First of the giant Cedars leave Carving Shed for Shakes Island

A muggy Tuesday morning in Wrangell saw the first batch of freshly adzed Cedar leave the confines of the Carving Shed for Shakes Island.  Here are a few pics of the process.

Carvers joined the renovation crew to assist with the transport, which includes toting the up to 27' Cedars across 300' worth of bridge.  Just like they did it during the 1940 restoration, dollies help usher the beams and posts across.

After resting under tarps for months, the totems were recently uncovered to breathe.  Laying next to the totems are sill beams, the longest being the aforementioned 27 footer.  These beams are pocketed, and the groves will hold panels of Cedar that can be slid in and out of place.  Many of these panels were preserved during deconstruction of the Tribal House and will be re-used.

Here sits one of the corner posts, in front of the Southwest corner of the Tribal House waiting to be raised.  This beast of a log was one of the prizes of the Sealaska log donation, and after some artful adzing by carver Justin Smith, it should go a long ways to make sure the house is standing for another 100 years.