LYNN – The final blade for the 100th wind turbine in the Headwaters Wind Farm in Randolph County was locked into place late Friday morning.
The delicate maneuver was slow and majestic, the blade moving almost imperceptibly into the low hanging fog clouds. Then, worker’s arms and hands reached out from inside the nacelle, or mechanical center, at the top of the turbine to guide the blade into place.
Cell phones clicked for photographs and, while there were not loud, rowdy cheers, the workers’ voices reflected their happiness at the conclusion of a job safely completed.
The cradle that lifted the 55-meter blade to the top of the 95-meter tower was decorated with special symbols by the iron workers. There was a 61/2foot Christmas tree, an American flag and two skull and crossbones banners.
Colin Smythe, an erection superintendent for White Construction in Clinton, had purchased the evergreen earlier in the week from nearby Sickles Tree Farm.
“It’s an old construction tradition,” said Smythe, who is from Chatham, Ontario. “It’s an iron worker’s tradition. It’s a symbol of the last pieces going up and no one getting hurt on the job.”