Evidence of Michigan's nineteenth century copper mining industry can be found today in Chassell. An eleven ton steam hoist from the depths of the Copper Falls Mine stands in front of the Sigma Rho fraternity house. It was retrieved and restored by members of the fraternity house of Michigan Technological University engineeering students. They took on an eight-month project to "mine out" the abandoned hoist from eight and a half levels down - approximately eight hundred and fifty feet below the surface. The project took about three thousand man-hours from early October 1954 until late May 1955. Following is a brief history of the project and how the hoist got to where it stands today.

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Discovery

The project actually began in 1950 when Robert (Speed) Burns, a graduate student in geology at Michigan Tech came across the hoist during his wanderings to many of the old copper mining properties. He found it intact as it had been when it was lifting copper during the nineteenth century. It had been last greased and laid to rest in 1892 by George Conley of Hubbell. It was Speed's idea to take out the hoist and put it on public display. Speed and Dr. Joseph P (Joe) Dobell, Professor of Geology at Tech, outlined the project to the members of Sigma Rho. After several meetings in the Chapter living room the members decided to go for it!

Owners of the property, the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, were contacted and asked to help in this difficult undertaking. The company showed the students how to take the necessary steps to ensure safety and provided them with safety and other geaer. The mining company also sent one of their inspectorys down into the mine to make sure that it was safe from cave-ins, falling rock, air blasts, and other hazards that might be found in a mine that old.

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Retrieval

The only access to the hoise was through an air ventilation adit that intersected the main Owls Creek shaft at the second level. The shaft was cut into the ground at a 27 to 30 degree angle. Thirty degrees was much steeper than any had expected - it was like working on a vertical wall. The ventilation shaft led to the second level where all the overnight camping was done. There was incessant running water, darkness like none ever experienced and hibernating bats with wet shimmering coats hanging on the overhead rock like pears on a tree.

The plan was to dismantle the hoist and take it up piece by piece. There was no skip available and only about 200 feet of intermittent track in the shaft. In order to bring the parts up it was necessary to construct a skip and lay 600 feet of track. The future engineers built a skip with wheels and axles that were found in the seventh level slope. To lay the track they had to fill in washouts, erect trestles, replace rotten ties, and gather tracks wherever they could find them in the mine. The work crew generally included five to ten men working two to three days a week. On weekends they frequently operated on a two-shift basis, each working from six to eight hours a day. Professor Dobell was the job supervisor while George Sinko, graduating senior and Archon of the fraternity, acted as coordinator of the students. By January the hoist was dismantled, the tracks were laid and they were ready to begin bringing the parts to the surface. The parts moved up the shaft on the skup which was pulled by an electric tuggger borrowed from teh Army and powered by a generator donated by Michigan Tech. With its mechanincal advantage of 150 to 1, the tugger moved the skip at a snail's pace. During the piece-by-piece raising of the hoist, walkie-talkies and field telephones donated by the University's Army ROTC department at the University provided communication and coordination between the various levels.

The group remembers the day the generator was brought to the mine as one of the hardest work days they encountered. The generator was hauled to the mine on an Army 6 x 6 truck provided by the Permafrost Research Establishment stationed at the airfield. There were three feet of snow on the ground, and the mine was about a mile and a half from the highway. 25 men shoveled or pushed for nearly 12 hours. Fortunately Michigan Tech's Forest Products and Research Division had loaned the services of a small bulldozer which helped clear the way.

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Perseverance

Probably the dominant aspect of the project was the plain hard work. In addition to the back-breaking chore there were the elements: snow and cold in the winter and wising water in the spring. Relacation after a hard day's work, particularly on Saturday, was at the Sportsman's Bar in Kearsarge. It was a welcome sight to see the log cabin with its big fireplace and whittled chain hanging over the bar. Many long neck bottles of Bush and hearty ham dinners were enjoyed.

As the winter wore on the weekend trips to the mine became less frequent for many of the Sigs. Studying, Winter Carnival and parties all combined to make staying in Houghton easier than going to the mine. On some weekends towards the end of winter there was no work done. By spring the water began to rise in the mine endangering the project to failure if it reached the hoist and equipment George Sinko with the help of Fred Ross rallied the troops for one last non-stop push. The task became a desperate struggle to get the parts up before they were submerged. Many of the pieces were still at the eight and a half level and the water was at the mouth of the ninth. The water was beaten by a mere 12 to 24 hours with the only losses being one field telephone, a hydraulic jack and a few minor parts of the hoist. At this point they had succeeded in getting the hoist to the second level where the main shaft intersects the adit. From there the parts were lifted out of the mine and loaded onto the truck. Retrieval was accomplished. All work and equipment had been donated and there were no injuries!

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Restoration

The hoist pieces were hauled to the Sig house which was at the top of a steep 40 foot hill. The original plan was to erect the hoist half way up the front lawn. Those plans were put on hold in 1956 when it was learned that school officials intended to purchase the house grounds, raze the "old house" and extend Wadsworth Hall. The Sigs relocated to Chassell and a vacant old manor house built by a lumber baron in the late 1800's. The wooden house needed a lot of work so remodeling projects occupied the fraternity membership until 1961. By that time all the members involved in the original hoist project had graduated. A new group of Sigs with the same spirit began to clean and assemble the hoist and place it on display.

The work began in earnest in the spring of 1961. The hoist parts had been stored in the carriage house which was used as the work center. Sandblast guns, hoses, blast pot and compressor were borrowed from Herman Gundlock Construction Company. Years of rust, paint and dirt caked on the castings proved hard to remove. Most of the blasting was done by Pete Bayler and his brother Jim who was archon that year. Cleaned parts were dragged outside and got a coat of red lead pain under the supervision of Larry (Rigger) Willett. While cleaning and painting continued, another crew under the coordination of Bill Hicklen hand dug a foundation, set concrete forms and poured the base for the hoise. In the final rush to finish, a pair of small cement mixers operated continuously for 24 hours.

The main shaft of the hoist was set in place in the fall of 1961 with the remaining pieces assembled and painted in the spring of 1962. The completion was almost 12 years from the date Speed Burns first discovered the old machine in the Copper Falls mine some 850 feet below the surface. The hoist now stands as an excellent example of 19th century mining machinery and makes a significant contribution to local history.

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Based on an account written by Clarence J. Monette of Lake Linden in Copper Falls Just a Memory, 1978 with additional contributions by Sigma Rho brothers: Phil Foltz, John (Bud) Sweet & John Trotter (1957) and Bill Hicklen (1959)