Local youth preserve historic buildings

CALUMET — Work is being done by local youth to preserve historic buildings in Calumet.

The rich history of Calumet can be seen in its buildings. Working to preserve that history are a group of local students who are doing weatherization projects at these buildings, such as the headquarters of the Keweenaw National Historical Park.

SEEDS Crew Team Leader Mike Delesha said, “These guys are restoring the windows on the park headquarters building. They’re scraping, sanding, re-glazing, priming, epoxying where needed and the finish painting these windows.”

This used to be the main office for the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, originally built in 1889. These windows date back to 1909 and instead of replacing them…they are restoring them.

SEEDS Crew Member Jesse Blaksley said, “It’s awesome being able to walk around and see the work I did and be like, you know, it’s on a National Historic Park building. It just feels good to know I was helping with it.”

The project is part of a youth preservation training initiative from the National Trust for Historic Preservation called HOPE, or Hands On Preservation Experience.