FOHRA Represented at Ellis Barn Festival

Tim Wiles, Steve Stier, and Jay Fitzgerald represented the Friends of Highland Recreation Area at the Ellis Barn Festival yesterday at the Oakland County Fairgrounds. Oakland County and the Michigan Barn Preservation Network put on the Ellis Barn Festival in Springfield Oaks. Jay Fitzgerald of the FOHRA gave a presentation about the Highland Recreation Area, it's historical structures, wonderful flora and fauna, and of course the status of the Edsel Ford Barn. One of the FOHRA traveling table displays was set up at the Festival with photos, information, and a DVD player showing a short video of the history of Haven Hill that was created by Chris Arble, also a member of the FOHRA.

Above: Jay Fitzgerald at the FOHRA's display inside the Ellis Barn.

The 14,000 square foot Ellis Barn was constructed in 1884 in Clarkston and features a gambrel roof (a gambrel is a two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle while the lower slope is quite steep). The barn's original property and the structure were purchased by a real estate investment firm owned by major league baseball player's Kirk Gibson and Tim Birtsas. They realized the historical value of the barn and donated it to Oakland County along with $75,000 to towards it's relocation and reconstruction.

The barn was disassembled and moved to it's present location on the fairgrounds in Springfield Oaks, Michigan in 2005 - 2006.

Above, the awesome interior of the Ellis Barn.

The FOHRA presentation and display were well received by the attendees. Literature from the FOHRA and the Michigan DNR were distributed, and several new email contacts from interested attendees were received. Go FOHRA!

FOHRA Shows the Edsel Ford Barn at Highland Equestrian Conservancy Barn Tour

This last Saturday, September 27, the Friends of Highland Recreation put on a terrific display of history and experiences at the Edsel Ford Barn inside the Highland Recreation Area.  The group decorated a large tent with straw bales, pumpkins, mums, and corn stalks to welcome their public guests. People from all around came to see the injured but awesome Edsel Ford Barn and learn of its' uncertain future. The barn was severely damaged after years of neglect by a severe storm on June 8 of this year.

Everyone was enthusiastic about the preservation/restoration cause.

Displays included old findings from inside the barn and the surrounding area, a Boy Scouts' "Snow Snake" and badges display, and various informative materials about the Highland Recreation Area.

The FOHRA continues to seize opportunities such as the Barn Tour to inform the public of the valuable historic resources that need attention in the Recreation Area.  The Haven Hill complex at the Highland Recreation Area contains an historic  gatehouse, carriage house, and lodge ruins amongst all of its' natural beauty.

A decision regarding the Edsel Ford Barn's future from the Department of Natural Resources is expected as soon as this week.

"T.P." from FOHRA Wins "Best Dressed Outhouse" Award

A popular but little known area contest was won by a member of the Friends of Highland Recreation Area this weekend. The Best Dressed Outhouse award was given to "T.P." (contestants typically remain anonymous to avoid paparazzi) from the FOHRA at a recent competition wherein contestants decorated various facilities with plants, fresh amenities, etc.

T.P.' s winning entry combined live plants with a touch of class. Framed art, fresh "tissue" and scent sources were combined in a lovely and yet sophisticated arrangement to secure this year's title. The proud winner said, "It's been a "privy"ledge to participate in this year's competition. All of the judges were terrific". Congratulations T.P.!

All content of this post is fictional, of course, and purely in the interest of "good clean fun".

HEC Barn Tour at Edsel Ford Barn Next Saturday!

Get ready for the Highland Equestrian Conservancy's 2008 Barn Tour on Saturday, September 27th. This year the Edsel Ford Barn is a stop on the tour! Volunteers are needed to man the large 20 x 40 foot tent and displays that the FOHRA will be setting up to entertain our guests. Below... will you join the Epic Adventure?

Below... the new FOHRA group logo which will be on display at the Barn Tour.

Exhibits will include the "Lost Treasure Barn" display complete with a treasure chest and treasure, the Rulers for Rafters sale, informative posters around the barn, 20's period music, a Highland Recreation Area display, and enthusiastic FOHRA members! The tour is formally open from 9:30 am until 4 pm, but volunteers will be working at the Edsel Ford Barn from 7:30 am until probably after 5pm.

Come out and enjoy the park for a while next Saturday. If you're interested in attending as a volunteer, contact Jay Fitzgerald of the FOHRA by writing jayfitzgerald@jayfitzgerald.com.

Also, both Saturday and Sundy, come on over to Horsin' Around in Highland for all kinds of fun!

FOHRA Members Speak at Milford, Michigan Historical Society Meeting

Chris Arble and Jay Fitzgerald gave a presentation about the "Past, Present, and Future" of the Highland Recreation Area's Haven Hill complex this last Thursday, September 11, 2008 at the Milford Methodist Church.  A moment of silence was held in memory of those who lost their lives at the World Trade Center prior to the evening's formalities.

Chris and Jay presented a DVD with very interesting and dynamic background information about the history of Edsel Ford's retreat, as well as a slideshow of the Highland Recreation Area's natural beauty and historic structures. A question and answer period followed the presentation.

The Milford Historical Society members were terrific hosts, featuring their famous "Best Pot Luck in Town".

You can be assured that the FOHRA and the Milford Historical Society now have a relationship that will be enjoyable and beneficial in the years to come!

Carriage House Clean-Up

The Haven Hill Carriage House received a good lawn mowing and exterior clean-up this last month. An intrepid group from FOHRA gathered together with rakes, shovels, clippers, and a lawn mower to do a little summer cleaning. Here you can see the jungle of growth from this spring into July...

And below the area after the Friends Group work...

The historic Carriage House is just south of the Edsel Ford Haven Hill Lodge ruins. The building was a place for Edsel's vehicles and still stands watch near the ruins of the once stately retreat. It is the only remaining example in the park of the Lodge's construction techniques.. awesome log walls and stone fireplaces.

Weekend work like this is a lot of fun... and great exercise in the wonderful Highland Recreation Area wilderness. Come out and join us! We can be found in the key areas of the park... just look for the group with the shovels, brooms, rakes, and tools! Go to our FOHRA Website for more details...

Milford Earth Day Display

In the spirit of Earth Day and with our continued need to "get the word out" about the Friends of Highland Recreation, we attended the 2008 Earth Day festival in the park in Milford, Michigan on April 20th.

Mother Nature handed out free white pine sapplings, and gave everyone a fairly nice day for an outdoor celebration of spring. The FOHR display attracted a lot of visitors, and a lot of e-mail addresses to be added to our distribution list.

A photo collection and the "Treasure" display  was set up for guests to see.  Brochures and info. were handed out  to inform others of the Groups' activities.

What could be more Earth friendly than recycling an entire group of historic structures? Go FOHR!

Michigan Barn Preservation Network Conference a Success!

We had a great experience at the annual MBPN conference at the Kellogg Center in Lansing this weekend. It was amazing how many people are unaware of our gem of a park and barn! Our display seemed to draw the most attention with folks stopping by to ask and learn about our project.

Pam, Ted, Jay, Steve, Tim, Dick, and Chris all met and greeted a lot of interested people. The event for us was very much a "get out the word" opportunity.

Our themed "Edsel Ford Lost Treasure!" display was great. I think visitors could really feel our passion and enthusiasm about the project. We had "Promos" on DVD playing in the center of the display also.

It was a real surprise to receive an unexpected "Certificate of Appreciation" for our efforts to preserve the barn... Dick Russel accepted the certificate for the Friends.

The large graphics in our display that were designed by Chris and printed by Larry were awesome to say the least!

Bring on the next opportunity! We're ready!