The livery demolition continued. I arrived around midday, after some work had already been done, but I arrived during a lull in the action.
It wasn’t long before that lull came to an end.
The Demolition of the Livery: 8 October 2014
It’s been the season of notable demolitions here in Chelsea: a week and a half after the Wolverine was demolished, another crew started the work of razing the livery building. The notion of leveling that particular historic building to make way for a parking lot generated a bit of controversy that resulted in delays, but in the end, the project moved forward.
The initial word was simply that demolition would begin sometime during the week — there was no specific start date given. I didn’t want to miss the beginning, so I went on Facebook and asked locals to keep an eye on the site and let me know when the demolition seemed to be starting. How effective was that tactic? Well, when the crew arrived, not only did I get several Facebook messages, but I also got a message on Twitter and even an email! Because of the helpfulness of those wonderful people, I arrived a few minutes before the demolition began. My thanks to all those who kept me informed!
The crew started by knocking out the boarded-up windows.
The excavator patted the building on the head…
…and then punched it in the face.
Notice the year painted on the building:
It turns out that’s not the year that particular building was built. That livery building was constructed in the early 1900s, a few years after the Mack Building. (The Mack is visible on the other side of the livery in the first few pictures.) The livery is gone, but the Mack — a building with its own great history — is still standing.
When he’d cleared enough of the wall, it didn’t take much to bring down the top.
That let him take a few bites out of the roof.
The work drew a few spectators.
That was where work stopped on Wednesday. Do you know what that means? Yes, that’s right: this is the first in what will be a series of posts on the livery demolition.
(SPOILER ALERT: it ends with an empty lot.)
Chelsea Football vs #BeatDexter: 17 October 2014
Chelsea football welcomed Dexter to town.
A win would guarantee Chelsea a return to the playoffs after a one-year absence. Also, a win would be a win over Dexter, which is something every Chelsea athlete always wants forever and ever. #BeatDexter
Before the game, the student section went for the festive look with a color blast.
The parking lot couldn’t help but dress up for the game, too.
Chelsea Football vs Tecumseh: 10 October 2014
The Demolition of the Wolverine: 29 September 2014
Back in August, The Wolverine ended a decades-long run in business. A month later, the demolition crew showed up to erase the building from Chelsea’s landscape. The demolition drew some loyal customers — and at least one longtime employee — who wanted to say one last goodbye as they watched the building come down.
These locals told me they’d been going to The Wolverine for decades.
The…wait, what are people in a demolition crew called? Demolishers? Yeah, let’s go with that. The demolishers started at the back of the building, but it wasn’t long before they were taking the first bites out of the brick wall.
When they broke through the brick wall, they revealed what appeared to be an old Wolverine sign.
As they worked their way across the front of the building, the old sign was slowly revealed…
…and destroyed.
The green front door didn’t get a dignified farewell.
It’s partly covered by my name, but in the bottom left corner of the above photo, there’s a pile of bricks. The demolition crew was saving some bricks for anyone who wanted a brick from The Wolverine. I don’t know how many bricks ended up in the hands of nostalgic locals, but it seemed like most of the spectators grabbed a brick or two.
Vintage Base Ball in Detroit: 28 September 2014
On a beautiful fall afternoon, the Merries closed out their season with a trip to Detroit.
The Merries’ earlier trip to the city had taken them to historic Fort Wayne, but this trip took them to a different historical site: Navin Field, the site of Tiger Stadium. (You may recall the Monitors played at Navin last year.) The stadium has been gone for years, but the field is still maintained by the Navin Field Grounds Crew, an industrious volunteer group that keeps the legendary field playable and open to all.
The site wasn’t the only notable aspect of this match. For the 2014 season, there were three ladies’ vintage base ball clubs in the state of Michigan — Detroit, Chelsea, and Benton Harbor — and because two of the three clubs were started this year, this was the first time they were all together! The clubs introduced themselves to the crowd and got the match started.
(L to R: the Lil Fillies of Benton Harbor, the Detroit River Belles, and the Merries of Chelsea.)
Chelsea Football vs Lincoln: 3 October 2014
Chelsea football faced Lincoln.
