Wixom Lake steam shovel being rebuilt

When the Edenville Dam broke, a Loch-Ness monster of sorts felt fresh air for the first time in 100 years.

I was lucky enough to be the first person to introduce you to Mike Oberloier and his quest to get the Wixom Lake steam shovel out of the muck.

Well, he did it, and you’ll be amazed at what he’s been doing in the time since.

“I’m just in awe” says Mike.

Days after the lakes drained, a legend of emerged from the depths of Wixom lake.

“When we first went down there I kinda thought, there’s not much here, not much left to even do with it” he says.

A childhood dream come true. Mike Oberloier and his dad searched for the elusive Wixom Lake steam shovel for years.

As the mud washed off, and the fishing lines and rotted wood were cut away, Mike and a group of volunteers unearthed the antique.

“If you’re 3 steam engines are good, you can build a shovel. If your 3 steam engines are junk, you build a model” says Mike.

These 3 engines work.

With some cleaning and a healthy dose of elbow grease, the pistons move and the wheels turn.

READ MORE: Steam Shovel Unearthed https://nbc25news.com/news/local/wixom-lake-steam-shovel-unearthed

“My goal is to make this dig again” says Mike.

That isn’t his only, or highest, goal.

“If I can get done, before the dam is done, and be able to go back there and load a couple of trucks would be awesome” Mike says.

But one of the coolest moments he says was lighting a fire in the boiler for the first time in a century.

“I thought, what’s it gonna hurt, my son was here and I told him I said go get the wheel barrow and get me some wood. And he says you’re going to light a fire in it aren’t you dad, and I says yes I am” he says.

With every blast of sand, every loosened bolt, and each new brush of paint, Mike says he thinks about his dad.

“We’d probably be working on it an awful lot” he says.

Mike estimates it could take 4 to 5 years to completely rebuild the steam shovel. A labor of love that began decades ago, and one he says he can’t give up on.

When asked why he’s the one rebuilding it he simply says

“I have to” says Mike.

You can follow along with the rebuild by heading to the WIXOM LAKE STEAM SHOVEL Facebook Page.