The Beacon - Fall 2021

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Contents Official Publication of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association Director’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Volume 37, Number 3 Cheboygan Main Lighthouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Fall 2021 Dining Room Set Comes Home to Cheboygan’s Front Range Lighthouse . . . . . . . . . 7 Beacon Deadline: January 15, 2022 South Fox Island Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Braver Men Never Manned a Lifeboat . . . . . . . . 15 EXCURSION & EVENT PAYMENT AND REFUND POLICY Keeper Series: Alonzo J. Slyfield, MD . . . . . . . . . 22 GLLKA Membership required for all events. The Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Deposit Requirement - 50% of the excursion fee per participant is required at registration to hold your place in each excursion or event. On our front cover You may also make the payment in full. Final Payment - Due in full no later than sixty (60) days prior to the Cheboygan Main Lighthouse 1935 date of the excursion or event. If at this time you do not wish to Lake Huron participate, please call the GLLKA office for a refund of your deposit. Photo Credit: Wayne Sapulski Archives CANCELLATION AND REFUND POLICY ON ALL EVENTS Cancellation at Sixty (60) Days - If final payment is not received by at lease sixty (60) days prior to the date of the excursion or event, you will be treated as a cancellation and your deposit refunded. Cancellation between Sixty (60) and Thirty (30) Days - If you cancel an excursion or event in less than sixty (60) days but prior to thirty (30) days of the excursion or event- you will receive a refund of your payment less an administrative fee of the smaller of 25% of the total event fee or $100 per participant. Cancellation between Thirty (30) Days and Start Date of Event - If you cancel an excursion or event in less than thirty (30) days but prior to the start date of the event, you will not receive a refund unless a participant can be found to replace you on the excursion or event. If a replacement is found, you will receive a refund less an administrative fee of the smaller of 25% of the total event fee or $100 per participant. Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association Member Updates P.O. Box 219 * GLLKA MEMBER DISCOUNT: 707 N. Huron Ave All current GLLKA members will be entitled to an in-store 10% Mackinaw City, Michigan 49701-0219 discount on merchandise purchases by presenting a valid membership card at the time of purchase. Online and phone purchases are Winter Hours - 9 AM to 4 PM excluded. Summer Hours - 9 AM to 5 PM Phone: (231) 436-5580 Email: [email protected] Website: www.gllka.org OFFICERS * BEACON ARTICLES: If you would like to submit an Presidents………………Mark Siegman & Hallie Wilson lighthouse or maritime article to be published in the Vice President…………..Mike Finn BEACON, please email to [email protected] via Word Secretary………..………..Jennifer Tregembo Document or PDF. Submit photos via JPG. Treasurer…………………Dianne Taeckens BOARD MEMBERS _______________________________________________________ William Crane, Mike Finn, Ben Hale, The BEACON is the official publication of the Great Lakes Lighthouse MaryAnn Moore, Mark Siegman, Dianne Taeckens, Jennifer Keepers Association (GLLKA), and is published quarterly. Tregembo, Hallie Wilson, Mark VanderVelde, & Sherry Nelson OFFICE STAFF GLLKA is a non-profit 501(c) 3 and operated almost entirely by Jim Tamlyn- Executive Director volunteers. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without Katie Misic- Office Manager the permission of the editor. Opinions within may not reflect the views Susan Brooks- Gift Shop of the organization. All GLLKA programs, services, and activities are performed without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex or handicap.

2 Directors Report: Jim Tamlyn, Executive Director Snow flakes have replaced pollen and we wonder where did the Fall go, as we put this edition of the Beacon to bed. Fall for us here at GLLKA is a time to work on the exterior of the Lighthouses while there are no visitors present. Inte- rior work can be done in the winter but exterior work needs to be done when our visitors leave and before snow starts. One of our properties which needed work badly, is a property we call “Gros Cap,” which is located on the shore two miles due North across the lake from St. Helena Lighthouse. This is where we store our Zodiac boats which are used to haul supplies and small groups of people over to St. Helena Island and the Light- house. The buildings had no exterior work done on them for some time and needed fixing up. New doors and door jambs were installed and the back porch was redone with treated lumber. The ga- rage was cleaned out and what was of no value was removed and everything was organized to be used more efficiently. The water in Lake Michigan has gone down dramatically leaving driftwood on the shore where we launch our Zodi- acs. This all had to be cleaned up before mother-nature decides what’s in store for us next. St. Helena Lighthouse also had clean- up work done and St. Helena, Gros Cap and the Cheboygan Front Range Light- house (CFRL) all had to be winterized before freezing temps set in. At the CFRL, several donations came in which will add tremendously to mak- St Helena Lighthouse, July 28, 2012 Photo by Terry Pepper ing a more historically accurate setting of businesses to be a part of the community, as the lighthouse the Range-light (See Sherry Nelsons Article). We received would have been a hundred years ago. the dining room set which was built for the CFRL and also have acquired a refrigerator and cast-iron tub which are the I know we’re late with the fall Beacon but I wish to take proper timeframe. We also put the finishing touches on the this time to wish for everyone a very heating system and can now turn the temp up whenever we Happy Holiday season and am looking forward to seeing work here this winter. you all in the near future. This past weekend some of our board members and volun- Sincerely, teers met at the CFRL to put up a Christmas tree and lights on Jim Tamlyn the building. We are working with the downtown Cheboygan The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

