By DON STINE
Whether fair or foul, one Asbury Park couple always knows which way the wind is blowing.
The couple, Celia Morrissette and Keith Johnson, own a house a 614 Sixth Ave. and have a unique copper weathervane on top of their carriage house on the Bangs Avenue side of the property.
“It was a wedding gift from my family,” said Morrisette, who married Johnson in 2007. They have owned the house since 2001.
“My family was having difficulty buying a wedding gift. They knew I was restoring the carriage house and the weather vane was a perfect gift. It is handcrafted copper and is something special. And it resonated with us living near the ocean,” she said.
“I thought it was the most perfect present. It’s something that every time I look at it, it reminds me of the ocean and our family in New England. And it does get a lot of attention,” she said.
The weathervane was made by Bar Harbor Weathervanes in Maine. The company was founded by William H. McElvain and is now three generations strong. It was installed on the peak of the carriage house roof about five years ago after the roof was repaired and a special cupola to house it were finished.
“This is a functioning, working weather vane. Weathervanes have historically been used to gauge New England’s everchanging weather. Some people think weathervanes are now art but they have always had a practical use. Our weathervane aged beautifully and the copper patina has changed to green,” she said.
Johnson said he too was excited by the gift.
“Celia has wonderful siblings and they wanted to get us something special. We had to pick up the gift as we headed out of town and found that they all pooled their money to give us this fabulous weathervane of a mermaid- how appropriate,” he said.
“I thought it was the best gift anybody could give us. It’s a work of art that works,” he said.
