Snow Snake Track Testing at Edsel Ford Barn

A snow snake was on the loose at Highland State Recreation Area this last Sunday!

  On Sunday January 22, a team of Friends of Highland Recreation Area (FOHRA) volunteers got together to build the 2012 Snow Snake track at the Edsel Ford Barn in Highland State Recreation Area. Later in the day after the assembly was complete and the track was filled with snow, some "adult FOHRA kids" tested the track by letting a snow snake loose for exercise.

See video below...

http://vimeo.com/35539400

Thanks for watching! Come on out to the barn and enjoy the fun on Sunday, January 29th at 1:00 pm. Cold weather permitting of course!

Edsel Ford Barn Storm Debris Clearing Complete!

A dedicated group of Friends of Highland Recreation Area members this last Sunday, August 8, with shovels, pitchforks, brooms, and a tractor, scooped another pile of broken wood, shingles, twisted metal, and dirt into a large dumpster...

...this was more debris from the historic Edsel Ford Barn in Highland State Recreation Area that was hit by a violent storm on June 8, 2008 and nearly completely demolished. The difference this last Sunday was that these last few piles were the final vestiges of more than a year's work cleaning up the beloved barn's injuries.

The destruction from the storm in 2008 was devastating to the old barn, built in the 1920's for Edsel and Eleanor Ford who once owned what is now the Haven Hill section of Highland Recreation Area (named after "Haven Hill", the name the Fords' gave to their once grand country estate).

Below: The Edsel Ford Barn in May of 2008, prior to the devastating storm that destroyed nearly 3/4 of the barn's structure.

Below: The Edsel Ford Barn soon after the storm of June 8, 2008.

During the last year the fallen debris from the storm damage to the barn was cleared off of the concrete slab that lay beneath the once grand structure. The task was completed during weekend work sessions wherein members of the Friends group, and partner organizations, all took part in the effort. Rescue efforts did not begin in earnest until the spring of 2009 after various safety and insurance requirements were met.

Below: The cleared Edsel Ford Barn concrete slab last Sunday, August 8, 2010.

This was indeed a major milestone for the project, and for those people directly involved in the effort, but it is also just another beginning of a process of rejuvenating the site from a relatively unknown historical asset into a place that is beneficial to the local community. The Friends of Highland Recreation Area (FOHRA) still need the continued involvement of those of you willing to help. Donations of manpower, materials, finances, and services can be contributed to the effort by contacting the Friends group. Go to www.fohra.org for more information.

Below: A conceptual drawing of the potential future for the Edsel Ford Barn in White Lake/Highland, Michigan.

Edsel Ford Barn: Hot Sun in the Summer Time

The Edsel Ford Barn clean-up work is nearing completion as FOHRA members use the mornings' cooler temperatures to sweat out a few hours of hard labor. The photo below shows the amazingly clean and visible concrete pad that was once under as much as 10 feet of debris after the barn collapsed in 2008.

Multiple large dumpsters of non salvageable wood and debris have been filled and removed from the work site over the past several months. The Edsel Ford Barns' rear 2/3 section collapsed in a June 2008 storm. Much of 2009 was spent readying the site for the clean-up effort.

Seen below, Dustin Proctor works hard today hand moving wood from one of the final piles of barn debris.

Much of the work has been done by hand in order to sort the debris. Heavy machinery has been used to move mostly large sections of the barn. During today's work just three Friends of Highland Recreation Area volunteers filled nearly one half of a 30-yard dumpster.

Above: FOHRA volunteer Jenna Coyle gives a "thumbs up" after emptying another of the many cans of debris moved today.

As a reminder, the conceptual drawing of the Barn's future is shown below. A rebuild of the front end of the barn (still standing today) and the addition of a new "pavilion" roof over the concrete pad to the south.

For more information and to help with this great project go to www.fohra.org.

Ford Team Volunteers at Ford Barn!

On Friday, May 14 an enthusiastic group of Ford Motor Company volunteers came out to historic Haven Hill and helped continue the rescue of the Edsel Ford Barn inside the Highland State Recreation Area in Highland/White Lake, Michigan. The Haven Hill section of the Highland State Recreation Area was once the grand country estate of Edsel and Eleanor Ford. Above: Ford Volunteer Corps team members at the Haven Hill Carriage House on May 14, 2010.

The Ford Volunteer Corps members were participating in a "Better World Accelerated Action Day". The Friends of Highland Recreation Area (FOHRA) applied for and were selected as a recipient of a mini-grant and the Edsel Ford Barn as an Action Day location. The Edsel Ford Barn is in the final stage of a massive cleanup after the violent storm damage that occurred during the summer of 2008. FOHRA has handled the clean-up with environment-friendly techniques, sorting much of the fallen debris by hand for potential reuse.

Above: The Edsel Ford Barn pad is nearly 100% cleared of fallen debris after two seasons of hard work with help from volunteers like the Ford Volunteer Corps.

The Ford folks helped sort and clean metal, wood, cedar shingles, and more as the giant concrete pad that was once underneath the barn is cleaned and readied for the next stages of renovation. Continued work on the historic barn occurs the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month.

The Haven Hill restoration and re-purposing project in Highland State Recreation Area is an excellent way for your group to volunteer, and we need your help. Check us out at www.fohra.org. To learn more about the Ford Volunteer Corps, go to www.volunteer.ford.com.

