[inspirational music]
- This program is brought to you
by the combined resources
of the Wisconsin Historical Society
and PBS Wisconsin.
[waves crashing]
[delicate piano]
[seagulls calling]
- Brendon Baillod: Lighthouses occupy that sort of wistful part of our imagination.
- Kevin Osgood: There's a mystique about them.
There's an aura about them.
- Neil Howk: A magical place.
- Narrator: Soaring towers.
Rugged landscapes.
Wisconsin lighthouses stand watch
over Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.
- Kevin Osgood: The Great Lakes are inland seas.
They are massive.
- Monumental beacons.
Shining light on a bygone era.
From the first people to venture the lakes
to the dedicated keepers willing to risk their all.
- Neil Howk: The aspect of danger.
The aspect of sacrifice.
- Ken Wardius: People depended on them day in and day out.
- Icons of Wisconsin's rich maritime past.
- Cathy Green: Lighthouses are inseparable
from the history of the state
- Brendon Baillod: Without lighthouses,
Wisconsin doesn't happen.
- Marvelous construction.
Breathtaking views.
- Barb Wardius: They're really something to behold.
- Kevin Osgood: There's nothing else like them.
- Wisconsin Lighthouses.
[waves breaking]
?
- Announcer: Funding for Wisconsin Lighthouses
is provided by
the David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund,
Dr. Henry Anderson and Shirley Levine,
the Ruth St. John and John Dunham West Foundation,
Jan Botz and Tom Lippert,
the Dwight and Linda Davis Foundation,
A.C.V. and Mary Elston Family,
Slater Family Fund,
Barb and Mike Madden,
Obrodovich Family Foundation,
The Great Lakes Foundation,
Ruder Ware,
the Fund for Lake Michigan,
Trust Point,
Wisconsin Coastal Management Program,
and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
donors to the Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs,
and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
[waves brushing shore]
[pensive piano music]
!- Narrator: The crashing waters !of Lake Michigan
surround a small, forested island
with steep dolomite cliffs.
Deep within the rustic landscape
lives a pioneer !of Wisconsin's maritime history.
- Tina Jacoby: You're walking through the woods on the trail.
You come right over that last crest,
and you see this picture-perfect lighthouse standing there.
It's pretty amazing to see.
?
- The Pottawatomie Lighthouse,
located at the tip of the Door !County Peninsula on Rock Island.
November.
Built in 1836 !and then replaced 20 years later
with the existing structure seen today:
a 41-foot tower !with attached keeper's quarters.
- Tina Jacoby: As it stands today,
the house is set up around 1910.
So, you can kind of picture the lighthouse keepers at that point
living there.
As you're walking through the house,
you get to see the kitchen, the parlor, the bedrooms.
You kind of feel like you're at home, which is kind of fun.
And then, the best part is going up to the lantern room.
- A view of the water reaching beyond the horizon.
A summer day.
Whitecaps flashing on the surface.
?
An idyllic location,
!home to Pottawatomie Lighthouse.
Chosen not for its grand view but for its utter necessity.
- Mark Kuehn: It was a matter of life and death.
[waves breaking, ominous music]
[ring-billed gull makes high-pitched squeals]
- Ted Karamanski: Well, it'd be a big mistake
to underestimate the Great Lakes.
[waves blast lighthouse]
- Cathy Green: These are just as treacherous as the oceans.
- Brendon Baillod: Violent storms blow up, and, you know,
if you don't run for your life, you're gonna be in trouble.
- Surging waters and rocky formations
make the Great Lakes
a perilous force of nature.
- Katrina Phillips: Unless you've been there
or you've lived there,
you don't really understand
the power that these lakes have.
[strings and percussion build in intensity]
- Cathy Green: It's estimated that there are
well over 6,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes
- Brendon Baillod: The Great Lakes
are really a nautical graveyard
compared to anyplace else in the world.
[intense strings and percussion]
[bubbles in water column]
[waves brushing shore]
- A tiny, secluded island in that nautical graveyard
would become pivotal to the story of Wisconsin
record. and home to the state's very first lighthouse,
Pottawatomie.
- Kevin Osgood: In the early 1800s,
before Wisconsin was even a state,
the stone that was coming out of the quarries here,
the lumber that was coming out of the forest,
all of that needed to go other places on the Great Lakes
for the construction of cities.
The schooners
moving the stone and timber around the Great Lakes
would have to go through Death's Door.
- Death's Door Passage is a narrow channel
of shallow waters and strong currents
between the mainland peninsula of Door County
and Washington Island.