The game was scheduled to be played at Lincoln, but due to a tragic accident at Lincoln’s stadium earlier in the week, the game was moved to Ann Arbor Pioneer.
There was a moment of silence during pregame.
Chelsea Football vs Adrian: 26 September 2014
Chelsea traveled to Adrian to take on the Maples.
The evening didn’t start well for me: when I arrived, I realized I’d left all my memory cards at home in Chelsea, about 45 minutes away. My dad (generously) offered to scour Adrian for a memory card or two to get me through the evening, so I just watched pregame warmups and hoped he’d be successful.
He wasn’t back with cards when the game started, but that was okay: the game didn’t start any better for Chelsea than the evening had started for me. Chelsea fumbled the first snap and Adrian took it back for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead. Then, to my great relief, my dad showed up with a couple cards (having had to visit four different stores to find them!), and I got to work.
The Bulldogs got it together after that disastrous first snap and built a healthy 24-7 lead by the end of the half.
This interception was a good moment…
…in a half that had few good moments for Chelsea. Turnovers provided Adrian either with points or with an easier path to points, Chelsea’s offense ground to a halt, and the Maples slowly chipped away at the Bulldogs’ lead.
Jacob had his helmet ripped off at the end of one play…
…and he did not care for the officials’ decision not to call a penalty.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Adrian took a 27-24 lead. The Chelsea offense responded with a long, methodical drive, much of which seemed to consist of runs to the left like this one.
Eventually the offense was within field goal range, but there was still time to push for the end zone. Optimism was high when Chelsea had second and goal from the two, but a false start pushed the Bulldogs back, and the drive stalled.
(There are three coaches visible in that photo, and they’re all striking the same pose! Coaches gonna coach.)
The field goal unit took the field…
…and tied the game at 27 with under a minute to play. Adrian knelt to run out the clock, and the game went to overtime — Chelsea’s second overtime game of the year.
Chelsea won the toss and gave Adrian the ball first, and the Maples found the end zone. Chelsea had one possession to match Adrian’s touchdown.
Like so much else on Friday, it didn’t start well. First down…
…was a seven-yard sack. That was followed by a false start and an incomplete pass, leaving Chelsea looking at third and goal from the 22. Justice Staton dropped back, rolled left to avoid pressure, and launched the ball into the end zone…
…where Noah van Reesema came down with the ball, pulling it away from a defender for the improbable touchdown. The extra point once again tied the game, and Chelsea started the second overtime with the ball. On first down…
…Kenny McDowell’s touchdown put the Bulldogs ahead, and Adrian had one possession to score. The Maples had third and goal at the one, but their third- and fourth-down passes to the corner of the end zone fell incomplete, and the Bulldogs began celebrating their 41-34 2OT victory!
The 4-1 Bulldogs will be back in action this Friday at 7pm against Lincoln. This next part is VERY important, so pay attention: due to an incident that has made Lincoln’s stadium unavailable, the game will be at Ann Arbor Pioneer. Again, Chelsea will be playing Lincoln on Friday at 7pm at Ann Arbor Pioneer.
Chelsea Fair: Truck Pull: 23 August 2014
The truck pull wraps up the final evening of the Chelsea Fair. Except for the vehicle type, it’s essentially the same as the tractor pull: four-wheeled vehicles try to post the longest pull.
The first few trucks look like normal trucks because they are normal trucks.
Seriously: these trucks drive in, pull once, and then go back home to do normal things that normal trucks do.
One truck was…not young.
Once the normal trucks are done, the decidedly not-normal trucks take over.
Trucks that are built for pulling are powerful, fast, and LOUD. They’re fun to watch, and they always draw a good crowd at the fair.
The powerful, fast, LOUD trucks are usually easy to spot.
Vintage Base Ball in Chelsea: 23 August 2014
Both the Monitors and the Merries had a busy day on this Saturday back in August: after walking in the Chelsea fair parade, they each played a match. The Merries played the River Belles and the Monitors played the Early Risers, both from Detroit. (You may recall these clubs from Chelsea’s visit to Detroit’s Fort Wayne early in the summer.)
The Merries started the doubleheader.
