10/30/2024
October 29, 2024, is the 25th Anniversary of the night that the Hulett Ore Unloaders were illuminated by The Committee to Save Cleveland’s Huletts. The most renown version of this photo (Frame 23) has been widely distributed for the cause to Save the Huletts. We are happy to announce that a Limited Edition Print Series will be offered of a single, unique image captured—Frame 25, which has never before been shared. The clandestine lighting production forever memorialized the Huletts at their home of 88-years on the docks of Whiskey Island. Proceeds will go to preserving the remaining leg and bucket of the otherwise destroyed Huletts. Details of this limited edition series will be shared in the near future. For now, please enjoy this account of the historic event on Cleveland’s shores of Lake Erie on Friday, October 29, 1999. -Jerry Mann, Photographer.
In the Autumn of 1999, the issue of saving Cleveland’s four Hulett Ore Unloaders—at that time still standing tall on the C&P Ore Dock-- was coming to a head. The Cleveland Port Authority was pushing hard for demolition and the Cleveland Landmarks Commission was running out of options after staying their ex*****on for one year. Individual preservationists, the Ohio Canal Corridor (now Canalway Partners) and other preservation organizations—including The Committee to Save Cleveland’s Huletts (CSCH)-- were calling for saving the Huletts in situ on the dock at Whiskey Island. Through negotiations, the Port agreed to consider saving one machine if preservationists could find a site and raise enough money.
The bridges reaching over the Cuyahoga River and the Flats had recently been illuminated with a spectrum of colors to help celebrate the Cleveland’s bicentennial. Lighting the Huletts seemed like a no-brainer to the CSCH, an action that would not only emphasize the unique beauty of our industrial heritage, but also draw attention to the cause of saving the historic machines. The idea was first considered for a 1998 ASME event, organized by Ray Saikus, which designated the Huletts as an Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, but the idea to light the machines from the dock was shot down by the Port and Oglebay Norton. Now, the CSCH was determined to give the Huletts their due, illuminating them for a glorious moment that would show off their might up against the ever-evolving Cleveland skyline.
In October 1999, Ray was discussing sunken Lake Erie treasures with boat captain Vitas Kijauskas of Discovery Dive Charters. Quickly, they were discussing the plight of the Huletts and how lighting them could present their splendor to the public and aid in the preservation effort. Vitas donated the use of his boats on the spot, and the CSCH’s clandestine lighting mission was born. Only days remained before the 40’ fishing boat, Linda Mae of Wildwood Park Marina, was to be pulled for the season.
The six core members of the CSCH (aka “Huletteers”) got busy. Retired Illuminating Company employee Jim Quisenberry acquired three generators and ten 400 watt high pressure sodium lights from CEI. Retired Electrical Engineer Steve Merkel provided 1000 watt theater lights. Mechanical Engineer Ray Saikus custom-built skids on which to mount the lights, to help in focusing the beam of the lights toward the Huletts. Retired Longshoreman and carpenter Jim Korecko built four 4'x4'x2' light boxes to direct the light onto individual Huletts. Ed Hauser of LTV Steel arranged access to Whiskey Island Marina where he was a member. Professional Photographer Jerry Mann prepared his camera equipment, ready to capture the unfolding moment on both 35mm and medium format cameras.
With October weather showing it’s ugly side, the lighting was delayed until Friday, October 29, when sublime Indian Summer weather graced Lake Erie’s southern shores. At 5:00 p.m. the Linda Mae was loaded with the generators and lights at Wildwood Marina by loyal volunteers and began its journey to Whiskey Island Marina, where the light boxes were being assembled by more volunteers, including Attorney Loren Gorden, another loyal Huletteer who represented the CSCH in legal battles. It was 7:30 and the skies were dark when the Linda Mae arrived at the dock. The additional gear for the lighting production was quickly loaded, the rest of the volunteer crew boarded the boat and the boat made its way to the Huletts.
The volunteers ran extension cords to the lights on their skids in the light boxes. Colored gels were placed over the lights, the generators were tested and as the Linda Mae approached the Huletts, Ray made radio contact with Jerry, who was waiting with camera on tripod on the fishing pier just west of the C&P Ore Dock. Jerry was joined by his wife Sally Hudak, photographer Robert Walther and Carol Poh Miller, a Cleveland-based historian and staunch advocate for the in situ preservation of the Hulett Ore Unloaders.
As told by Ray Saikus, “At 9:00 p.m. the darkened Linda Mae moved into position and the spirit of the Huletts was awakened by the roar of the generators and the glow of lights embracing their magnificence. Four Hulett preservationists, a handful of boaters, and a fisherman on the pier who stumbled upon the scene, may be the only fortunate people to ever see the historic Huletts lighted as this photograph presents. The unnatural man-made glow shed new light and new shadows, that the sun never offered on its steady path.
“The voice of Jerry and Ray crackled from the Walkie-Talkies, as instructions for positioning the boat and the lights were relayed. The peace of the evening was disturbed for approximately two hours as creativity drove the volunteer force to present the scene in an ever-changing light. Tired and weary, the volunteers untangled and unloaded the mass of equipment that had overtaken this sizeable boat. The patient Captain and his seafaring crew showed a great sign of relief as they removed the lines from the moorings at the dock. As they cast off into the night, the solemn Huletts bid them farewell, and the rumble from the Linda Mae dissolved into the night.”
The exhausting evening ended for the volunteers early the next morning, as the final gear was returned to its places. But it was worth the effort as the cameras captured-well the scene that was created. A single image from Jerry’s Nikon stood out-- Frame 23—and it was chosen for the task at hand: We needed to evoke a public outcry that would stir our leaders to action. Another flurry of volunteer action was about to occur. Postcards were printed. A mailing list was procured. Address labels were printed and stamps were affixed. When a last minute idea to put a call-to-action on the postcard was proposed, a rubber stamp was ordered with the message to “Call Mayor White…” and 1000 cards were hand-stamped with the message. The mail went out and the response was astounding, as people responded with calls of support and donations of funds. In the end a deal was reached and enough money was raised to save a second Hulett from the cutting torches that were fired up in late January, 2000.
The stories that follow this one do not have “a happy ending,” as we implored our supporters on our postcard. But there is another chapter to be written. We still need to find the proper resting place for the leg and bucket that will represent the astounding ingenuity and grandeur that was the Hulett Iron-Ore Unloaders.