A notorious waterway that lived up to its ominous name.
[foreboding strings]
- Kevin Osgood: The shipping industry was losing too many ships,
and it was costing 'em money.
So, it was critical to get a lighthouse built
in this particular location.
- Tina Jacoby: In 1834,
the mariners had requested and petitioned
the federal government
to build the Pottawatomie Lighthouse on Rock Island
that would mark the safe passage.
That safe passage became known as "Rock Island Passage."
- Situated just northeast of Washington Island,
Crawford in. the deep waters off Rock Island
held the potential for a !safe route around Death's Door.
However, in the early 1800s,
!this region was still considered America's frontier.
!Building Pottawatomie Lighthouse
would be a venture into the unknown.
[dire piano music]
- Ted Karamanski: This was a time when
there was absolutely no charts of Lake Michigan.
- Kevin Osgood: Captains had to navigate without the lighthouses.
And they're carrying the materials to these remote places
to build lighthouses.
It was absolutely no easy task.
- Tina Jacoby: The stones were quarried from the island itself.
They would haul them up to the site.
They used wood from the island.
And just with manpower,
they put that lighthouse together.
- Kevin Osgood: That human spirit of just pushing forward
and knocking down the darkness and moving ahead.
[fast, tense piano]
[water lapping shore]
[pensive music]
- Inaugurated in 1836,
Pottawatomie Lighthouse was a trailblazer.
The very first lighthouse on all of Lake Michigan.
Remaining in operation until 1988.
- Tina Jacoby: The Pottawatomie name
comes from the Native Americans
that were living in the area.
Pottawatomie means "keepers of the fire."
The mariners would connect with that light
as they were going through the passage
and relying on that to be there every night.
- Waiting just on the horizon
was a golden era !of Wisconsin's maritime history.
- Kevin Osgood: Pottawatomie Lighthouse
lit a way to growth and development.
It would provide that beacon into the future,
for the entire state of Wisconsin.
[plucky guitar and banjo]
- Brendon Baillod: Lighthouses had opened up the state for settlement,
and people began to bring their families west.
You had to come by boat.
There was no other way.
- Ted Karamanski: Schooners were literally
the covered wagons of the Great Lakes frontier.
- The Great Lakes were the superhighways of the past.
Forming one of the highest concentrations of lighthouses
anywhere in the world.
- Brendon Baillod: In the 1800s,
the volume of vessel traffic on the Great Lakes
was easily 20, 30 times what it is today.
[waves lapping gently]
- Most Wisconsin lighthouses
began service between 1850 and 1900.
From Lake Michigan's Southport Lighthouse
in bustling Kenosha
to Wisconsin's northernmost point --
Devils Island Lighthouse on Lake Superior.
These beacons lit the way for mariners
for nearly 150 years.
Burning brightly due to a technological leap
in the 19th century.
- Ken Wardius: Fresnel lenses revolutionized lighthouses
throughout the world.
Engineering marvels.
- Barb Wardius: It's a series of polished glass prisms
that bend and refract the light
in and then out onto the body of water.
- The Fresnel lens projected further and brighter
than ever before.
The powerful beam was instrumental
!in the creation of an integrated network of lighthouses
along Lake Michigan,
linking them like a chain.
- Mark Kuehn: All lighthouses on Lake Michigan
are all within sight of each other.
Each beam crosses over,
so you never lose sight of a lighthouse
as you're coming down the lake.
- Tasked with keeping this innovation working smoothly
was the lighthouse keeper --
!an employee of the United States Lighthouse Service.
- Barb Wardius: Early lighthouse keepers were called "wickies."
- Ken Wardius: They trimmed a wick in the lantern
to keep the flame the right height
so that it would burn evenly and brightly.
- The wick and lantern were fueled by oil,
which the keeper repeatedly !carried to the top of the tower
in buckets.
!A counterweight mechanism would then rotate the Fresnel lens
around the burning wick.
- Barb Wardius: It was a giant cuckoo clock mechanism
that would have to be wound every three to four hours.
So, you would never get a full night's sleep.
- Mark Kuehn: You were busy all day long.
You just weren't working at night.
The lens had to be spotless to the touch of a glove.
They would have to record the weather.
They'd have to record ship passings.
And then do any kind of maintenance
on the house or the grounds.
- Tina Jacoby: The lighthouse keepers had
an ingrained sense of service
because that's what it was.
It was the lighthouse service.
They were in service to the federal government
and to keep the mariners safe.