Cheboygan Main Lighthouse 3 Historical Information Located directly across the three mile width of the Straits from the southernmost point of Bois Blanc Island, the eastern By Terry Pepper prominence of Duncan Bay marked a natural turning point for vessels entering the Straits, and the growing bounty of In 1851, Duncan City was the only town Lake Michigan beyond. of prominence near the mouth of the Che- boygan River. Located at the western edge On December 21, 1850, Congress appropriated the sum of of McLeod’s Bay, a little over a mile to the $4,000 for the purchase of a 41.13-acre reservation on what east of the river, where the McLeod broth- would become known as “Lighthouse Point” at the western ers had established the area’s first sawmill end of Duncan Bay for the construction of the first Cheboy- in 1846. gan light station. The construction contract was awarded to Rhodes and Warner, of Ohio, and under the superintendence Duncan City was a “company town,” of Captain Shook of the Army Corps of Engineers, construc- and took its name from Jeremiah W. Dun- tion of the station began in the spring of 1851. Consisting of can, whose lumbering operation eclipsed a round 40-foot brick tower on a stone foundation, the lantern all others in the area. Duncan’s docks was outfitted with a Fifth Order Fresnel lens manufactured along the bay established it as a fueling by L. Sautter of Paris, making it one of the first on the Great stop for the wood-burning steam vessels Lakes equipped with a lens of the Fresnel design. William passing through the Straits. As Duncan Drew, the station’s first keeper, took up residence in the de- City grew, it did not take long for the tached keeper’s quarters, and exhibited the light for the first bay itself to take on the Duncan name. time in September 1851. Cheboygan Main c. 1900 - Cheboygan Tribune The tower was evidently poorly located, as high water was found to be undermining the stone foundation soon after con- struction. Fearing collapse was imminent, in 1859 the newly formed Lighthouse Board decided to build a new station and demolish the original tower, only eight years after its con- struction. The replacement station was similar in design to that built at Port Washington the following year, consisting of a com- bined keeper’s dwelling and tower, with the tower located at the north apex of the hipped roof. The tower stood thirty-one feet above the foundation, and was capped with an octagonal iron lantern into which the Fresnel from the old tower was carefully relocated. The light’s thirty-seven foot focal plane provided a twelve-mile range of visibility, thereby providing coverage throughout the Straits. The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

4 Cheboygan Main c.1920 - Centennial History cellar, the boat house was relocated from Duncan Bay The arrival of the light- to the shore in front of the fog house tender Ruby in the fall signal building, and a circular of 1889 was a momentous, iron oil house of 225-gallon but not altogether enjoyable capacity was constructed to occasion for the Cheboygan allow the storage of a year’s keepers, when the appara- supply of oil a safe distance tus for duplicate fog-signals from the dwelling. Finally, were delivered to the station. with the construction of plank The arrival of the fog signal walkways connecting the new equipment not only meant structures to the dwelling, more work, but sleepless work was completes on June nights until they adjusted to 2, and the fog signal was the noise! placed into operation. Over the remainder of that year, The Ruby returned the the fog signals were operated following spring with addi- for a total of 96 hours, their tional materials and a con- boilers consuming 4 tons of struction crew, who quickly coal. set about construction of the new fog signal, close to This was the time of peak the lakeshore approximately production for Cheboygan’s one hundred feet to the east lumber industry, with the ar- of the station. ea’s eight mills producing over 100 million board feet of lumber, of All was not bad news Cheboygan Main c. 1935 - Wayne Sapulski archives which the Duncan Mill produced for the keepers, however, 27.5 million feet alone. Thompson as the construction crew Smith took over as the owner of also improved the dwelling the Duncan Mill. A religious man, with the installation of he forbade the construction of running water pumped from any saloons in his town. It would a cistern installed in the appear safe to assume that this may have contributed to the 42 saloons The Beacon ~ Fall 2021 located in Cheboygan in 1895! As was the case with most of Michigan’s lumber towns, the boom days were short-lived. The areas forests were quickly clear- cut, and the lumberjacks began picking up stakes to work the vir- gin forests of the west. 1896 saw the busiest recorded year at the Cheboygan Main fog signal, as the keepers were kept busy shoveling thirty-nine tons of coal in order to keep the signals waling for a total of 509 hours. The Duncan Mill burned to the ground in 1898, and with the deci- sion not to rebuild, Duncan City’s reason for being disappeared, and the few remaining citizens aban- doned the town.

5 Cheboygan Main Smith Mill at Duncan eral Bureau of Recreation conducted a survey of Michigan’s coastline for possible State Parks in 1956, and designated With the construction of the Fourteen Foot Shoal Light off- Lighthouse Point as part of its proposed “Poe Reef State Park shore in the Straits in 1930, Cheboygan Main was considered Site.” In 1958, the Michigan Department of Natural Resourc- obsolete, locked-up and abandoned. es built the Duncan Bay State Forest Campground on thirteen acres at Duncan Bay Beach, all of which was combined to With growing vandalism, the old station was considered to be in dangerous condition and the Coast Guard demolished become the current 1,200- the stations buildings at some time during the 1940s. The Fed- acre Cheboygan State Park in 1962. Cheboygan Main Remains c. 2010 - Terry Pepper The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

6 Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association MEMBERSHIP FORM Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association 707 N Huron Ave, P.O. Box 219, Mackinaw City, MI 49701, Tel: (231)436-5580, Email: [email protected] Member Name: Address: City/State/Zip: Phone Number: Email Address: Please check applicable boxes and enclose payment. Make all checks payable to: GLLKA New Renewal Standard Memberships: Contributing Memberships: (Individuals or Families) Individual 1- Year $40 Individual 2-Year $75 Keeper 1-Year $125 Family 1-Year $55 Family 2-Year $95 Keeper 2-Year $235 Add $20 for Printed Beacon (1-Year) Inspector 1-Year $250 Add $40 for Printed Beacon (2-Years) Inspector 2-Year $475 Lifetime $1500 Please send printed Beacon Please do not send Beacon and use additional funds for lighthouse restoration projects I would like to add a donation to my membership: $_________________ All Memberships include the online Beacon. Standard Memberships must include the additional fee if you would like a printed Beacon. Contributing memberships, please let us know if you want your additional funds to be used for a printed Beacon or for lighthouse restoration projects. Membership dues will be applied to our ongoing lighthouse preservation and education initiatives, ensuring that our lighthouse heritage will survive for future generations. The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

