Dale Gensman Restores Seven 1934 Island Building Signs
By Karen Gould

One of seven red oak signs Dale Gensman restored that were carved in 1934 marks the building that was once the Michilimackinac County Court House, when Mackinac Island was the seat of Mackinac County. The Market Street building now is home to the Mackinac Island Police Department.

Dale Gensman has been working with wood most of his life and recently has been restoring seven wooden signs carved in 1934 that once rested on posts in front of historic buildings on Mackinac Island. Now restored, one sign can be spotted on Market Street in front of the old Michilimackinac County Court House, which now houses the city police offices. Another is on display just up the street, inside the Stuart House museum, and the remaining signs await a permanent exhibit location.

The restored signs also include the Biddle House, Mission Church, Community Hall, Astor House, Agency House, and an eighth sign that was found rotted beyond recognition.

He donated his work, time, and materials.

"I wanted to give something back to the Island," said Mr. Gensman. "That's my thing."

Mr. Gensman, 76, learned his craft from his father, Frank Rounds, who lived from 1861 to 1945. He was a carpenter on Mackinac Island and is credited for building Round Island Lighthouse, Little Stone Church, and the club house at Wawashkamo.

He was reared on Market Street in a home that is now the office of Mackinac Island Realty. He spent his career working on historic restoration projects at the Henry Ford home and several other automotive family homes and retired as a carpenter in 1994 from Greenfield Village. He estimates he has restored approximately 240 homes and has helped with the restoration of St. Helena Island Lighthouse.

City Alderman Armand "Smi" Horn suggested that his friend take on the restoration of the signs, which were originally carved as a public works project during the Depression. He didn't, however, expect the restoration would be free.

The two men have known each other all their lives and attended school at the old Indian Dormitory, then called the Thomas Ferry School.

"He's been very good to the city," said Mr. Horn of his friend. "He's preserving history."

Restoring Mackinac's signs, said Mr. Gensman, who now lives in Rochester Hills, provides him with a link back to the Island he loves and still visits with his wife, Georgianna.

"Restoring the signs, it's important for the history of the Island, really," he said.

E.R. Homins and J.W. Miximony carved the original signs to identify historic buildings on Mackinac. The men depicted scenes of life here that included the building they represented and people in the dress of the day. The carver's name was etched into the sign's frame and each sign has identical carvings on front and back, which was a testament to their carving skill.

"When I was working on them, I felt my hands were on super carvers," Mr. Gensman said. "They carved them with their hearts. They had to have put thought into them. I suspect they carved them in front of the buildings."

Made of red oak, the two sides were held together with wooden plugs, then the signs were given a wood frame and mounted on posts.

Before he began his restoration work, Mr. Gensman spent two to three weeks studying each piece to determine where to begin without destroying the original work. Once he established his starting point, he cleaned out the cavities and filled them with rosin, then added metal rods to secure the signs to the posts.

On the surface, more than 70 years of dirt and debris have accumulated on the intricate wood carvings and Mr. Gensman used a knife to clean off the grime. He does not use chemicals. He said that some signs were so completely covered in dirt, he had no idea what the carvings represented when he started working on them.

Though the carvers had covered the signs with cresol to protect them from rotting, Mr. Gensman found most of them had rotted on the inside. The cresol was so strong, he had to shut off his Rochester Hills workshop furnace during the restoration process.

To protect the signs now that his restoration work is complete, he coats the outside with Linseed oil, which he says should be done once a year.

He spent approximately four months restoring all seven signs.

"I was never discouraged," he said. "It was a lot of fun to do these."

He even carved wood signs capturing a similar look designating the bicycle parking areas for the city's fireman and police.