandpaper... you know, hardware.  We started going to what was Ace Hardware, which morphed into Paddletown Hardware a few years later.  The staff at Paddletown was always helpful, very knowledgeable and always able to find that one thing you needed.  If they did not have it, they would order it for you or refer you to a competitor's store to get what you needed.

Look closely at text at the bottom of the top sign:

Est. 1937 Downtown Oscoda.  When this store opened, FDR was President.  

We went to our cottage this weekend to open it up for the season, and I had to stop by Paddletown Hardware for what might be my last time.  I walked into the store and I was immediately greeted by one of the staff and the conversation went like this:

Paddletown Staff:  Hello.  How are you?  What do you need?

Me:  I am extremely sad to hear that you are going out of business.  

Paddletown Staff:  Yeah, it is a bummer.  Can I help you find something?

Me:  Yes, I need...

This Paddletown staff member did not miss a beat.  He focused on me, the customer, not himself, the soon to be unemployed person.

From there the staff member helped me locate a few things, and I got a 30% discount on my purchases because I told them that I heard about the store closing on Facebook.

While I was checking out and paying for my things, I overheard a conversation between a customer who was likely in his eighties (and wearing a hat that said "USAF Retired) and one of the managers:

Elderly gentleman:  So you are going out of business?  That's too bad.  You must have had a rough winter.

Paddletown Manager:  Yes, we had a bad winter and a bad summer last year.  We just could not make it.

In 2012, US-23, which is the main road through Oscoda, was resurfaced.  It caused all kinds of traffic back ups and delays.  It really disrupted the flow of goods and services into and out of Oscoda.  It has been a rough couple years in Michigan with the Great Recession, and it has hit Oscoda hard.  A couple of other businesses went under the past two years in Oscoda.  The economy was likely to blame, but resurfacing the only real business street in Oscoda did not help.  Now, a store with the best staff that has been in business since the FDR's second term will be no more as of 20 April, 2013.

I won't be up there for much, if any, of the so called "Dutch Sale."  We might make it up there once in the next few weekends.  If I do, I will definitely stop by and once again pay my respects.  This store will be missed by everyone who ever shopped or worked there.

I hope that Oscoda can recover as much of the state of Michigan has.  Losing the Paddletown Hardware Store is not a step in the right direction.

Summer into Autumn

It was a good weekend to get away.  The last days of Summer, 2012, were upon us and Deirdre had a reading day for work, so on Thursday night after work we made trek to our cottage.  It was well worth the drive.

Michigan is known for its beautiful, albeit brief, summers and beautiful fall colors.  I was hoping that some of the trees here would have started the transition from green to the autumnal palate of red, yellow and orange.  We are still a few weeks away from that point.

I was able to get a couple images of Lake Huron in its last throes of summer:

Looking north to Oscoda

And what would a visit to East of the Equator be without an image of Samson the dog:

He loves it here and it does not matter the temperature of the Lake.  He managed to at least get his feet wet a couple of times.

So long Summer, hello Fall.

The Au Sable River Canoe Marathon

It is 1947.  I am imagining a conversation that went something like this:

"Hey, Bill, I have an idea."

"What is your idea, John?"

"I am thinking that we should start a canoe race."

"John, there are a lot of canoe races out there."

"Well, this one will be different."

"How will your canoe race be different?"

"Well, we will start the race in Greyling, around 9PM on a Saturday night, then the race, which is really more of a marathon, will head east down the Au Sable River."

"OK, John.  Where will the race end?"

"Easy answer, Bill: Where the Au Sable River empties into Lake Huron."

"Are you crazy. John?  There are dams and other obstacles along the Au Sable.  Not to mention that will be course will be almost 120 miles long."

"I know that.  The canoeists will have to portage their canoes over the dams and the other things in their way.  And as for the length, well, it is a marathon."

"Sounds interesting.  Let's do it!"

That is how I imagine the first discussion about the Au Sable River Canoe Marathon went.  The Race, as it is also known as, has grown from a backwoods event dreamed up in the upper lower peninsula of Michigan in 1947m to one of the jewels in the Triple Crown of Canoe Racing.  The three races that make up the Tripe Crown are, The General Clinton Canoe Regatta, The Au Sable River Canoe Marathon, and la Classique de Canots de la Maurice.

Deirdre and I try to plan our vacation in the summer so that we are here for the end of the Race.  The Race is held the last weekend in July and this year, we had front row seats to the finish line.

The canoeists are two person teams, many of whom have corporate sponsors. Also, some teams make shirts for each running of the Race...

There is definitely an international flair to the race, as the winners for the past few years have been a Canadian-American Team.

Here is an image of the winners, Andrew Triebold and Steve Lajoie as they made the final turn for the past few hundred yards of the Race:

And here they are crossing the finish line:

It is also a great event to people watch...

Until next year...

An amazing Saturday...

Well, the weekend is winding down here in Au Sable Township. It is a quiet Sunday morning here just East of the Equator and I am happy to report that yesterday, Saturday, July 16th, was one of the better days here at our cottage. The weather forecasts for Grand Rapids were that it would be hot and humid all weekend, and I was bracing for similar weather on the east side of the state. That was simply not the case on Saturday. It was warm without a hint of humidity.