Dining Room Set Comes Home 7 to Cheboygan’s Front Range Lighthouse “I’m so happy to see this furniture back where it belongs,” said Linda Birely, who donated furniture that was purchased By Sherry Nelson for the lighthouse more than one hundred years ago. “Many of my family members wanted it, but this is where it should Keeper Duffy family be.” Cheboygan River Front Range Lighthouse, 1904 In September this year, Linda McLeod Birely surprised Ka- tie Misic, Office Manager of Great Lakes Lighthouse Keep- ers Association (GLLKA) in Mackinaw City, when she called with a stunning offer. She had furniture that was purchased for Cheboygan’s Front Range Lighthouse by her great grandfather. Did GLLKA want it? Of course, was the answer. Linda’s great grandfather, John Duffy, was the light- house keeper who bought the furniture. Duffy came to Cheboygan with his wife Nellie in 1899 as the keep- er of the Cheboygan River Front Range light. He was just 35 years old. Before the Cheboygan assignment, Duffy had been in St. Clair, Michigan, at the St. Clair Flats South Channel Range Light. He was the assistant keeper from 1895-1896 and then was promoted to prin- cipal keeper, serving 1896- 1899. That’s where he met and married his wife Nellie. When the opportunity came to become the Cheboygan Front Range keeper, he eagerly accepted the position, al- though it meant a decrease in salary. Duffy’s beginning pay was $540 a year. When retiring after 32 years, at age 67, Duffy earned $1020 yearly. The furniture included a buffet, hutch, dining table and chairs. It was purchased in Detroit shortly after Duffy arrived in Cheboygan. The set, bought in Detroit, was shipped to Cheboygan by train. It remained in the lighthouse until Duffy retired in 1931 at age 67. John Duffy had been the keeper of Cheboygan’s Front Range light for 32 years. Then the set moved over to B Street in Cheboygan with Hattie (Harriet, Linda’s grandmother), one of Duffy’s three daughters, who had married Cheboygan’s Scottie McLeod. The Duffy’s also had two sons. The dining set stayed with Linda’s Grandma Hattie and Grandpa Scottie on B Street until Hattie’s death in 1987. (Scottie had passed in 1978.) Next stop for the furniture was with Hattie’s son, Don- ald McLeod. He had moved downstate to Fowlerville and The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

8 worked as a blacksmith, shoeing racehorses. McLeod had married Pat Sworthwood in 1960, and Linda McLeod was born shortly after that. Later, Linda married Bobby Birely and the couple moved to a farmhouse, also in Fowlerville. When Linda’s father became ill, he asked her to come get the furniture, so it was moved to the Birely farmhouse. Eventu- ally the Birelys moved, did renovations on their home, and stored the furniture in a trailer. Realizing that the lighthouse furniture no longer fit their home or lifestyle, Linda made the call to GLLKA. “Several of my family members wanted the furniture,” said Linda. Choosing which one was a decision I couldn’t make,” she said. “The best place for the dining room set is the light- house, of course, for which it was purchased.” Linda trailered the furniture to Cheboygan, meeting rel- atives at the Front Range, sister Dawn Wrenn, and cousins Sally Spray, Ned Taylor, and Terry Drake. GLLKA Executive Director Jim Tamlyn and GLLKA volunteers Bob and Sue Brunais helped unload the precious cargo. The dining room set is now in place - the same place where it sat more than 100 years ago. “GLLKA thanks all in the extended Duffy family for their generous donation,” said Jim Tamlyn, “including all the cousins.” The Duffy cousin relatives are: Harry Turner, Bruce Turner, Danny Turner, Rod Taylor, Ned Taylor, Ter- ry Drake, Sally Spray, Deanna Sattleberg, Linda Birely and Dawn Wrenn. The Cheboygan River Front Range Lighthouse, built in 1880, is closed for the season currently. It is an active aid Linda Birely and hutch to navigation and is located behind the Eagles building, off Main Street in Cheboy- gan, just north of US 23. It will reopen in May 2022 for tours and visits. Additional lighthouse information is at GLLKA.org. Sally Spray, Linda Birely, Terry Drake and Dawn Wren alongside the buffet The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

9 South Fox Island Update By Karen Wells End of season view from the water Photo: Kathy Sanders The Fox Island Lighthouse Association (FILA) con- tinues restoring the South Fox Light Station. In all, 38 people worked on projects during our nine-week island season with several additional people providing support via shore-side projects and logistics. Finally getting rec- ognized on the National Register of Historic Places was a highpoint to the season. As we often do, we tried to make some progress on each of the buildings. The 1867 Lighthouse got the most attention. We con- Photo: Kailie Sjoblom tracted Old Country Painting & Lighthouse Restoration The Beacon ~ Fall 2021 out of Munising to complete painting and whitewashing external areas above the comfortable reach for volun- teers. They also did considerable tuckpointing on the building, another thing we’d been reluctant to do with volunteers. Volunteer projects included continued inte- rior lead remediation, painting the spiral stairs, install- ing two more pairs of permanent shutters and beginning restoration of basement windows. The tower looks truly stunning in its fresh whitewash! Whitewashing in progress

10 Photo: Karen Wells Installing historic shutters Tower stairs freshly painted Photo: Kathy Sanders 1867 Lighthouse with whitewashing complete Photo: Kathy Foster The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

