Port Huron to drop new anchor for New Year

People watching on the cusp of the New Year probably won't be able to tell the difference, but the anchor that will be dropped from the McMorran Tower just before midnight Jan. 1 will be a new one.

Not that the old one will be going to the trash heap.

"We're going to bring the old anchor into the Memorial Room (at McMorran Place)" said Kim Appel, McMorran general manager, "and allow people to write their New Years resolutions on it."

The old anchor served Port Huron from its first appearance to ring in 2013 to last January's drop to mark 2015. There was just one problem with it, said Marc Muzzarelli, who did the rigging for the drop last year and is doing it again this year: The old anchor is made of sheet metal, and in the wind it becomes a kite.

One year, he said, it even wrapped its rope around the tower.

"The anchor, the second year they ran it, the wind picked it up and it kind of flew around the tower a bit," Muzzarelli said,

"... It's not designed to handle any kind of weather, especially wind."

The new anchor is made of three-quarter-inch steel rod. It was fabricated by St. Clair County Community College welding students Jessica Stapleford, from Kimball Township, and Joe Sears, of Marine City, under the direction of instructor Joe McFalda.

Stapleford, 21, said McFalda came to her and Sears and asked them to work on the anchor.

"The rod was bent free-hand, but we took our measurements off the other anchor," she said, "Joe Sears, he was the one who did all the bending because I didn't have the body weight to do it."

Sears, 36, said he and Stapleford made a good team.

"She's intelligent and it definitely was a 50-50 deal," he said. "She pulled her own weight, very much so."

Stapleford said there were about 20 to 30 different welds on the anchor — and it was fun to build.

"Oh my gosh, it was a blast," she said. "Having spent almost a year doing straight beads every day, it was nice to have some creative fun. It was a blast. I loved it.

"Part of the reason why I chose to do this welding thing was I wanted to do something that would have a repetitiveness ... but is such a diverse field that it would be something different every day."

Sears said he got into the welding program at SC4 because he wanted to provide financial security for his family.

"It was a good time," he said. "It was a good experience. We need things like that.

"That's the real world out there — not everything's straight."

Muzzarelli said he was asked last year to rig the drop because he's had experience with ropes and rigging for theatrical productions such as "Peter Pan."

"I put some lines on it like on a Thanksgiving parade float with two guys on each side to keep it steady," he said.

When he was asked again this year, he decided to come up with an anchor that wouldn't be such a handful in the wind.

"It's about 40 feet of Christmas lighting that outlines it," he said.

The new anchor probably has a tenth of the surface area of the old one, Muzzarelli said.

"Because we did all this, I'm sure it's going to be absolutely still that night," he said.

Appel said the anchor drop this year is sponsored by the Port Huron Prowlers hockey team and McMorran Place. The free party, with a full cash bar and open to the public, will be in the lobby of the theater and in the Memorial Room before moving outside just before the drop.

The Prowlers will pay against the Dayton Demolition at 7:30 p.m. After the game, the ice surface will open for free skating, Appel said.

"We're going to invite everybody from the game over," she said. "The part after 10 p.m. is going to be open to the public.

"We're going to give away, to the first 200 people, we're going to give away hot dogs."

She said the festivities will wrap up after the anchor drop.

Contact Bob Gross at (810) 989-6263 or rgross@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobertGross477.

If you go

• The 2016 Anchor Drop event at McMorran Place is from 10 p.m. to midnight Thursday. The anchor drop, from the McMorran Place Tower, will be just before midnight.
• The party will be in the McMorran Theater lobby and the Memorial Room. People also will have access to the arena after the Port Huron Prowlers hockey game for free skating.
• The Prowlers players will be signing autographs after the game.
• The Prowlers are playing the Dayton Demolition at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 31. Tickets are on sale and range from $10 to $13.

Party on

Other New Year's Eve celebrations include:

• Lexington Village Theatre, 7318 Huron Ave., 7 and 10:30 p.m., $15 to $70. Call (810) 359-5108.
• Freighters, 800 Harker St., Port Huron, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., $75 per person. Call (810) 941-6010.
• Thumb Dance Club, Maple Valley Elementary School, 138 Maple Valley St., Sandusky, $10. Call (810) 657-9349.
• Prime Rib Dinner, Applegate United Methodist Church, 4792 Church St., 6-9 p.m., $18 adults, $10 ages 8 to 10, children 7 and younger eat free. Reservations requested; call (810) 633-9155.
• New Year's Eve Euchre Party, Knights of Columbus Hall, 6385 King Road, Marine City, 7 p.m. Call (810) 765-5555