Rest in Peace Brother Gerald Warner

My good friend Brother Gerald Warner passed away 4-4-18. I served with brother Gerald at the Salesian Inner City Boys Club of Columbus Ohio in the mid-1970s. We have been friends ever since. Brother Gerald was one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. I really enjoyed conversing with him and remember his dog Lady. I didn’t know until today that he had founded the Boys Club in Columbus. He had two other times there after I left. Under his wings I learned how to be an executive director myself. He had a wonderous sense of humor. I will miss you greatly. I last saw Gerald when I was in Tampa Florida and he was serving a salesian place also in Tampa. I visited there for dinner one night. Rest easy my friend. Comments are welcome on his behalf.

The Mysterious Orb at Haunted Island

On a night that we were’nt scheduled to go to Haunted Island, Calvin Little of the Marion Boys Club pointed at a light in the trees of the island that had suddenly appeared. The boys gasped in amazement. The light lasted about 5 minutes and then was gone. The light was high in the tree line. After seeing what they did, David Click wanted nothing to do with the Haunted Island. It is interesting to note that the light never appeared again. To this day I cannot explain that phenomena.

Why is God Always Messing With Me?

I am the Ludington Lighthouse but you can call me Lud for short. For years I’ve endured storms with waves that you wouldn’t believe and ice and penetrating sunlight. And now this! Can you believe a lightning strike? I’ve suffered a fire! Why me? Why is it always me? Does the Manistee Breakwater get this kind of treatment? No! The guy upstairs Reserves it for me. One time I was scrapped of my paint and stood bare naked for a week before I was repainted. You know how embarrassing that was? In truth, that lightning strike kind of energized me. It set my base so polarized that when the Badger passes me next time I may even whistle at it. I must confess the ferry boats turn me on. I might even go so far as to say that that lightning bolt attracted me even more to the Badger. Maybe for once the guy upstairs did me a favor. And it’s about time too!

Big Sauble Pointe Lighthouse

On July 28, 1866, Congress appropriated $35,000 for a new lighthouse at Big Sable Point. Approximately 933 acres  was deeded from the State of Michigan to the US at no cost and early 1867 construction began, making it the first light station in the area.

Built in 1867, the 112-foot  tower was originally a yellow cream brick conical cast iron boiler plate tower painted white with the middle third black. It has a focal plane of 106 feet . The building was made of so-called Cream City Brick.

Construction materials were brought up by ships. The first road to the site was not completed until 1933.

Because the brick deteriorated from exposure to the elements, a steel plate encasement was installed in 1900 for the cost of $3,225.  The yellow brick now encased in steel plate was difficult to see and a daymark was needed. Several changes to the daymark over the years were made, currently the tower is painted white with a black watch tower and a black band around the middle of the tower.  

It was the last Great Lakes Lighthouse to get electricity and plumbing which came in the late 1940s.  Until then, ouhouses had to suffice.  Gasp!

The original lens was a third order Fresnel lens,  inscribed “Sautter & Co., Constructeurs.” It was removed in 1985, and is now on display at the Rose Hawley Museum at White Pine Village.  The lighthouse follows a design first used at New Presque Isle Light, and which was also used on several other lights on the Great Lakes.

After the light was automated, the keeper’s house was severely vandalized.

In 1986, the lighthouse station was leased to the Foundation for Behavioral Research. The foundation has worked with the Big Sable Lighthouse Association to preserve the buildings.

In the middle of the 20th Century, 1949, Big Sable was electrified. It was the last Great Lakes light to give up wicks. This paved the way for automation and the elimination of the Lighthouse keeper’s job.

Buildings at the lightstation included the tower and dwelling, fog signal building, boat house, barn, three oil houses, two privy’s and a Diaphone fog signal.  The fog signal building fell into the lake due to erosion in 1943.

The site is the subject of constant erosion, so that keeping the foundation in place and the water away from undermining it has been a recurrent and expensive battle.