The 1910 Assistant Keepers Quarters has also 11 been a focus area with a goal of opening this beautiful building to the public. We made con- Photo: Kathy Sanders siderable strides replacing plywood covering the windows with removable seasonal window covers. As we uncover windows, of course, they need glazing, painting and, on occasion, fur- ther restoration. We also are moving forward on restoring both internal and external doors, replacing hardware that “went missing” when the buildings were unsecured. Our efforts to sta- bilize plaster with a system of washers is pay- ing off – the floors were clean when we arrived in June. This building is huge. It contains three apartments, one of them with three bedrooms. We’ll be at this for a number of years. We’d gotten an estimate for painting the Skel- Example of the fine woodwork in the Assistant Keepers etal Tower. In the six-digits, it’s currently beyond our means. Fortunately, the metal remains in good shape despite the lack of paint. We paint- ed the beautiful entry door this summer to give an idea of what the light looked like originally. After several years of trying various techniques, we were able to remove the metal stops that se- cure the stairway windows. This summer’s effort required using a block and tackle to lift welding equipment and a grinder up the tower. Finally, we’ll be able to fully restore the windows and reinstall next summer. The Fog Signal Building got its door painted also. That building is another can- didate for painting when we can marshal the needed resources. Until then, we’ll continue to pick away on the projects that are doable. For instance, the supply room window had long been boarded up due to broken window panes – these have been replaced and the room now has light! The door to the cupola was also repaired and made functional. The boathouse remains problematic as well. The high water of the last two years has surrounded it in stone. We removed enough stone to get the doors open and resecure them. There will be a lot of work to dig out the building properly once we’re sure of the permanency of lower water levels. We got a much-needed coat of paint on the building at least. The gray removable window coverings are replacing decades old plywood the are screwed into the window frames Photo: Jim Greenwall The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

12 Window restoration Photo: John Wells Painting the Skeletal Tower entry Photo: Karen Wells Heating up corroded stops in an attempt to remove them Photo: Kathy Rollins The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

13 View from the Skeletal tower entry Photo: Kathy Rollins Rounding out our projects, the workshop got its screen We have to remind ourselves that the station once had four door restored and reinstalled, the Oil House got a paint touch men working from April to December to maintain it. We’re up and the grounds continue to get tamed from years of un- present on a more limited schedule and lack the dock that managed growth. was once present. We’re making progress, but there’s always more to do. Visitors sometimes ask when we’ll be done. The answer is likely “never” as even after restoration, there will always be maintenance. “Winter” projects this year include window resto- ration, recreating the final three pairs of shutters for the 1867 Lighthouse, mill- ing lumber for a planned basement stairway recre- ation, rebuilding metal stops that got damaged in earlier removal attempts and the usual planning and logistics. We’ve updated our web- site at www.southfoxlight- house.org and have more pictures of the buildings and restoration projects. If you’d care to join us or support the project, please check us out. Waves and ice broke the barrier intended to protect the double doors and had piled stone up nearly to the hinges Photo: Karen Wells The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

14 SUPGPHLCYOLOOAKRWNUAT • GLLKA MEMBERSHIP • DONATE TO OUR CAUSE • FOLLOW AND SHARE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE • AMAZON SMILE • TAKE A GLLKA CRUISE • VOLUNTEER • READ THE BEACON • SHOP ONLINE OR IN OUR GIFT SHOPS • WEAR GLLKA MERCHANDISE SPREAD THE WORD OF LIGHTHOUSES AND GLLKA The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

15 Braver Men Never Manned a Lifeboat by Fred Stonehouse (Volume 1, Number 2) Story made available courtesy of the US Life-Saving Service Heritage Association Looking back over a century of time, it is hard for us to a minimum during conversion. Anywhere between one and fully realize the difficulties the old U.S. Life-Saving Service eight schooner-barges were towed in “strings” behind power- faced and the simple, matter-of-fact way they met and over- ful steamers. Among others in the Lowell string that day were came them. The surfmen had a job to do and they would do the schooner-barges Lillie Mae and St. Clair. their best, regardless of the danger. Sometimes, in spite of their skill and bravery, they were not successful. A case in That October day the wind was blowing fresh from the point is the rescue of the crew of the schooner-barge St. Clair north with a moderate sea and for a while presented no spe- on October 1, 1888 on Michigan’s Lake Huron shore. cial problem. As the afternoon wore on the wind and sea in- creased. By late afternoon, conditions were bad enough that About noon the steamer Lowell left Harbor Beach (then the steamer Lowell and her fleet could make no progress, so called Sand Beach Harbor), Michigan, on the west shore of she swung around to return to the port of Harbor Beach. By Lake Huron bound for Bay City, about eight miles to the the time they reached the harbor, the sea was too heavy to northwest around Pointe aux Barques. During this period in allow them to maneuver through the narrow gap between the Great Lakes history steamers were replacing sail and it was two breakwaters. With no other choice, the steamer left her common to convert old schooners, barks and brigantines into barges outside where they all came to a safe anchor. The St. hybrid vessels known as “schooner-barges.” The idea was to Clair dropped both anchors about a half-mile leeward of the convert obsolete sailing ships into barges that could be towed south breakwater and three quarters of a mile off the beach. by a steamer. Generally, conversion involved cutting down The steamer sought shelter inside the harbor. Her captain lat- the top hamper and leaving only enough sail to keep from be- er asked a tug to go out and bring his schooner-barges in, but ing blown ashore. A small crew of five to seven men (some- the tug captain refused. The weather had become too rough. times including a female cook) manned the schooner-barge. The crews faced great danger if the town line parted and they Seeing the potential for trouble U.S. Life-Saving Service faced a lee shore, since available sail had been reduced to Keeper George W. Plough of the Harbor Beach (Sand Beach The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

