By JOAN SEARS

For the Daily News

 

The Mattamuskeet Refuge conducts Swan Days every year with tours throughout the refuge. But the weekend of Dec. 6 and Dec. 7 was a special occasion as there was a last-minute effort by the staff to bring back a taste of the old Swan Day Event as conducted through the ‘90s up to 2002. There were a few vendors and tours of the lodge in addition to the regular birding tours. The event confirmed in the minds of all that rebuilding the Annual Swan Days wildlife and Art Show would be a good idea.

The most highlighted activity of the weekend for many was to tour the Mattamuskeet Lodge and hear the story of architect Mark Willard.  In 2007, the NC Division of Cultural Resources selected a team of architects and engineers, led by architect Mark Williard, of the Raleigh firm, Williard, Stewart, Caliendo and structural engineer David Fischetti to analyze repair, restore and renovate Mattamuskeet Lodge. From 2007 through 2010, the designers worked with construction managers Barnhill Construction to carefully dismantle, log and store the historic interior fabric of the building, replace the corroded columns supporting the structural frame of the building, remove and replace the ground floor with a water proof floor system, install portal frames to brace the building against hurricane and seismic forces and add floor diaphragms to stiffen the structure and tie the exterior masonry walls to the interior frame. Pilings and pile caps beneath the structure were cored and tested. The observation tower was fitted with accelerometers to measure its movement in 60 mph winds to confirm its strength and safety. Cracks in the exterior masonry walls were stitched together with stainless steel reinforcing rods, corroded steel windows were replaced with new historic replica insulated steel windows and a new cementitious coating was applied to the entire building exterior. The Ludowici clay-tile roof was repaired and the north balcony was reconstructed.  To date, these repairs to Mattamuskeet Lodge have not only avoided further damage but have also strengthened the Lodge in excess of its original condition. However, the economic downturn that began in 2008, and the resulting budget shortfall affecting state government eventually resulted in the loss of funding appropriations established for completion of the interior and for the restoration of the observation platform at the top of the tower.

To view the efforts that have been made in the restoration is breath taking. The potential for Hyde County resonates throughout the structure as one remembers the educational programs, the jobs in running the Lodge, the visitors, the local gatherings and entertainment. Annette Gibbs was there to give tours as she did in days past and Lewis Forest of the Mattamuskeet Foundation looked on. Lewis is in no way involved with the renovation or activities of the Lodge, but his work, instead, is to preserve the history of the area.

The number of folks from all over the state and the surrounding area was impressive as Sunday’s winds whipped up to 47 miles per hour with mist and rain. One could not help but think of the duck guides working there in the 1930s and ‘40s taking out decoys , setting up the blinds and guiding the hunts. Most venders were blown out and tents had to come down. We remember this happening many times during the later Swan Days when tents were used after the Lodge was closed. But all were happy to come again next year. There’s just something about standing before the tower of this grand old lady as the snowy herons fill the trees, the swan call through the wind and the geese fly overhead on to find refuge in the Marshes of Lake Mattamuskeet. .

Construction is suspended indefinitely at this point. Mark Williard continues to support the efforts to fund the completion of the project. The structural engineer, David Fischetti, has passed away. Fischetti was internationally renowned for his restorations of historic structures and, also, known locally for conceiving the idea and executing the effort to move the Hatteras Lighthouse, passed away on March 21, 2011, before his last great historic project of renovating the Mattamuskeet could be completed.