Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Akron police investigate teen mob attack on family
Woman, 75, charged with beating fawn to death
Akron woman found dead at Brimfield Township store
Man shot outside his Akron home during robbery attempt
Man shot in back near Akron park
Suspect sought in Portage Path bar robbery
Tragic day puts man on path to be Pinnacle owner
Blogs:
Pets:
Dogs' Bark: Not fair! Study shows pups get jealous
The Heldenfiles:
Who Will Get the Michael Media Treatment Next?
Patrick McManamon:
More on Varejao
Akron Zips:
Opponent outlook: Kent State
Browns Bulletin:
Quick thought on Browns rookies
Tribe Matters:
Wedge challenges relievers
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth test showed marijuana
Kent State Sports:
Men's Basketball Scheduling update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Andy’s Signed According to ESPN
All Da King's Men:
Does Medicare Have Lower Administrative Costs ?
Blog of Mass Destruction:
CIA Did Mislead Congress
Akron Law Café:
Breaking Story: CIA Lied to Congress about Secret Program
Varsity Letters:
East basketball update
See Jane Style:
Oh Baby!
Car Chase:
Where do We Go from Here?
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Closings….Not the Good Kind!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Margy inquires-when is a Taste of Hudson?
Sound Check:
LeVert II live performance Saturday night — "Dedication" album due July 13,
HRLite House:
DDI One of Best Places to Work
Akron Gamer:
First 24 'Guitar Hero 5' songs announced
Lakeside community welcomes new landmark as owners add tower during cottage renovation
By Rick Armon
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Monday, Aug 11, 2008
SPRINGFIELD TWP.: Nanette Zawistowski always loved lighthouses.
And soon, she'll have one of her own.
Not the lawn ornament kind, mind you. But a 25-foot working lighthouse affixed to the top of her house.
She and her husband, Tom, are remodeling and expanding a home along the northern shore of Springfield Lake and decided it just wouldn't be a home without a lighthouse.
The wooden, Amish-crafted structure, which still needs its painted stripes, was put in place last month and towers more than 34 feet above the ground.
It's garnered plenty of attention and become a conversation piece in the lakeside community.
''I've always loved . . . the water,'' Nanette said, explaining why the couple spent about $25,000 for the lighthouse addition. ''I actually lived on Cape Cod for a couple years and just got to love this whole scene.
''So when we found this house and decided to get it and remodel it, we said this lake needs a lighthouse.''
Tom, 53, and Nanette, 57, have lived in Kent since they were married. But with their two kids Sarah and Mike going off to college, they decided it was time to downsize.
The Zawistowskis own TRZ Communications Services in Brimfield Township. Nanette, who has a collection of lighthouse figurines, also works for Kent schools as an educational aide.
They want to live on the water when they retire, but they found some areas such as Twin Lakes and Portage Lakes too pricey. That's when they spotted a vacant, 952-square-foot cottage for sale along Canfield Road.
''This lake is a terrific resource. It's just that no one knows about it,'' Tom said.
They are doubling the size of the home to include four bedrooms and a large sunroom with windows facing the lake. And, of course, adding the lighthouse, which will have a spiral staircase.
They plan to add stone around the base of the front sunroom so it appears that the lighthouse rises out of a rocky island.
The lighthouse itself will serve more as an attic than living space.
The Zawistowskis bought the intricate lighthouse sight unseen over the Internet from the Lighthouse Man, a custom maker in Lewisburg, Pa. It arrived in about 100 pieces and had to be assembled.
''We are taking special precautions to make sure the lighthouse will last 50 years or more,'' Tom said. ''We realize that's important. It has to look good because it's going to represent the community, regardless of what we think.''
The house should be ready around Labor Day.
It took a while for the couple to find the right contractor for the project. Several raised their eyebrows when told there would be a lighthouse.
''I thought it sounded great, but I was just wondering how it was going to look,'' contractor Mark Huscroft of MJH Contractors in Stow said while standing inside the house and underneath the opening for the lighthouse.
And now?
''It's like it belongs there,'' he said.
Several years ago, there was an effort under way to build a lighthouse as a township veterans memorial, but it fizzled because of a lack of money.
''The lighthouse is just a great feature for the lake,'' township Trustee Vince Mealy said.
The lighthouse — just down the road from the township's new gazebo — is attracting attention, he added.
''Oh, yes. It's been amazing,'' Mealy said. ''We have had so much more vehicle traffic up and down Canfield Road since the gazebo went in. People look at the gazebo and then they slow down when they pass the lighthouse.''
The Zawistowskis hope the lighthouse is embraced by the community.
''If it just makes someone smile, that'd be great,'' Tom said. ''It'll just be fun, and shouldn't a lighthouse be fun?''
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.
SPRINGFIELD TWP.: Nanette Zawistowski always loved lighthouses.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
