i’ll be on the water, photo by todd richter.
…at least in my mind.
Stay warm, have fun.
Check it out bigger and in Todd’s slideshow.
It’s lonely at Big Sable Lighthouse in wintertime
On a bone-chilling morning like today, it’s not too hard to put yourself in the probably none-too-warm shoes of Keeper Hans Hansen of the Big Sable Lighthouse, located at the wrong end of a nine mile walk from Ludington. Here’s his letter to Capt. C.E. Clark, USN, Lighthouse Inspector on September 19, 1887:
Please Sir, I wish to apply to you in regards to a change in location or in other words, if there is any chance for me to be transferred to some small Light. I have now served faithfully at this same Station for five long years lacking eight days, keeping the Light going every night the year around, and in them five years have been absent only three weeks. And this last year has been very hard on me on account I have had so many new men and each one I have to teach to care for the Light, and makes me feel very uneasy all hours of the night. The last man appointed is very quick and wants to learn. He is the best man that has been here for some time. He is a stranger to me. My children I should like very much to get them in school. Here is no school for miles. I prefer a small place where I can be alone with my family. I do not mind loosing [sic] Sixty dollars from my present salary. Would like best a place south from here but prefer best the west shore on Green Bay or would be glad to take some small place north of here. You would make us feel very happy. Please be so kind and do what you can.
You can get more stories from Lighthouses Short & Tall, learn about Big Sable Point Lighthouse in Ludington State Park and see tons more Michigan lighthouses on Michigan in Pictures.
Check this out bigger in Tim’s Lake Michigan slideshow and stay warm people!
winter on lake michigan
winter on lake michigan, photo by haglundc.
Cathy says she didn’t get in the water this time. Here’s a shot of Kirk Park in warmer times (and info about the beach including a map).
Check this out background big or in the Michigan Woods, Water & Nature group slideshow.
Lake Michigan @ PJ Hoffmaster State Park
Untitled, photo by DTOWN Thug (Tim Mayo).
See it bigger in his Lake Michigan slideshow and see more from PJ Hoffmaster State Park on Michigan in Pictures..
Before the Mackinac Bridge: City of Munising
Mackinac MI UP Great Lakes Passenger and Auto Ferry City of Munising connecting Mackinaw City and St Ignace before the Mackinaw Bridge was built, photo by UpNorth Memories – Donald (Don) Harrison.
Before the Mackinac Bridge was built (check Absolute Michigan for lots more on that), going to or from the UP was by ferry. The City of Munising was the last of the breed:
Built by the American Ship Building Company of Cleveland in 1903 for the Pere Marquette Railway Company, the “Pere Marquette 20” became the “City of Munising” in 1937. The Michigan Department of Highways used the ship to ferry autos across the Straits of Mackinac until 1959. The ship was used for potato storage by a Washington Island, Wisconsin firm until 1973.
Michigan State Ferry Album has some photos of the City of Munising and other ships that plied the Straits.
Check this out bigger and see some shots of the old ferry docks in Don’s slideshow of old Mackinac photos
Storm Chaser: Surfing in Grand Haven
Storm Chaser, photo by johndykstraphotography.
Around the end of August, surf season really starts in earnest in Michigan and on the Great Lakes. As the winds and waves build through September and November, so does the level of the surfing. Grand Haven is one of Michigan’s best breaks (see Surf Grand Haven) and one of the locations featured in Vince Deur’s awesome film Unsalted. Here’s a cool preview of Unsalted from Absolute Michigan.
Be sure and check this out bigger and also check out the Michigan surfing slideshow in the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr!
Freshwater Fury: The Great Lakes Storm of 1913
Charles S Price upside down, 1913, Wikipedia
Dear wife and Children. We were left up here in Lake Michigan by McKinnon, captain James H. Martin tug, at anchor. He went away and never said goodbye or anything to us. Lost one man yesterday. We have been out in storm forty hours. Goodbye dear ones, I might see you in Heaven. Pray for me. / Chris K. / P.S. I felt so bad I had another man write for me. Goodbye forever.
~A message found in a bottle 11 days after Plymouth disappeared, dictated by Chris Keenan, federal marshal in charge of the barge
Wikipedia says that the Great Lakes Storm of 1913, also known as the “Freshwater Fury” or the “White Hurricane”, was a blizzard with hurricane-force winds that ravaged the Great Lakes November 7-10, 1913. With the sinking of 19 ships, the stranding of another 19 and a death toll of at least 250, it remains the deadliest and most destructive natural disaster in Great Lakes history.
