Lee Rowe
Marquette Harbor Lighthouse
A rare view from the water shows the rocky point on which the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse has kept its navigation vigil for 150 years. The 1866 lighthouse has been extensively modified over the years.
Marquette Harbor Lighthouse turns 150
“The red lighthouse is 150 years old this year, so what we decided to do is have a community birthday party,” says Fred Stonehouse, board president of the Marquette Maritime Museum Association.
The 1866 Marquette Harbor Lighthouse is the city’s oldest significant building and the iconic landmark that’s photographed more than any other site in town.
The party is this Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. on the lighthouse grounds. There will be grilled hot dogs, a lighthouse-shaped birthday cake and the maritime songs of folksinger and songwriter Carl Behrend of Munising, Michigan.
Activities will include firing the museum’s Lyle gun. The gun’s historic role was to shoot a line to stranded or sinking vessels to facilitate a rescue of those on board.
There will be guided lighthouse tours, and the U.S. Coast Guard Station will open for tours, too (visitors walk through the Coast Guard grounds to reach the lighthouse).
The lighthouse, which the Marquette Maritime Museum leases from the Coast Guard, has been greatly modified over the years. For instance, the second story was added in 1909. At the time it was built, lighthouses were developed from cookie-cutter designs and were not meant to be unique. The Marquette, Granite Island and Huron Island lighthouses were identical.
Today, because of modifications to the Marquette Lighthouse, Fred explains, “you have a structure that is positively unique.”
The lighthouse celebration coincides with the annual waterfront art show, Art on the Rocks, Saturday and Sunday in nearby Mattson Lower Harbor Park.
In 1928, the lighthouse was the first one on the Great Lakes to be electrified, Fred says. As a link to that milestone, the Marquette Board of Light and Power, the municipal utility, agreed to fund the party.
“We’re trying to involve as many segments of the community as you can,” Fred says. “It really is a party for everybody.”
+ Shawn Malone, a Marquette photographer whose work we featured in the August/September issue, unveiled a stunning limited-edition print of the lighthouse and the northern lights. Half of the proceeds go to the maritime museum. It’ll be available at the birthday bash and online.
– Bob Berg
New fund aids flood recovery in Wisconsin
Northern Wisconsin communities continue to recover from the devastating flooding earlier in the month.
To aid the efforts, the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation has established a disaster response fund for nonprofits.
“We are rallying our community to raise money for resources that will provide short- and long-term relief for nonprofits that are equipped to help families and individuals affected by the recent flooding and storm damage,” Meghan Dennison, the community foundation’s affiliate officer, said in a news release.
On August 19 at Tycoons in Duluth there will be a fundraiser specifically for the Bad River Reservation, which was hard hit by the floods, as documented by some local teens and regional TV stations.
The Bayfield County website has a good roundup of remaining road closures and detours, with an interactive map. Don’t let the red on that map scare you away – the major highways along the Circle Tour route are open.
+ Another reason not to be deterred? Those sweet, sweet berries, now ripe and ready for picking.
Viking ship update
The Sons of Norway’s fundraising for the Viking ship Draken Harald Hårfagre topped $85,000 this week, enough to allow the vessel to sail to Green Bay for that port’s upcoming festival. Whether they’ll sail to Duluth and other scheduled destinations hasn’t yet been decided, the crew wrote on Facebook, but “we are still working hard to make our way through Expedition America 2016.”
Isle Royale on the national news: “CBS This Morning” featured Isle Royale National Park for its America the Beautiful series.
Unbearable heat? Even local wildlife thought the high temps and humidity were a little much this week. A Duluth resident found a black bear in his kiddie pool.
Weak loonie strengthens Thunder Bay tourism, Jon Thompson writes for TBNewsWatch. The low Canadian dollar is bringing more visitors across the border from the U.S., while Canadians are exploring destinations within their home country.
Boatwatching in Canal Park: Sam Cook of the Duluth News Tribune wrote a moving column about a quintessential Duluth experience.
Sault bicyclists get new option: “Velorution celebrated its 10th anniversary Saturday with the official opening of a public pump track,” writes Darren Taylor for SooToday. A pump track has jumps, rollers and berms and doesn’t require much pedaling. A larger one will open downtown in September.