16 Harbor Beach LSS servicemen Since the captain steadfastly refused his pleas, Keeper Plough and his surfmen reluctantly returned to their lifesav- Harbor) Life-Saving Station launched his lifeboat and rowed ing station. Having left hurriedly without donning their oil- out to the anchored vessels to see if help was needed. The skins, the surfmen were chilled to the bone and the warmth of first schooner-barge he checked was the Lillie Mae. She re- the station would be welcome. Returning to the station also plied all was well. Moving on to the St. Clair and knowing gave the lifesavers the good tactical advantage of placing that she was “old, rotten and unseaworthy,” Keeper Plough themselves windward of the fleet. Should their services be urged her captain H.C. Jones, to leave her without delay. needed by one of the schooner-barges, they could reach her quickly. Before leaving Keeper Plough told Captain Jones The St. Clair’s captain refused to abandon his ship. For that if he changed his mind, to burn a flare and they would a full hour Keeper Plough kept his lifeboat at the St. Clair, return. all the while trying to convince her master to leave her. In spite of the fact that the weather continued to worsen, the About 10 p.m., less than a half hour after returning tired stubborn captain refused to go with the lifesavers. Torrents of and cold to the Harbor Beach Life-Saving Station, the look- sharp rain marched across the harbor and string gusts of wind out reported a torch burning on the St. Clair. It was the dis- buffeted the anchored fleet. Keeper Plough tried to convince tress signal. Captain Jones that holding his crew aboard would make no difference when the storm struck, so they might as well get off while they could. The captain refused to heed the keep- er’s advice. One surfman later remembered the cap- tain saying, “all he had was tied up in her and he would stick with her to the last.” Keeper Plough also asked if he could at least take the young woman who was the ship’s cook to safety. She was Julia Greavreath of Sebawaing, a lakeshore community on Saginaw Bay. Seemingly taking her cue from the captain, she rejected leav- ing the ship. She would stick by her ship. Harbor Beach LSS The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

17 By now the wind had increased to full gale and a furious sea was running outside the piers. Know- ing the extreme danger they were facing, the surfmen donned their oilskins and life preservers. Knowing the great risk they were facing, the surfmen each gave the keeper’s wife their valuables to hold before they left. It was the old motto again. “Regulations say we have to go out, but they don’t say anything about coming back.” Knowing that once they Harbor Beach LSS Boat To have lost that feeble lantern glow would have been di- reached the St. Clair they would sastrous. Just holding the lantern and keeping it out of the wa- be unable to return to the station against the force of the sea, ter was a difficult job. Several men tried, but their hands got Keeper Plough decided he would have to run for the safety so numb they could not keep it up. Finally, Julia Greavreath of the St. Clair River, sixty miles to the south and leeward of took over the job and throughout the night kept the vital lan- the schooner-barge. It would be a terrible trip, but it was his tern burning. This courageous young woman was helping to only option. keep them all on course and alive. When the surfmen reached the rolling and pitching St. Throughout this wild night the Life-Saving Service’s life- Clair, they had great difficulty working in alongside her. boat again earned its well deserved reputation for strength Finally, one of the men on the schooner-barge managed to and seaworthiness. The lifeboat could not be defeated. But throw a heaving line to the USLSS lifeboat and the sailors the people on board were only human and they had limits. hauled the heavy lifeboat to the ship. Quickly the six sailors When the gray dawn finally broke, everyone on board was and Julia Greavreath jumped into the wildly tossing lifeboat. exhausted and suffering from hypothermia. Once all were safely aboard, the lifesavers dropped the line and the lifeboat was swept out into the surging waters. Soon In a desperate attempt to keep the seas clear of the boat, thereafter the St. Clair foundered. Keeper Plough trailed an oilcan. It did the trick, smoothing the seas enough to keep them out of the boat, at least as long What followed was an epic run over a wild and tumultuous as they were in deep water and the oil lasted. The oil was lake. The surfmen started out under oars, but Keeper Plough not used earlier because the can was stored under the deck soon had his crew set a reefed sail, steering with the tiller and the keeper was afraid that if he tried to get it out in the and two quarter oars. Time and again, the lifeboat was nearly darkness, an unseen boarding wave might strike and flood the smothered by a tremendous sea, breaking sharply and then open hatch. rushing by on either side. For a time the Life-Saving Service cheated disaster. Finally, a monster wave broke over the stern, With the dawn it was clear that both lifesavers and sailors, carrying away the tiller and nearly causing the boat to broach. especially Captain Jones and Julia Greavreath, were exhaust- Recovering rapidly from this near catastrophe, Plough low- ed and frozen to the bone. Going the full sixty miles to the ered the sail and ordered his men to continue under oars. St. Clair River at the southern extremity of Lake Huron was clearly out of the question. All night long, frigid waves periodically swept into the life- boat, soaking surfmen and sailors alike before streaming out Port Sanilac, however, was approximately halfway and through the boat’s drainage ports. One of the waves put out when they arrived off the harbor at about 6 a.m., Keeper the lantern, preventing Keeper Plough from seeing the com- Plough decided they must try to land there. He would attempt pass. When he called for matches, only one man had some to run the lifeboat into the lee of the 500-foot crib pier and that were still dry. The difficulty of relighting the lantern on onto the beach. Word of their epic run had preceded them and such a terrible night can only be imagined; stinging spray, a at least 200 people lined the shore to watch their life or death pitching and rolling lifeboat, numbed fingers fumbling with struggle. The crowd knew the storm warriors were out on the an ever decreasing number of dry matches. But finally that lake and coming their way. lantern was lighted and the keeper brought the lifeboat back on course. The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

