The Lighthouse Trip
During the last few days of April, my wife and I drove from our home in Georgia to Whitehall, Michigan. My sister invited me to join her in a group dedicated to the upkeep and management of five lighthouses along Michigan’s west coast. Volunteers run the museums. Fewer people volunteer to clean each lighthouse for the upcoming season. Cleaning the White River Light Station would be our project for the last week of April.
We grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan in the small town of Long Beach, Indiana. When I was an early teenager, I went to a Boy Scout camp in Twin Lakes, Michigan, eight miles inland from Whitehall. My time at Owasippe was spent living in a tent with three other 13-year-olds. We spent six weeks getting Red Cross certified in life-saving, basic, and advanced survival swimming, rowing, canoeing, and sailing. During Aquatic Camp, I went on my first overnight canoe trip on the Pine River.
The White River Light Station has an interesting history. It was built in 1875 to serve the needs of the local logging industry, which at the time loomed large. It has operated as a museum since 1970. Its original lighthouse keeper, William Robinson, lived at the lighthouse for 47 years, eventually passing away in the house at age 87. Folklore says he haunts the house. My sister stayed at the house and reported two unexplained occurrences: items falling off a bed and a dresser. My wife and I stayed at a local inn, so I have nothing to say about these unexplained happenings.
My sister spent the majority of her time with the tedious task of cleaning the kitchen, dishes, refrigerator, stove, and window covering. I dealt with the rest of the lighthouse, including the light tower, the museum’s 2nd floor, the main floor, and the metal spiral staircase that went from the basement to the top of the light tower. I was able to open a hatch to access the exterior of the light and clean the outside windows. You can inspect my window washing via the lighthouse live webcam.
Cleaning the museum was interesting. I had to move pieces, including parts of old ship anchors, various ship fixtures, and other small artifacts. A Fourth Generation Fresnel lens is on display along with information about the most famous Great Lakes shipwreck. Edmund Fitzgerald. The Edmund Fitzgerald went down in Lake Superior on November 14, 1975, and achieved cultural notoriety from Gordon Lightfoot’s 1976 hit, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. I enjoyed cleaning the lighthouse with my sister and my time in Whitehall & Montague, Michigan.
The Michigan West Coast is a magical combination of small towns and wilderness. A drive from Chicago around the southern tip of Lake Michigan and up Michigan’s West Coast to Traverse City would provide a fine adventure. You would pass through charming towns, many state parks, a national seashore, and a national park