K.I. SAWYER - SOMEPLACE SPECIAL Page Six

? Our Quest to Find the Old Main Gate.

When we lived at KI Sawyer in 1963-71 Freedom Blvd did not exist and road 553 on the west side of the base ran much closer to Sawyer than it does now. On the way back from Gwinn one morning we decided to try and come back on the old road 553. We found the old 553 renamed as Marshall Drive so we turned north and proceeded toward KI Sawyer. Marshall Drive still shows on the maps as running into Freedom Blvd however we found road now barricaded with a ?road closed? sign just south of KI Sawyer. Later my mother was looking at a map provided by Red Fox Inn and noticed that part of the old 553 still showed to exist. So she drew in the "missing" old 533 and Avenue "A" as it would have been in the 1960's. Please [Click Here] to view the maps (before and after). After this find we now wondered if the old main gate still existed. Well we decided to find out. On the road again we turned north from Freedom Blvd onto Delphi Avenue. Success! At the next intersection was a segment of old Avenue ?A?, to the left was the old main gate access road. The problem was the access road was gated off at this intersection but we could see the old main gate area from a distance, perhaps a ? mile away. The main gate guard shack was gone however the center divider island was still there. Not satisfied and wanting to get a closer look we studied the map again. It appeared that about 2 miles north the old 553 runs into the new 553. So we got onto the new road 553 and traveled north. Yes! Our persistence paid off! We found the old 533 and turned onto it. Half expecting to find a ?road closed? sign at any moment we were happy to find the road took us right into the old main gate access road unrestricted.

The Past PHOTO (courtesy of Mike's KI Sawyer Tribute) : Early photo of the main gate.

The Present PHOTO: The old main gate, July 2002

PHOTO: This is all that is left of the old main gate building, a slab of concrete and debris.

PHOTO: Old 553 from main gate looking south towards Gwinn. This road is closed.

M-94 & Voodoo Ave.

During our stay Voodoo Avenue was closed between the base and the family housing area. After doing a little research I found that in early 2002, Michigan Department of Transportation put plans in place for the realignment of M-94 through the KI Sawyer area. Freedom Blvd, Avenue A, Voodoo Ave, & Avenue BB all former cross-base surface roads will be reconstructed to form M-94. Below are photos of the roadwork. To view a map of the realignment Click Here.

PHOTO:Voodoo Ave. From base side.

PHOTO:Voodoo Ave. From Housing side (near bottom of the hill).