Upcoming event to showcase resurrected Super Tool building

By: 
Dave Lein, Editor

Photo by Dave Lein

Tom Wiltse stands in the lobby entrance to his office and the new Up North Center, housed in the old Super Tool building, located on US-31 in Elk Rapids.

 

Photo by Dave Lein

Paying homage to its predecessor, Wiltse was gifted a sign that graced the old Super Tool building in Elk Rapids. Now showcased in a special backlit display, the “rescued” logo holds a place of honor in the refurbished facility.

 

ELK RAPIDS – Tom Wiltse enjoys a good challenge. Whether it’s teaching science to restless middle school students for 30 years, starting new businesses, becoming a realtor or just being a good family man – Wiltse savors the journey and trusts that reaching one destination will likely lead to another.

Joining Tom on the journey has been his wife of 49 years, Susan, also a retired (elementary) teacher. While still in the classroom, the couple started Paddlebuoy – first manufacturing paddleboards out of expanded polystyrene more than 40 years ago – a predecessor of today’s popular stand up paddleboards.

Along the way, Tom became a realtor and they started other ventures, including a storage unit business now owned by Short’s on land adjacent to the brewery’s production plant in Elk Rapids, and still maintain another business, Pad Lock Storage.

The couple’s latest project came to fruition about a year ago and involved a local institution – Super Tool Co. – located along busy US-31, in a large building that once served as an economic backbone for a number of area residents.

Read the full story in our regular edition of The Review. To subscribe to the paper for just $34 a year, which includes access to our full online e-edition, please go to the subscription page on this website at: http://www.antrimreview.net/subscribe/

 

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