Donner and Trish Dowd
9119 S. Greenville Rd.
Greenville, MI 48838
616.754.1178
October 31, 2003
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a letter of recommendation for the Stitts and their Great Lakes Barn Preservation company based upon the excellent work that they did for us moving a barn this past year.
Early this year we decided to move (and shorten by 12 feet) a 72 by 20 foot barn, having considerable sentimental value, from a family parcel in Fowlerville near Lansing, to our cabin site in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a distance of about 300 miles. That daunting project suddenly became exciting rather than stressful after we contacted Great Lakes Barn Preservation, and Sam arrived to look at the barn and provide a plan and an estimate.
Instead of dismantling the barn piece by piece, they took it down in large slabs, loaded it on a couple of semi-trailers, moved it up north, unloaded it, and erected it with a new loft, and new doors and windows. Of particular interest to us was a wood shingle hip roof which they were able to save and replace with barely a trace of modification.
All aspects of their work is of exceptional quality, including the crane work, disassembly, loading, unloading, storing, reassembly, doors and windows, finish work and clean up. They obviously possess the tools and techniques of the trade. Their attention to detail, particularly in regard to preserving the “look and feel” of the old barn was especially appreciated. They were flexible in accommodating a schedule change which we asked for on short notice.
Their concern for the culture and religious requirements of their Amish workers revealed much about them as a family and a business. This is indeed a “family business” with all members involved, including the youngsters helping with the clean up when appropriate. Finally, the time spent with the Stitts, their family, and the Amish workers camping up north, erecting the barn, was like a vacation with our own family, and we all felt a bit of a loss when the work was completed, and they moved on to their next job. The picture album prepared for us by Peggy was the “frosting on the cake.”
Overall, the move was a successful and satisfying endeavor for us, and I would heartily recommend the Stitts for any barn-related effort contemplated.
Sincerely,
Donner and Trish Dowd
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March 2003
Original location, Fowlerville, MI
"Flaked Barn"
We dismantled the barn in sections.
August 2003, barn raising
Another barn saved due to development
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