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HERITAGE
PARTNERSHIP SAVES STEEL INDUSTRY ARTIFACTS
October
3, 2007
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For
more information contact
Mark Bouman, President CHP, 708 870 6241
Mike Wagenbach, PSHS, 773 660 2341
HERITAGE
PARTNERSHIP SAVES STEEL INDUSTRY ARTIFACTS
The
Calumet Heritage Partnership (CHP) is pleased to announce
that it has facilitated the movement of two key artifacts
that illustrate the Calumet area's steelmaking might to
a new home at the Pullman State Historic Site at 111th and
Cottage Grove in Chicago, Illinois. The two pieces are the
small bell from the former Acme Blast Furnace in Chicago
and an ingot mould pattern from the Arcelor Mittal Steel
Indiana Harbor West Plant in East Chicago.
Shaped
like a fifteen-ton chorister's bell, the small blast furnace
bell closed off the top of a blast furnace. In concert with
the large blast furnace bell that was seated below it on
the blast furnace, the bell allowed materials to be evenly
distributed into the furnace without losing heat. The bell
was donated to CHP by Salrecon, the contractor demolishing
the Acme Furnace, and was loaded for transport by Beemsterboer,
owners of the Furnace site. The move took place in April,
2007.
The
ingot mould held molten steel while it formed and cooled
into an ingot. Since it needed to be able to withstand extreme
temperatures and rough handling, the rugged mould was made
of cast iron and weighed at least as much as the steel poured
into it. The ingot would then be removed from a mould, sent
to a soaking pit for temperature equalization, and then
sent to a mill to be rolled into blooms, billets, or slabs.
The base of this mould pattern is 80 x 104 inches and tapers
to an opening of 30 x 52 inches. It is 104 inches tall.
A collaborative volunteer effort helped the mould to make
its way from East Chicago to Pullman on July 19. A number
of people were involved in finding, donating, arranging,
transporting, and storing the mould, including Dr. Ray Boothe,
Calumet Industrial Heritage Project volunteer, Robin Malone
of Arcelor Mittal Steel, Kevin Heggi of the Northwest Indiana
Railroad Preservation Society, Robert Meyer of Arcelor Mittal
Steel, Dr, Joe's towing of Chesterton, Indiana, and Mike
Wagenbach, Site Superintendent of the Pullman State Historic
Site.
Saving the artifacts is part of the Calumet Heritage Partnership's
effort to identify, preserve and reclaim the natural, historical
and recreational heritage of the Calumet region of Illinois
and Indiana. CHP has entered into a joint Calumet Industrial
Heritage Project whereby the Pullman State Historic Site
(PSHS) will store the items for future display and interpretation,
along with thousands of documents, photographs, and artifacts
rescued from the abandoned Acme Coke Plant.
The artifacts may be seen at Pullman as part of a tour conducted
during CHP's annual Calumet Heritage conference on October
13. For more information on the conference, see www.calumetheritage.org.
For tour information at other times, contact PSHS at sleepingcars@sbcglobal.net
or 773-660-2341.
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Everyone
who lives, works, and/or plays in the Calumet region
can be a member of the Calumet Heritage Partnership.
Members are encouraged to attend the regular partnership
meetings and are entitled to vote on important regional
issues. Working together we can make a difference.
For
information contact the Calumet Heritage Partnership
at 773-646-0436, or email: info@calumetheritage.org
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