Listed as Big Sable Point Light Station in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as reference #83004296. Called Grande Pointe au Sable by French explorers and traders, Big Sable Point was an important landmark for mariners traveling a treacherous stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline between Big Sable Point and present-day Ludington. In 1855 twelve ships wrecked in that area. Commerce linked to the burgeoning lumber industry required Big Sable Point be suitably lighted. State Senator Charles Mears pressed the legislature to ask the federal government for a light station at Big Sable. In 1866 the U.S. Congress appropriated $35,000 for a lighthouse, which was built the following year. As the lumbering era waned, steamers carrying coal foodstuffs and tourists continued to rely on the lighthouse for navigation.

The Big Sable Point Lighthouse is one of the few Michigan lights with a tower reaching 100 feet .  Completed in 1867 Big Sable’s tower measured 112 feet  high. In 1902 the deteriorating brick tower was encased in steel. The keeper’s dwelling, which once housed a single family, has been enlarged over the years, resulting in the present three-family residence. Indoor plumbing and heating and a diesel electric generator were added in 1949. In 1953 power lines were extended to the Point. In 1966 the tradition of light-keeping begun in 1867 by Alonzo A. Hyde and his wife Laura ended when the station was fully automated.

The lighthouse was transferred to state ownership on November 1, 2002.   The site manager is the Sable Points Light Keepers Association.  Take state highway M-116 north from Ludington to Lakeshore Drive. Proceed north for 6.5-mile  to Ludington State Park. A vehicle permit is required and a fee collected. It is under the care of the Sable Point Lightkeepers Association, which was formed in 1986. The organization has been instrumental in restoring the light and associated buildings.   A volunteer keeper program makes is possible for volunteers to live and work in the lighthouse for two week periods.   Check it out if you are vacationing in Ludington.

Panoramic Big Bass Lake

Someone once commented to me that a lot of our pictures of Big Bass Lake had grey skies. Well, here’s one with blue skies. I have to admit the lake looks better under a blue sky. Just examine the wide expanse of this portion of Big Bass Lake. There are so many Vista Points around the lake that are more beautiful than words can describe. I’m now bringing some aerial pictures to Big Bass Lake and Beyond to show you the beauty from above. I’m trying to hire an eagle by the name of Sam to do my aerial photography. He works pretty cheap. And he doesn’t ask questions. Besides after looking at the beauty of our lake Sam is kind of speechless anyway.

My Arch Enemy

What you see here is my archenemy. In the event you do not know I am 6 foot 10 inches tall. My mode of travel on Lakes or Rivers is a rowboat. A dingy if possible. Canoes and I get along like Fire And Gasoline. I wouldn’t trust a canoe on Solid Ground. Being so tall is a detriment for taking a canoe anywhere. My back would not tolerate the strain. Plus I would have not made a great actor playing an Indian. My personal motto is ban the canoe.

This Would NOT Be The Best Time For A Dip In Lake Michigan

For anyone with a desire to swim in Lake Michigan on this particular day would really need to hear a copy of Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life and Set Me Free” cause you will be set free to your eternal reward. Can you imagine the electrical impact that type of lightning would have on your person? “Like a Bolt out of the Blue” would be your swan song.

As for me I can wait another day to swim in Lake Michigan. On the other hand, if I stick around long enough, just imagine how many fried fish might float up to the surface and then I can tell my wife what a great fisherman I am. Nah, she already knows that. If I brought home too many she just might kill me. Of course, I’d be the one that would have to clean them all cause she doesn’t do that but I think I told you that before.

You know the only one that would take a dip in Lake Michigan under these conditions would be just that- A Dip!

Those Crazy Michigan Fishermen

Can you even imagine this guy fishing out on the Ludington breakwater in this kind of weather? He’s the only one out there because every one else isn’t insane. He’s just one big wave away from joining those he is trying to catch. I wonder what type of I.Q. that guy has?

What kind of fish is he trying to catch? Is it worth his life to get them? As far out as he is on the breakwater, if he goes overboard there’s little chance of his survival. But some people will do almost anything to get a picture taken of them.

By the way, where he is standing is nearly a quarter of a mile out into Lake Michigan.  I’d wager even his worm has more sense.

Dino Speaks

Hi, remember me from the Flintstones? This is the only way they can perform prostate surgery on me plus have a surgical team observing the procedure. I’m very accommodating. Film at ten so be there or be square.