18 Harbor Beach LSS FOOTNOTE: In 1880, Congress au- The lifeboat soon arrived off Port Sanilac. Just as the life- thorized the construc- boat passed the end of the pier a tremendous wave, piled high- tion of the first Coast er by the shoaling bottom, caught the lifeboat and broached Guard station located it. Another wave smashed into the lifeboat, rolling the boat in Harbor Beach, completely over and throwing everyone into the boiling surf. which was known then The heavy lifeboat rolled three quarters of the way back to- as Sand Beach. The ward upright, but before coming around entirely it struck bot- station was completed tom. in 1881. It was 22 feet by 48 feet, and located Eight of the sixteen people on board managed to get back just north of the Jenks into the lifeboat and eventually rode it to shore. Three others Company dock. The swam ashore, but five souls perished, including brave Julia station was equipped Greavreath. Those that made it to the beach owed their lives with a surfboat, two to the efforts of bystanders, several of whom dashed into the self-righting, self-bail- surf to haul them to safety. Two of the surfmen were so far ing English lifeboats, gone that they had to be carried off to bed for medical treat- and a beach apparatus ment. consisting of a wagon with spools of hun- As a result of their arduous training and the fact that they dreds of yards of line wore the regulation USLSS life preserver, Keeper Plough and with a Lyle Gun (canon). The original station underwent all of his surfmen survived. In the terrible minutes after the several transitions, including a long boardwalk that ex- lifeboat capsized, it was literally everyone for themselves. tended into the harbor to a boathouse offshore allowing the The already weakened sailors were easy victims of the hun- boats to be launched in deeper water. gry lake. Besides Julia Greavreath, three sailors and Captain Charles H. Jones were lost. If Captain Jones had heeded the In 1910, a new station was built on the Jenks Company Life-Saving Service’s warnings off Harbor Beach everyone dock in deep water. The deep water allowed launching and would have survived. Of Keeper Plough and his surfmen, the a quicker response time to ships requiring assistance. The 1889 U.S. Life-Saving Service Annual Report wrote, “Braver station had a watch room located on the roof, and later a 50 men…never manned a lifeboat.” foot tower was constructed on the end of the dock. This sta- tion witnessed the end of the U.S. Life Saving Service and the The Beacon ~ Fall 2021 beginning of the U.S. Coast Guard. In 1935, Harbor Beach once again saw a new station lo- cated near the site of the first station, approximately 300 yards offshore within the harbor. The rescue boats mounted on a cradle which rode on rails. In an emergency the men and boats rolled down the rails and into the water. When they returned to the station, the boats would be piloted onto the cradle then winched up into the boathouse. This station was also used as a training facility for the Coast Guard during World War II. Hundreds of men entered the door as a raw recruit and left a skilled Coast Guardsman. The station fell victim to Lake Huron as lake water rose and entered the first floor of the station, resulting in ice damage to the station and boardwalk during winter. The station was closed in 1987. The fourth, and current, station is located onshore near the Harbor Beach Marine and was constructed in 1987. This unit was seasonalized in 2017.

ST. HELENA ISLAND LIGHT STATION Volunteer Lighthouse Keeper Opportunities “Lighthouse keepers wanted. Must be able to read, write and follow written directions.” This might have been an ad from the early 1900’s. However, the words hold true today. The Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association is looking for volunteers who would like to serve as assistant lighthouse keepers at the St Helena Island light station and experience “the Miracle of the Straits.” An experienced keeper will be on site throughout your stay for guidance and assistance. A fee, charged to volunteer at St Helena, includes housing, meals, snacks, beverages and consumables. Housing opportunities are varied and are dependent on the groups scheduled on the island. Volunteer keeper openings are available from mid-June through mid-August, with tours of duty ranging from a minimum of 3 days through the entire two month period, based on the volunteer’s availability. Positions are open to singles, couples and families; however Visit us online at www.gllka.org or email any children must be at least 8 years of age to participate. [email protected] for more information. Volunteers will be transported by charter boat from Mackinaw Volunteer application provided in this issue City or via a two mile trip from the south shore of the Upper of the Beacon and on our website for Peninsula in one of our fourteen-foot outboard powered download. Zodiacs. Volunteers will spend their entire tour of duty on the island before being returned to Mackinaw City or the Upper Peninsula. Duties can run the gamut from painting, sanding, cooking, washing dishes, dusting, hand-pumping and carrying water, serving as a tour guide, and clearing brush and weeds.

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21 The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

22 day Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. He did not succeed in this endeavor whether to poor soil conditions, bad weather The Keeper Series: Part 5 or just a poor economy. Also, while he was on a trip back to St. Clare in 1860, his three-year-old daughter, Mary Ellen Alonzo J. Slyfield M.D. Slyfield, died leaving his wife, siblings and a family friend to bury her near the farm. The following story about Dr. Alonzo Slyfield was taken from, THE TRAVERSE REGION, HISTORICAL AND DE- In July of 1861, Alonzo returned to his career as a light- SCRIPTIVE: H.R. PAGE & CO, 1884. P. 308. house keeper, and appointed the first keeper at Point Bet- sie Lighthouse. He would remain here until his retirement Dr. Slyfield fell quite ill shortly after his marriage. To help in 1882. He also continued his medical practice through his in his recovery, Dr Slyfield and his wife decided to move keeper years and into retirement. North and he applied for the lighthouse keeper’s job at South Manitou Lighthouse as there had been a frequent turnover of ALONZO J. SLYFIELD, M. D., Frankfort, was born in light keepers here. He was hired to takeover the lighthouse in Concord, Vt., June 1, 1825. He came with his parents to June of 1853 and was quickly appointed keeper. He stayed Michigan when seven years of age, landing beside a float- here until May of 1859 when he resigned. ing bridge in Pine River, in St. Clair, from the old steamer Gratiot. There, chiefly, he spent his youth and early man- He had decided to try farming and spent two years clearing land and building a house, near North Bar Lake in present hood. He studied medicine in Hyde Park, Vermont, with Dr. A. Morse, hav- Point Betsie ca 1883 ing previously spent three years in med- The Beacon ~ Fall 2021 ical research among the Indians. On his return to St. Clair he opened a drug store, and commenced the practice of medicine on the eclectic system. On Dec. 10, 1848, he was married to Miss Alice J. Latham, of China, St. Clair County. She was born in Greenwich, Washing- ton County, N. Y., May 26, 1826. Their children are Nellie M., now deceased, Charles B., Mary, now deceased, Edwin R., Elmer E., George W., and Jennie A. In August, 1853, after a severe illness, Mr. Slyfield accepted a situation as keep- er of the light-house on Manitou Island, and remained there nearly ten years. From there he removed to Empire Bay, purchased lands, and opened a pioneer home for himself and family. Late in tile fall lie left his family alone and returned to Manitou for a boat load of provisions, and became weather bound there for about three weeks. In his third attempt to leave he had the help of another per- son and succeeded. That night the ice formed heavily on the beach, closing up all transition for the winter, but he had made good his escape and joined his anxious family with unspeakable sat- isfaction. He resided there part of two years, and then lie became keeper of the light-house at Point Betsie and remained nearly twenty-two years. The instruction of his children he secured partly by pri-