From Jul 16, 2011

I arrived at our cottage on Friday night ~6:30PM. The drive here was uneventful and the traffic was moving along at a brisk pace. Deirdre and I settled in for a quiet and restful night, with a simple meal of steaks grilled on our trusty Weber. Friday night was relaxing and peaceful, and I was hoping that Saturday would be the same. I was not disappointed.

Samson woke us up a little before six and the burning sphere of hydrogen known as the Sun had risen and was spilling warm yellow shards of light into our cottage. Our plan was to once again throw some steaks on the grill, and Deirdre found this recipe for us to try for dinner. I ran into town to pick up a few things we needed for dinner, but I was back at the cottage, ready to face the rest of the day by 10:30AM.

After lunch, we headed to the beach. For the next 5 1/2 hours we read magazines, played with Samson, went swimming (Lake Huron felt almost as warm as bathwater) and generally did as little as possible. There was a gentle onshore breeze from the south, which kept the mosquitoes away. It was magnificent. Here are a few images from our time at the beach:

From Jul 16, 2011

Deirdre and Samson under the umbrella.

From Jul 16, 2011

My new Crocs.

From Jul 16, 2011

My view of the beach on Saturday.

From Jul 16, 2011

A very tired dog.

From Jul 16, 2011

Me and Samson enjoying the waves and the view.

From Jul 16, 2011

What really struck me was how blue the sky looked, and how the colors of the umbrella seemed to match the sky.

The day went on and around 5:30PM we decided to head back to the cottage to clean up and get ready for dinner. Our meal was splendid and after it started to get dark, we started a fire in our fire ring and proceeded to burn some old furniture that had out lived its use to us. I am happy to report that this small dresser did burn remarkably well.

From Jul 16, 2011

From Jul 16, 2011

From Jul 16, 2011

This final image of Samson sort of sums it all up. It was a very relaxing weekend, just East of the Equator.

From Jul 16, 2011

Metamorphosis

met·a·mor·pho·sis

 [met-uh-mawr-fuh-sis]

–noun, plural -ses [-seez] Show IPA.

1.

Biology . a profound change in form from one stage tothe next in the life history of an organism, as from thecaterpillar to the pupa and from the pupa to the adultbutterfly. Compare complete metamorphosis.

2.

a complete change of form, structure, or substance, astransformation by magic or witchcraft.

3.

any complete change in appearance, character,circumstances, etc.

Well, it has been an interesting week at our cottage. Deirdre, Samson and I rolled in hot to Oscoda (technically, Au Sable Township) last Saturday and we were blessed to have fantastic weather each and every day since. We have spent many hours lounging at the beach, interspersed with a few brief shopping trips and a couple of visits to the VFW Post 3735 in Oscoda. What is not to like of dollar drafts of Killian's Red in a frost mug at our private club?

Our aptly named cottage, East of the Equator, has been undergoing a metamorphosis since we purchased it last year. This cottage, which had never been sold or on the market since the original family member built it, needed a lot of work. Most of the windows were original issue, as the wind seemed to blow right through the place. One of the original doors to the cottage had long ago been nailed shut and aluminum siding placed across it. In the Spring of 2010, we replaced most of the windows, tore out the old nailed shut door and installed a sliding glass door for access to the small patio facing Lake Huron. We also replaced all the flooring with tile or carpeting. We were making this place our own.

Then there was the kitchen. Like the windows, it was original issue. The cabinets were small, the sink was shallow and the place just did not work for us. Here is what the original kitchen looked like before we bought the cottage:

From Cottage Kitchen

It had a very rustic look and it was not too functional. The window over the sink was almost impossible to open, and it also had some of the ugliest window treatments imaginable. After the capital expenditure budget for 2010 was allocated and used, we decided to upgrade the kitchen in 2011. Our builder, Rick, helped us pick out cabinets, a countertop and hardware, and on the Saturday before Easter we made our first payment towards the kitchen. Rick placed the order with a local supplier and he was confident that the cabinets and countertop would arrive in a few weeks. He was so confident that he ripped out the old cabinets before the new ones were in hand. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, wrong it did go! The cabinets were not properly ordered, and when the order was placed, one of the six cabinets ordered did not arrive with the other five, so the work was delayed once again. Undaunted, Rick installed a temporary sink for us to use while we waited for the complete order to arrive. Here is an image of our temporary (some called it Redneck) kitchen sink:

From Cottage Kitchen

Fast forward to the end of June and all of the cabinets are installed, as well as a shiny new GE dishwasher. Now, the only work remaining was the backsplash. We picked out the tile and the grout and yesterday Scott came by with his assistant Chris and he spent the day installing the backsplash. Here are a few images of his work:

From Cottage Kitchen

From Cottage Kitchen

From Cottage Kitchen

Here is the backsplash of the corner of the kitchen:

From Cottage Kitchen

Similar perspective later in the day:

From Cottage Kitchen

Here is the almost finished look:

From Cottage Kitchen

From Cottage Kitchen

From Cottage Kitchen

Scott and Chris completed their work around 4:30PM, so all that needs to be done now is for the grout to be laid. Normally, Scott would have been at our cottage on Saturday (today) to complete the job. However, he has a fishing trip planned and he asked if it would be OK if he could come on Sunday morning to complete the work. We completely understand Scott's needs for some R&R, so we will look for him ~0930 on Sunday morning to grout the tile. That's how we roll here in Oscoda!