Major shipwrecks occurred on all but Lake Ontario, with most happening on southern and western Lake Huron. Lake masters recounted that waves reached at least 35 feet (11 m) in height. Being shorter in length than waves ordinarily formed by gales, they occurred in rapid succession, with three waves frequently striking in succession. Masters also stated that the wind often blew in directions opposite to the waves below. This was the result of the storm’s cyclonic motion, a phenomenon rarely seen on the Great Lakes.
In the late afternoon of November 10, an unknown vessel was spotted floating upside-down in about 60 feet (18 m) of water on the eastern coast of Michigan, within sight of Huronia Beach and the mouth of the St. Clair River. Determining the identity of this “mystery ship” became of regional interest, resulting in daily front-page newspaper articles. The ship eventually sank, and it was not until early Saturday morning, November 15, that it was finally identified as the Charles S. Price. The front page of that day’s Port Huron Times-Herald extra edition read, “BOAT IS PRICE — DIVER IS BAKER — SECRET KNOWN”. Milton Smith, the assistant engineer who decided at the last moment not to join his crew on premonition of disaster, aided in identifying any bodies that were found.
You can get a map to the wreck of the Charles S Price, and here’s a list of shipwrecks of the 1913 storm and an account of the weather. You can see more photos from Wikipedia and also in Lakeland Boating’s great slideshow of some of the on and offshore damage from the Freshwater Fury.
More at absolutemichigan.com/Shipwreck and even Michigan shipwrecks on Michigan in Pictures.
Storm waves over the Grand Haven Pier Light
DSC_0048-1 wr copy, photo by Heightened Senses [Dennis].
Lighthouse Friends says that the entrance to the Grand River in Grand Haven was originally marked by a tower near the south side , but that lighthouse was destroyed in a storm during the night of December 17, 1852. A second lighthouse was built in 1855 on a bluff overlooking the river and this light served until the pier lights were completed in 1905.
Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light has some historical information about the Grand Haven Pier Lights but unfortunately none of the great historical photos that make his site the bomb for Great Lakes Lighthouses. Terry does have some appropriate information about the distinctive catwalks:
Over the years, there were numerous renovations to both the lights and pier. In 1921, the pole that supports the flasher on the north pier was installed, and in 1922, the cast iron catwalk was installed to allow safe access to the tower and fog signal during storms. The original wooden pier facing on the pier was replaced with 900 tons of steel sheet pilings in 1954. A less welcome change in 1969 was the replacement of the old diaphone fog signal with a higher-pitched, and less romantic whistle.
In 1986, the Coast Guard became concerned that someone would become injured on the deteriorating catwalks, and scheduled for their demolition in June of 1987. Edward J. Zenko and his daughter Terry headed a group of volunteers calling themselves the “Save the Catwalk Committee,” and raised $133,000 to remove the wooden planks which formed the walkway, reinforce the iron supports, and install lights along the full length of the pier. Thus the catwalk was saved, and the lights illuminated for the first time on November 25, 1988. In all, $91,000 was spent on the improvements, with the remainder invested to provide sufficient income to meet ongoing maintenance costs. Sadly, Zenko died on December 31 1987, and never saw the fruits of his labor of love.
You can look in on the lighthouse and weather conditions via the Grand Haven Steelheaders Live Webcam. Some good links for the light can be found at Grand Haven Light on Wikipedia. The pier light has been deemed in excess by the Coast Guard and is being offered to eligible entities under the the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.
Be sure to check this out bigger and also check out the rest of the photos in Dennis’s 9.28.09 Grand Haven Storm set (slideshow). You might also enjoy the Grand Haven Light slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool!
I remember 8 years ago…
I remember 8 years ago…, photo by MightyBoyBrian.
…and Brian wonders where we’ll be 8 years from now.
Check this photo from the tunnel to Holland’s Tunnel Park beach out bigger and (for the moment) in Brian’s The Top Thirty set (slideshow).
52nd Annual Mackinac Bridge Walk ~ September 7, 2009
2008 Mackinac Bridge Walk, photo courtesy Michigan Department of Transportation & Mackinac Bridge Authority
The annual Mackinac Bridge Walk is a Michigan tradition that has been held every year since the Bridge opened in 1957. This year is the 52nd annual and it takes place (as always) on Labor Day (September 7) from 7-11 AM. The walk is free and you can get all the details from the official Mackinac Bridge web site.
There’s more info available on Wikipedia and you can learn all about the Mackinac Bridge over at Absolute Michigan.
Michigan in Pictures 