Original South Manitou Light Station 1858 23 Records of the Historic American Buildings Survey - Library of Congress snow fell to a depth of six inches, but owing to a rain, it vate teaching in his family and partly at the school in Ben- soon melted away. The sea was running high, and seemed zonia. While at Point Betsie the doctor resumed his medical as though it could not grow larger, but still the storm in- practice, and endured severe hardships in visiting the sick creased. In the height of the storm a brig was seen making throughout the neighborhood. During one winter he went for the island. It proved to be the brig J. Y. SCAMMON, repeatedly to Almira and vicinity to visit and treat those owned by Hannah, Lay & Co., of Grand Traverse. I saw the who became ill through want and hardship. He waded the doomed vessel slowly nearing the beach, and, knowing she Platte River eighteen times, standing barefoot on the ice to would soon be ashore if her anchors did not fetch her up, dress himself at the shore, and then resumed his journey on and among the breakers that were dashing and boiling and snow-shoes, in snow four feet deep. He was one of the first foaming white against the shore, and perhaps drown the purchasers of village lots in Frankfort village. He thinks crew, I came to the conclusion that something must be done Mr. Coggshall made the first and he the second purchase of to get communication to them. The thought came to me like building lots in the place. The doctor now has a beautiful a flash to write a note and send it to them in a bottle. I then residence on Forest Avenue, and other property in the vil- took a small rope and bottle in my hands, held them aloft, lage, and 200 acres of real estate south of the river. He has and made signs to the crew to send me a small line, which served as justice of the peace eight years, and six years as they soon understood, and fastening a line to a buoy and county coroner. The wreck of the J. Y. SCAMMON in 1854 throwing it overboard, was but a moment’s work. It soon is thus described by Mr. Slyfield. “While seated here alone, reached the shore. I attached the bottle containing a note watching my light to night, my thoughts drift back to a scene and it was hauled on board, and the passengers, as well as of twenty-five years ago. On the 8th of June, 1854, I was crew, were not long in learning my design, and a shout of keeper of the South Manitou Island light. The wind that day joy went up from every mouth. The note was, ‘ Can I render blew from the northeast a living gale, and, strange to say, you any assistance? If so, send word by bottle.’ The answer came back per the same trusty little messenger, saying, ‘Our big chain has parted, and the small one will not hold us long. Look out for us ashore.’ I patrolled the shore and in about an hour after that, the brig came on broadside. The men launched a spare spar over the rail, the end resting in shoal water. The mate mounted it, and slid down, and wad- ing through the water, was helped ashore. Next followed four ladies, who came ashore in about the same manner, the mate and I assisting them as they came in reach. And so all the crew were safely landed, much to their joy. “ I still have in my possession a spy-glass, which I purchased from the captain. On it is engraved the name of J. Y. SCAMMON and while in daily use it often reminds me of the wrecking of the brig nearly a quarter of a century ago, when -the marine interest, now grown to gigantic proportions, was yet in its infancy. “On our return with the shipwrecked crew to the light-house, we found that during my absence I had been blessed by the arrival of an eight-pound blue-eyed boy, and there was indeed a feeling of happiness in the station that night, and I felt satisfied that I had accomplished more that day than on any other day of my previous life. That child has grown up to manhood, and from his early years has always been a careful watcher for the, safety of lives from wrecks; and has while quite young assisted me in saving the crew from another wreck, under similar circumstances. He has spent his whole life in handling boats in the surf, and on the old lake at his occupation of fishing. He, at such times, is careful, considerate and cool, and would be a valuable acquisition to the United States Life Saving Service.” The Traverse region, historical and descriptive. H. R. Page & co., 1884. p. 308 The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

