Moving a Village by Motor Lorry.
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The Transporting of a Church Marks the Successful Finish of a Unique Feat in which the Property in One Village was Removed to Another 12 Miles Distant.
rTHE moving.of the village of Jennings, Michigan, by means of a motor lorry and a specially designed trailer, which was the subject of an article in The CommerciaZ Motor of November 21st last, has now been completed. Thus "finis" has been written to a venture that might be claimed as the greatest transportation feat SO far recorded in the history of the motor industry.
Jennings was a village of about 1,200 inhabitants, the only industrial enterprise of any sort being. the sawmill, flooring, and chemical plants of the /tlitchell lisos.' Co. This concern gave employment to all the able-bodied men of the village, F e ver al hundred in number. As all the standing timber had been cut in the vicinity, it.was deemed necessary to 'remove the mills to Cadillac, between 11 and 12 miles to the south-west. Here larger and snore modern factories are being built, which, when completed, will give employment to many mere men than the former mills at Jennings.
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In common with most American cities, Cadillac has beeii handicapped for several years by the shortage of houses, and as it was the desire of the lumber company to retain as many of their old employees as possible, it was imperative that the former residents of Jennings should have some place in Cadillac in which to live. In Jennings there were upwards_ of no well-built and desirable houses, the property of the company. The problem was to move them to Cadillac intact without tearing down or damaging the structures.
A thorough investigation of different methods of moving the village was made .and, after consideration of the pros and cons of the problem, a. unique plan of using a motor. lorry and a specially desiesned and built trailer was adapted. Mr. Walter A. Kysor, president of the Acme Motor Truck Co., of Cadillac, it will be remembered, designed the trailer, the general construction of which we illustrated in our article referred to.
The houses were raised by jacks, the specially designed trailer backed underneath them, and then the buildings Lowered until the weight rested entirely on the framework of the trailer. The mounting and demounting of the houses on to, and off, the trailer were the most ticklish parts of the operation, for the actual feat of transportation was found to be well within the capacity of the lorries which were used. The project was commenced last autumn and completed by the end of the first month of this year.
With the moving of the church, which is 70 ft. high, the last edifice left the little town on the gigantic trailer a few weeks ago. Now all that is left of Jennings is a: rumour of hidden treasure, said to have been buried by a local hermit some years ago. So strong is the belief that somewhere within the bounds of the moved town lies 215,000 in gold, that the old residents, it is said, spend their week-ends searching feverishly for the money.