Past-E-Mail

Sep 01-13

Past-E-Mail: Cam Notes - 2013: September: Sep 01-13

Lightning strikes the steeple ...scroll down to share comments

Closer look ...scroll down to share comments

Serious damage ...scroll down to share comments

Sunday-What'sUP September 2 - 09:28 am

By Charlie at Pasty Central (Chopper) on Sunday, September 1, 2013 - 11:01 pm:

I've actually climbed inside that steeple on a number of occasions. But thankfully I wasn't climbing in it this morning. A short but violent storm ripped across the Keweenaw Peninsula this morning, wreaking havoc with lightning.

For several hours this morning, much of the city of Houghton was without power. In our network center on Sharon Avenue, the battery backups held for most of the time, but finally succumbed, and broadband in the far reaches of the peninsula went dark.

Pasty.NET's wireless service in the Keweenaw had its beginnings here at Keweenaw Heritage Center (formerly known as St. Anne's Church), with a link to Quincy Mine. Later the steeple added a wireless hop to Mt. Horace Greeley. Before DSL or cable spread to Calumet, this steeple was serving surrounding businesses and homes with higher speed service (well, at least faster than dial-up). That was more than a decade ago. The hops to Houghton and Copper Harbor (by way of Horace Greeley and Brockway) have since then been replace with tower transmitters, and few folks are still served from the KHC Steeple. But there are a few without Internet service tonight :o(

Thanks to Peggy Bastion for the top photo, and Jean Ellis, who maintains the KHC Facebook page, and took the close-up shots. And our hat's off to all the volunteers who devote time to maintaining this historic structure in Calumet.

The weather complications today cap off a summer that has been filled with excitement, the kind of excitement we would prefer not to have. It has made maintenance of the broadband network difficult and time consuming. We are on the threshhold of a quantum leap in speeds to remote users in places like Gay, Lac La Belle, Lake Medora, Copper Harbor, Agate Harbor, Eagle Harbor, Great Sand Bay, Eagle River and Five-Mile Point Road, as well as surrounding areas of Ahmeek and Mohawk. Our thanks to Pasty.NET members throughout the U.P. for their patience with our growing pains, as well as these adverse natural occurrences.

Let's hope for a better month ahead. Have a good week :o)

By Steve Haagen (Radsrh) on Sunday, September 1, 2013 - 11:07 pm:

It looks bad but could have been worse. By the
looks of the burnt wood it's a good thing the
whole church didn't burn down.

By mickill mouse (Ram4) on Monday, September 2, 2013 - 12:44 am:

Thank You, Charlie for all the work you do to keep things going.

The storm had already gone through, Sunday morning, then all of a sudden up came a rumble and then BOOM, then another one and that is when we lost power for a couple of hours. I never heard anything like that before.

By jbuck (Jbuck) on Monday, September 2, 2013 - 01:38 am:

Wow ~ it is amazing that the church didn't burn.
Does the steeple have the modern version of
lightening rods?

Glad this was the extent of the damage and that you
were safe, Charlie!

By Thomas Baird (Thomas) on Monday, September 2, 2013 - 04:23 am:

Thank God the Church didn't burn down.

By Janie T. (Bobbysgirl) on Monday, September 2, 2013 - 08:13 am:

Sometimes it would be nice just to get rain without the drama of thunder and lightening.......

By Peter Hanrahan (Pete) on Monday, September 2, 2013 - 09:00 am:

Charlie, can we have some details about the "threshold" we are on for the quantum leap in speeds for internet service? You provide an amazing service to the area in so many ways...thank you.

By Shirley Waggoner (Shirlohio) on Monday, September 2, 2013 - 09:24 am:

WOW! That lightning strike sure left a path! Our house in TN was hit once in the 1960s. No big damage but it melted some nails in the drywall.

Powered by:

Each day the Pasty Cam has 2 areas to post messages:

Cam Notes - comments related to today's picture and discussion

What'sUP - other topics, conversation and announcements

*** Please use the appropriate forum ***
Here's a list of messages posted in the past 24 hours
See our guest photo gallery for more great views from the U.P.

			A user/password combination is now required to post messages to Cam Notes. Registration is free. Click here to register or maintain your I.D.
Username:
Password:

Add a Message