The One and Only SKATE PARK

project status

(click HERE for project status archives)

September 3, 2003

Dirt Trails:

Flattened but not Forgotten.

This is a picture of our great BMX dirt trails (or what's left of them) on the Helfmann property next to the Fowlerville Community Park. David took this photo while standing on the tractor he used to drag the ground smooth.

We WERE in the process of building in the same place, before the Fowlerville Village Manager put a stop to it. Too bad they're gone. We'll build them again somewhere soon.... The good thing is this: some BMX riders got to try these unfinished trails before they were knocked down.

are some photos of our time spent building these BMX dirt trails.

is the second day; and is what they looked like when we were stopped.

A Great Place in Howell

to build

The One and Only Skate Park

It's a huge place for lease. It's the old General Tire factory at 1480 Grand Oaks Drive in Howell. Perfect. And in very good condition--structurally, and in general (no pun intended). For a covered skate park and BMX trails and movable skate park outside (there's 10 acres), it's ideal. We'll see. David is visiting meeting Paul Gobeille with Signature Associates, the leasers, on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2003.

Andrée, Guillaume and David visited this potential location for a future skate park near you on Friday morning, Sept. 5, 2003.

We can't believe how ideally suited it is for our needs. It would be a dream come true.

We'll keep you posted.

Skate Park in Storage.

Our 12-piece skate park is in storage. It might reappear for a Fall Fun thing at the Fowlerville Fairgrounds. We'll keep you posted..

Bringing down the house--er, barn.

For 10 days straight in October, David disassembled a 35' x 80' hand-hewn oak timber barn. The barn was built in 1886 and the wood is rock-solid and nice stuff. Click here to see pictures of the barn.

A strange man from Ohio bought the barn wood on e-Bay from David and Andrée. A LOT of nice oak boards and planks were saved for--you guessed it--our Second Annual Summer Skate Park! So when you're biking, skateboarding or skating on the ramps out at the skate park starting June 14, you'll be doing x-ups and grinding on 200-plus--year-old oak structured skate park modules (woah).

Should I stay or should I go now?

Believe it or not, we almost moved to Wheeling, West Virginia to open a bistro (like a coffee house) instead of doing the skate park this summer. As luck would have it, we wound up staying in Fowlerville and decided to do the skate park again this year. Bigger and Better.

March 2004: A proposal for SK8 Park 2

We rescued a mini half-pipe from a back yard near Brighton. David, while working at Precise Finishing Systems in Howell, got a LOT of good oak timbers, and we drew up a proposal for a SECOND annual skate park for the United Brethren in Christ Church at 9300 W. Grand River Ave. in Fowlerville. THIS is what we told them we could do. They said they were happy to let us do it again.

MAY 2004: We take a vacation to figure it all out.

David, Guillaume, Andrée and Benjamin On the S.S. Badger Ferry Boat at Ludington after a round-trip to Wisconsin.

We're not sure if we got it all figured out, but we're going to run a great skate park this summer!

Click Here to visit our Skate Park Project Status Archives.

Watch as the reality of this park materializes out of the stuff of dreams.

a bientôt!