Lighthouse May 9, 2008

As usual I am up at 6:30; I gather my computer, my phone connector and list of pictures I want to send. (I found it easier if I select the pictures I want to send the night before.) I arrange the chairs in front of the stove; one to sit on the other to rest my feet on so the computer will be easier to work with on my lap, plug in to the phone line, grab a cup of coffee, that Ken has already made, sit with my polar bear flannel pajamas on and send you my blog. I enjoyed all the nice things everyone has said about my blog. If I do not answer you it is not because I don’t care it is because I cannot tie up the phone line. Maybe someday they will get high speed internet at the lighthouse. They have it at the State Park office.
Sandy takes a walk on the beach, plastic bag in hand to pick up trash. Bruce and Ken went to Little Sable to help Bob with the Fresnel lens. Judy, who is SO not a morning person, wanders into the kitchen to get her coffee; I greet her with a Good Morning Sunshine! and she just looks at me with daggers and retreats to her room to wake up. 90 minutes later she reappears in a much better mood. Ed and I visit over a cup of coffee until it is time to get ready for work.
At 10 AM Judy goes down to the gift shop and we hear all this talking, we think the first visitor, it was, it was our Colorado Mary. Hugs all around, we visit, then she asks what she can do, well, Sandy said you can help me unpack the new lighthouse dishes and wash them. Ed and I are having trouble with the computer, but finally figure out MY error, I did not load the cash register paper correctly, when I did it I kept thinking something is wrong, Ed finally figured it out.
Around 11:30 Sandy and Mary and Bruce head to the Ludington house to iron and hang curtain, they would spend the rest of the day there. Ed and I are running the gift shop. Not a big job today as we only had 2 visitors. He made some signs for the hammer he bought for the gift shop, ( we never have a hammer to use when we need it, Ken just gives us a smart answer, Bruce said there was one in the basement when we search high and low for it, it is no where to be found. So Ed made a sign that said “gift shop hammer, do not remove”
It is Ed’s and my turn to cook. I brought steaks from home and he had to supply the rest of the meal. Sandy helped him out by making yet another desert. It is kind of hard to mess up bake potatoes and salad. Bob joined us for dinner, so in order to fit 7 people around the table Bruce and Sandy sit on the end. Sandy had prepared her salad and it was sitting next to her plate, and she caught Bruce eating her salad instead of his. It was well worth the laugh we all got.
This morning was the maiden voyage of the Badger… the car ferry that runs from Ludington to Manitowoc, WI. We can see it in the distant as it is pulling out to cross the lake. We will see it return around 7pm tonight. The newspaper said it was carrying an $800,000 fire truck. Would have loved to have gone to town to see it but a long walk on the beach would be better for me.

History Lesson; Part 3
Cladding the tower.

Once of the Characteristics of a lighthouse is its visual appearance in the daytime, which is known as its Day-mark. The Big Sable tower, when originally built, was left in its natural yellow brick color. But, it was not long before the captains of vessels passing the light complained that the tower was very difficult to see in the daylight when viewed against the background of sand dunes, trees and leaves, particularly in the fall season.
Official request were made to the Lighthouse Board, beginning in 1897, to paint the tower white with a black band because “it is almost the color of the sand” The district engineer repeated the request in 1898. A remedy for this situation was finally implemented in 1900, after the metal cladding, by painting the upper and lower 3rd white with black for the center third. A crew sent by the lighthouse house service did the first paint job. Thereafter, the painting was done by a lighthouse service crew sent in about every 3 years and still later, was assigned to the light station keepers and their assistants and done as needed. The lighthouse board released a notice to mariners in June 1900 announcing the change in colors at the Big Sable Lighthouse. The mariners still complained that the tip of Big Sable was still not visible so they painted it black.

Ghostly Occurrences

November 2003: A keeper staying in the upstairs east unit heard a door close and someone walking around upstairs around 5 AM. No one else was staying upstairs besides her husband and herself at the time.

When people visit who feel they feel the presence of spirits, it is usually at our kitchen door and in the south bedroom. This seems to be the place these occurrences take place. The only eerie experience I had was when I, about 3 years ago, went to the top of the tower to take pictures of the sunset, on the way down the hallway, which is dark, you have to walk by “Henry” in his showcase and I could have sworn I saw a shadow behind me while I was walking up the stairs. I quickly turned around and it was gone. You can believe none of us went down that dark hallway again. If someone leaves the light on we usually leave it on all night so we don’t have to go down by Henry.

Time is going way to fast. I have not done everything I wanted to do during my tenure her at BSP... OH Well, my “Bucket List” just keeps getting longer and longer.

Love to Ric Kids, and unborn grandchildren
As Always, Ceil