The Stormking howls with vicious glee The Prayer Written for The Pilot’s Newsboys And drives the snow o’er land and sea. Author unknown circa 1900 The foghorn drones most dismally. But in the captain’s cabin weeps The swirls of snow, like specters white, A mother, as the vigil keeps. Behold! As through a veil, a light From out the wild and doleful night, Her babe in peace and comfort sleeps. Dim gleams upon the steamer’s right. Pass wailing by the harbor light. Of all this storm it naught does know. O kindly beacon of the night! The billows rage, the breakers roar, The cabin lamp swings to and fro; Relief lights up the captain’s face; And splash, and foam, and seethe, and pear The water’s rush is heard below; The sailors’ gloom to joy gives place; Far up the ice-incrusted shore. And beam and timber seem to feel The mother thanks for Supreme grace. The tremor of the pouding wheel, Far out upon the storm tossed lake, The engines mighty hand of steel. The steamer turns the icy prow, Where uncontrolled the whitecaps break, That winter’s welded to the bow, A steamer strives a port to make. The swish and thud of angry seas Toward the harbor’s quiet now. Her brazen siren wildly shrieks; Do not disturb the infant’s ease. And soon is reached the haven’s peace, She rocks and plunges, bends and creaks. But fearful, sinking on her knees, Where raging winds and wild waves cease, E’en now her rotten bottom leaks. The mother prays: “O God on high! Where all is decked with snowy fleece. On deck and rigging, spar and mast, Guide Thou the craft, or else we die The sailors round their fires cower; The spray is driven by the blast, Deign not my pleadings to deny! The clock strikes twelve, high in the tower, And all with ice is overcast. O curb the storm’s ferocity!” ‘Twixt night and mourn it is the hour. Long lies she there on bended knee, The captain stands mid sleet and snow, As wails the wind and moans the sea. ‘Twas then, whilst blew the warning horn Where fiercest does the tempest blow, Amid the Stormking’s blasts of scorn, And firm, commands the crew below. The Old Year died, the new was born. On deck, a lot or in the hold, The willing men, though chilled with cold, Fleet footed, do as they are told.

Volunteer 25 Lighthouse Keeper Opportunities Cheboygan River Front Range Light Have you ever yearned to gain a glimpse of the lighthouse keepers life, while simultaneously assisting with the operation and maintenance of a historic lighthouse, you might consider serving as a volunteer keeper at the Cheboygan River Front Range light for a session during the summer or fall season. ​ Volunteers (couples or two good friends) will have access to the upstairs bedrooms at the lighthouse while providing an enjoyable and hospitable environment for visitors from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Thursday - Sunday, Memorial Weekend to Labor Day Weekend. Fall Hours are Saturday & Sunday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM until the first weekend of October. Since volunteer Keepers will work in pairs, you will be free to swap between gift shop and tour duties as you see fit. Keepers will also be responsible for building and grounds maintenance throughout the day. This may include sweeping, dusting, watering flowers, changing light bulbs, etc. There will also be special projects from time to time - ranging from carpentry, light demolition, painting, etc., depending on the individual keeper’s skills and abilities. ​ Visit us online at www.gllka.org or email [email protected] for Located centrally in downtown Cheboygan, more information. Volunteer application provided in this the experience of serving as a weekend issue of the Beacon and on our website for download. volunteer keeper at the Cheboygan River Front Range light offers a unique The Beacon ~ Fall 2021 combination of staying in a historic riverfront lighthouse while enjoying all the amenities of a bustling downtown area.

26 Please fill out and send to: GLLKA P.O. Box 219 Mackinaw City, MI 49701 Or scan & email to: [email protected] Volunteer Application Full Name: Applicant Information Date: Last First Apartment/Unit # Address: Street Address City State ZIP Code Cell Phone: Email Date(s) Available: Keeper at St. Helena Island Light Name of individual(s) Organize a Fundraiser or Excursion you would like to be scheduled with: References Keeper at Cheboygan Lighthouse Relationship: Phone: Maintenance Project at Cheboygan Relationship: Lighthouse Cruise Narrator Phone: Special Skills: (Preferred maintenance project) Medical Conditions or Food Allergies: Please list two professional references. Full Name: Company: Email: Full Name: Company: Email: 1 The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

27 Company: Previous Employment or Volunteer Experience Job Title: Phone: Responsibilities: From: To: Company: Phone: Job Title: To: Responsibilities: From: Emergency Contact Information Please list two emergency contacts: Relationship: Full Name: Phone: Full Name: Relationship: Phone: Disclaimer and Signature I recognize and accept that there is a significant element of risk involved in programs associated with lighthouses, the outdoors and the Great Lakes. I understand the risks and dangers involved in programs sponsored by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association (GLLKA), and I hereby certify to GLLKA that I and/or any dependents, including minor children, are fully capable of participating in these activities. For good and valuable consideration, including the participation by the undersigned, and/or dependents of the undersigned in a GLLKA program and/or activity, the receipt and sufficiency of such consideration being hereby acknowledged, the undersigned, for him/herself, and any dependents of the undersigned do hereby fully and forever release and discharge GLLKA, a 501(c)3 not for profit corporation, and its programs, and any and all officers, directors, agents and employees and volunteers thereof, from any and all claims or causes of action, and/or legal liability of any kind, nature or description, arising or resulting from participation by the undersigned or dependent of the undersigned in a program offered by GLLKA. 2 The Beacon ~ Fall 2021

28 In connection with and as part of such release, the undersigned hereby agrees to indemnify and hold the GLLKA, a 501(c)3 not for profit corporation and its programs, and any and all officers, directors, agents and employees thereof, harmless from and against any and all loss, liability or expense, including attorneys’ fees, which they or any of them may incur as a result of personal injury, death, or property damage suffered by the undersigned and/or a dependent of the undersigned resulting from participation by the undersigned and/or a dependent of the undersigned in a program sponsored by GLLKA. The terms of this acknowledgment, release and indemnification are contractual and not a mere recital, and contain the entire agreement between the parties. The undersigned has read this agreement and fully understands the contents hereof, and enters into this agreement knowingly and voluntarily on his/her behalf and on behalf of any dependents of the undersigned listed below. Further, I give my permission for the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association to use any digital and emulsion-based photographs, video and audio recordings made of me for promotional purposes. Signature: Date: Printed Name: Guardian Signature: All programs, services, and activities are performed without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex or handicap. 3 The Beacon ~ Fall 2021