- The keeper and the mariner shared a sacred trust --
!the light would remain steadfast in its duty.
Beacons of hope in a raging storm.
And treasured works of art decorating the shoreline.
- Bob Mackreth: The leading American historian of lighthouses
in the 20th century,
F. Ross Holland, wrote,
"Nation's largest and finest collection
"of historic lighthouses is contained within
the boundaries of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore."
Absolutely.
- Off Wisconsin's north shore in Lake Superior
!lies a group of islands adorned with otherworldly beauty.
The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
Twenty-one islands, eight lighthouses
surrounded by deep forests and natural wonders.
- Neil Howk: The Apostle Islands, they are remote.
You are definitely away from the hubbub of everyday life.
- Brendon Baillod: They're not little port town lighthouses, right?
They tend to have to be tall.
They have to be, you know, pretty conspicuous
because they have to be seen from a distance.
- Punctuating the horizon,
!the Apostle Islands lighthouses
historically guided large vessels
along the shipping lanes of Lake Superior.
Today, they keep watch over a public treasure.
- Neil Howk: The best place to view the islands from
is the top of a lighthouse tower.
Places like Devils Island and Raspberry Island
and the north end of Outer Island,
those give us a look at what perhaps
northern Wisconsin looked like 300 years ago.
A pristine area.
On someplace like Raspberry Island,
you can easily be the only person that's on that island,
surrounded by acres of wilderness.
[gentle waves]
?
- In the late 1800s, a keeper named Francis Jacker
lived alone !at Raspberry Island Lighthouse.
- Bob Mackreth: He liked it.
I mean, it gave him plenty of time
to pursue his artistic interests.
He was a talented artist.
He was a composer.
- Jacker, a German immigrant,
married an Ojibwe woman named "Ikwesens,"
who later went by "Catherine."
A committed partner,
Catherine stayed back on the mainland with their sons,
while Jacker lived on Raspberry Island
to tend the light.
- Bob Mackreth: He also wrote articles on Ojibwe folklore
that were published in anthropological journals
over in Germany.
He was absolutely a Renaissance man.
But the one thing he wasn't very good at was operating a boat.
[thunder crashing]
- Neil Howk: In September of 1887, a storm blew up.
And he had left the boat tied up to the dock.
He hadn't put it away in the boathouse.
So, he jumped out of bed, runs down to the dock,
and he jumps into the boat
with the intention of sailing it to the boathouse.
The problem is that
he got pushed a little bit too far offshore.
- Bob Mackreth: He loses control of the boat.
Next thing you know, he's washed up on the beach at Oak Island.
- Neil Howk: The wind wrapped around
and it swamped the boat on the beach
and filled it up with sand.
It was unusable.
- Marooned on nearby Oak Island,
Jacker was surrounded by an uninhabited,
densely wooded no-man's land.
- Bob Mackreth: So, he's out there all by himself,
wet and cold in his jammies.
- Neil Howk: He had no shoes. He had no shirt.
He had no food. He was in a pickle.
- The storm raged for three days.
- Neil Howk: Meanwhile, his wife and one of his sons
made an unexpected visit to Raspberry Island
to see their father.
It's a real fluke
because she only did this, like, once or twice a year.
And they get there, and there's nobody there.
- With a darkened tower looming over her,
Catherine had no time
to contemplate her husband's disappearance.
She knew she had to act fast.
- Bob Mackreth: She took charge.
She went up the tower stairs
and figured out how to light the lamp.
Even there, in the dire distress
of thinking her husband is lost somewhere on the lake,
her first thought is really,
"We need to get the light going again
for the safety of the mariners."
- Neil Howk: By day three, Francis is figuring out
that if he was going to be seen,
he needed to get to a different part of the island.
- Jacker bound up his feet,
bushwacked across the island,
and tied what was left of the sail high in a tree.
Desperate, alone...
Jacker's last bit of hope was fluttering in the storm.
[thunder roars]
!But in that dark, tempest night,
hope prevailed.
Jacker's signal was spotted.
?
!Taken back to Raspberry Island,
the warm glow of the lighthouse !welcomed the ragged Jacker home.
!Waiting for him with open arms,
the ever-vigilant Catherine.
[tender piano]
- Neil Howk: Must have been a magical moment.
A really lucky break.
The lighthouse keepers were out there
it. in order to prevent accidents.
Catherine, she understood the importance of the light,
and she did what she could
in order to, you know, to make it right.
