St. Helena Lighthouse

Mary Ann Moores summer retreat isnt the typical home on a lake.
She prefers the St. Helena Lighthouse on the island of the same name in Lake Michigan, about 6.5 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge in Mackinac County.
You get out here away and its the calm, the peacefulness, the quiet. Its the smell of the water and the smell of the air, noted the Mackinaw City resident and principal lightkeeper.
She was first introduced to the island and life there in 1992, when she took part in a four-day teachers workshop through the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association.
I fell in love with the site. I was raised on the water ... I felt I came full circle and back home, she noted.
Shes been back every summer since then, the last six of which shes principal lightkeeper. She lives on the island from mid-June to mid-August, and has spent more time there than any other keeper since 1922.
Some of the responsibilities in Moores charge are signing up volunteers, coordinating that schedule — there must be three people on the island at all times during the season — and knowing what needs to be done around the property. Shes also on the island when the Boy Scouts, who have been instrumental in the lighthouses repair, come over for projects.
St. Helena would not be an open lighthouse if it was not for our volunteers, she noted.
The application process begins in March, and Moore said about 50 percent of the people who end up coming over are out-of-staters.
Theres a variety of reasons that people lend a hand on the island, including giving back to society, leaving something for the future, being in the wilderness and living history.
About 65 volunteers come over in the course of a summer, but none stay there as long as Moore. Last year, she was on the island for 50 days straight.
Theres no running water or electricity, except for some solar panels that generate enough power to run the lighthouse and a few modern day conveniences, such as cell phone chargers. The kitchen runs on propane.
Everyone pitches in around mealtime, along with the other chores. These could be painting, trimming brush, general maintenance or pumping the 80 gallons of water needed a day.
Moore said shes generally always on the island when volunteers are there, and the threshold is high for volunteers to spend time there when she has to take a mainland trip.
Its sort of an honor you earn because we want to make sure people can respond to emergency situations, kind of MacGyver things together, she noted.
The average length of time to stay on St. Helena is four to seven days, and for some its become an annual tradition. The VanderVelde family from Rockford — Mark and Michele, and their children Mike, 16, and Jane, 18, — has been making the trip together for 10 years.
Michele started 13 years ago with the educator workshops. She enjoyed the time so much, she has continued the workshops and adds on time with the family.
You get the gratitude youve done something and helped out. Youre preserving for the next generation, she noted.
Michele called the island her second home, and in talking with other returning volunteers, she doesnt seem to be alone. It seems theres an invisible string that tugs these people back to the island, maybe Moore most of all.
Does she get sad when she has to leave?
Yep.
Every time?
Every time.

Maggie Peterson can be contacted at (231) 439-9397 or mpeterson@petoskeynews.com.

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Travel & Events

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• St. Helena
• Lighthouse
• Mackinac