Edsel Ford Barn Clean-Up Nearing Completion

The storm-damaged Edsel Ford Barn within the Highland Recreation Area has been given tender loving care just about every two weekends on Sundays this Spring and Summer. The Friends of Highland Recreation Area volunteers, with the help of Oakland County WWAM teams and the MDNR, have cleared of debris over 2/3 of what was the barn's interior concrete pad. The June 8, 2009 storm heavily damaged the barn when 80+ mile per hour winds roared through Oakland County, Michigan.

Great progress has been made through teh efforts of FOHRA, the parks charitable support group. Plans continue forward for a revitalization of the barn into a shared public space for the area's residents. A conceptual drawing can be seen below.

Heavy equipment and heavy-lifting volunteers have made all of the difference... a coordinated effort to rejuvenate an amazing historic structure commissioned by Edsel Ford and his family in what was once his Haven Hill Estate.

Come on out for future workdays and help with the project. The debris is being salvaged as much as possible for re-use. Hand sorting of wood, metal, functional components, etcetera is a tedious business. Work day information can be found at the FOHRA website, www.fohra.org.

Edsel Ford Barn Project: FOHRA Signage In Place

This last weekend at one of the regular 2nd and 4th Sunday FOHRA work sessions, a new sign advertising FOHRA work days was installed on the front of the Edsel Ford Barn inside the Highland Recreation Area. The sign was assembled on the ground and installed using a lift.

Great progress has been achieved throughout the spring and into this summer on the green salvage project of the debris field in back of the damaged Edsel Ford Barn. The barn's animal quarters, comprising nearly 3/4 of it's total length, was severely damaged during a June 2008 storm.

As can be seen above, the huge concrete pad beneath the barn is being exposed nicely. Team members expect full clearing of the pad in upcoming weeks. FOHRA members, community volunteers, Oakland Community College students and professors, and WWAM work crews, plus many more folks, have all contributed to the hours worked to save the barn's resources for the rebuild.

Come on out and join us to help finish up the salvaging of the barn's materials - check the FOHRA website at www.fohra.org for details! Below... a conceptual drawing of the future plan for the barn's rise!

The Friends of Highland Recreation Area are a 501(c)(3) organization.

Another Special Part of History Saved on May 31st Work Day!

The last May 2009 FOHRA work day at the Edsel Ford Barn (EFB) netted more salvageable wood, metal, glass, and cedar shingles.  But the special event of the day was definitely the recovery of another of the barn's large roof-top ventilators. These units served to draw a vacuum of air out of the barn's interior to cool and exhaust the huge spaces within.

The unit was carefully carried across the field towards the barn's remaining section (the "Cube") for storage.

FOHRA volunteers used long supports to lift the unit and transport its' bulk.

The ventilator was then put into the EFB "cube" for storage for the upcoming rebuild and re-purposing of the barn. Members of the volunteer effort are salvaging as many components of the damaged barn as possible for re-use during the reconstruction. The barn was hit by a heavy storm in June of 2008 and severely damaged.

Want to help save historic building components by volunteering? Come and join the effort at the upcoming work days of the Friends of Highland Recreation Area at the Highland State Recreation Area on Sunday, June 14 and Sunday, June 28. The effort is ongoing and will continue throughout the summer. Visit the FOHRA website at www.fohra.org for work day updates, a list of needed supplies, and other ways that you can help save the hsitoric structures in the Haven Hill section of the Highland Recreation Area.

Edsel Ford Barn Efforts Begin a New Green Season

FOHRA members with assistance from an Oakland County WWAM  team (Weekends and Weekday Alternative for Misdemeanants) resumed major sorting and reclamation efforts at the Edsel Ford Barn on March 28th inside the Highland Recreation Area. High winds during a June 8, 2008 storm dropped approximately 3/4 of the barn's rear structure into a large debris pile that FOHRA will now sort and salvage.

FOHRA members organized the material content into sorting locations that included metal, glass, wood, asphalt tiles, etc. The volunteers intend to reuse as much of the original materials as possible for the barn's restoration.

Heavy lifting equipment from volunteer group member Dean Sutton was used to begin dismantling the large debris field. The machinery makes short work of what seems to be an insurmountable task.

FOHRA's efforts within the Highland Recreation Area are guided with intentions to reuse and reclaim as much of the park's historic structure's materials as possible, whenever possible.  Discussion of salvage projects at member meetings, which occur on the 1st Wednesday of every month, is usually filled with "green" ideas for future efforts.

The green efforts are also financially smart. Salvaging valuable raw materials makes good cents (pun intended).

Seen below, even wood that is deemed unusable for now is being sorted and stored for it's final disposition.

Come join the efforts of the Friends of Highland Recreation Area to restore this barn and other historic structures from the era of Edsel Ford's Haven Hill Estate. See our website for membership info.... www.fohra.org.   The next meeting of the group is at the White Lake Township community building on Wednesday, May 6 at 7 pm.

Winter Barn Blanket

The recent snow storm has blanketed the Edsel Ford Barn and carpeted the Highland Recreation Area with a dreamy fresh powdered layer of "the frozen stuff" for outdoor enthusiasts. 7 - 10 inches of snow fell this last couple of days to the delight of skiers, snow shoers, and winter lovers of all kinds. The Haven Hill complex's historic barn (above), which was damaged by a June storm, stands as a gathering place for the parks' visitors in Winter and all seasons. The barn was covered with protective tarps by the Friends of Highland Recreation Area in the Fall in order to stave off winter moisture.

Come on out and enjoy the park this winter season. It truly is beautiful! 2009 Park Passes are for sale now. They make great holiday gifts, and the funds support the park system.