Dollar Bay veterans gifted CTE welding students and instructors for recent help restoring a historic cannon.
Since 2022, the Dollar Bay VFW Post 6028 has worked to restore sites honoring veterans’ service around the community, including the dedication of a new honor roll in 2023. Noticing a Civil War-era cannon at the Dollar Bay Veterans Memorial site was in worn shape with a decaying wooden spoke wheel and rotted sections of a wooden cart, the veterans sought to restore the piece of history.
The VFW reached out to the Copper Country CTE welding program to enlist the help of students, led by head instructor Peter Murr, with Jeff Lamuth and Jordan Schulze. Among the students, Dollar Bay resident Liam Tourtillott led his peers on the project, who said all of the pieces of the cannon came separately.
The cannon carriage and wheels had to be designed in CAD and were replaced with steel components that will last longer. In total, the project took more than three months to complete.
On Wednesday, the students who led the project, along with their instructors, were gifted with a commemorative mug to thank them for their service to the community and veterans of Dollar Bay.
Memorial Day services around the Copper Country will honor veterans soon. Check out the Keweenaw Report community calendar to find details on VFW and American Legion events on May 25.