- Bob Mackreth: I think that shows the level of dedication
that was fostered in the culture.
The keepers and their families,
the wife came in, stepped in, and says,
"That's my responsibility,"
even right there with the prospect of, suddenly, widowhood.
So, it's a reason I admire these people.
!- Entrusted !to protect !a treasure,
Wisconsin lighthouse keepers
would soon build a legacy
of stewardship,
pride,
and family.
>> Hi, I'm James Steinbach. I'm a volunteer here at PBS
Wisconsin. Taking just a quick break from this remarkable
program. And you know, the lighthouses have a special place
in our imagination of course, and also in the history of the
state. And this is something which I thought I knew a little
bit about lighthouses. But watching this program and
looking at the book that it was based on is really a great way
to understand much more about not just the lighthouses, but
the people who kept them, the families that lived there, the
people who made this work, the people who were dedicated to
saving lives. And that's what it's all about. And this program
here is an important thing. This program was made right here at
PBS Wisconsin with a producer from the station, which is
routine of course, for us to do these great shows. But every
time a new one comes up, like this, which is about Wisconsin,
I think this is only going to happen here at PBS Wisconsin. No
place else is going to do this. And for that, it's worth my
support. And I think yours too. >> Well, thank you James. I'm
Kerman Eckes I'm on the staff here at Wisconsin Public
Television and I am so excited to be part of bringing this
Wisconsin Lighthouses to you this evening and to give you
this opportunity to show your support for us here. And when
you do, we have some wonderful, wonderful thank you gifts. Let
me run through those briefly for you right now. If you can join
us at the $15 a month donation level, you have your choice of
three absolutely fantastic items. First of all, you can
choose the copy of the show that we've just that we're watching
right now. Wisconsin Lighthouses. So you can go back
and see that wonderful footage again and hear those stories
again that James was talking about, about the people that
made lighthouses so real and so important for us here at the
State of Wisconsin. Or you can choose the book that the show is
based on. Again, that's Wisconsin Lighthouses by Ken
and Barb Wardius, and fantastic system.
book. I've been paging through it and there are the photos are
Catherine's. wonderful. There's so many
different stories. So much more in depth information that you
can get. So that's a wonderful thing that you can choose or
special. finally, the third thing is this
great tote bag and it's a nice large sized tote bag. It's very
heavy weight and it has the Cana Island Lighthouse in the day in
the daytime on one side and then in the evening when it's lit up
on the other side. So it's perfect for the beach or
whatever you want to do. If you would like all three of these
things, then call and become a member this evening at the $25
a month level, and we will send you the DVD, the book, and the
tote bag. So we have many ways to say thank you to you for
joining us, but now we need you to go to those phones and dial
1-800-236-3636. >> Hi, I'm David Hoffert, a
volunteer here at PBS Wisconsin, and I want to pick up on
something James just said about. No one else besides PBS
Wisconsin would make a show like this. I'm sure there are
documentaries about lighthouses out there right? But there
probably, I don't know, New England lighthouses. And yet, as
this show talks about the great Lakes, really these inland seas,
right, are are such an important part of the history of this
country and such an important part of the story of Wisconsin.
And so what this program is really doing is, is capturing
that history that story for us to remember and enjoy and
appreciate for generations to come. And it's a lot of work,
right? This this program took years to make between the
research and the filming and the interviewing, the experts and
the editing, it's a big deal to get something like this over the
finish line and we're able to do that at PBS Wisconsin because we
know that you have our back and that's what happens when you
call 1-800-236-3636.
>> Now, it's really wonderful that a program like this can
take you places you might not be able to get to on your
own for whatever reason. This program can take you to
Rock Island and you can get to that lighthouse and see that
extraordinary structure. And, you know, along with that
you have this terrific book which can tell you all about it
in this book. It's the basis of this program.
This book was written by Ken and Barb Wardius. And right now
we're going to bring you a conversation with them.
>> Hi, I'm Eric Greiling, director of friends of PBS
Wisconsin. Ken and Barb, thanks
for coming to in the PBS Wisconsin studios. Thank you
Eric. We've been enjoying your book Wisconsin Lighthouses a
photographic and historical guide. So tell us what inspired
your interest in lighthouses? >> Oh my goodness. Over 40 years
ago we visited Cana Island Lighthouse in Door County, and
we were hooked on the place. Just a magical place. We wanted
to learn more about the history and the people, especially who
tended the light. So it all started for from a request from
our friends, go visit Cana allocating resources to public
Island and we did. And we've been back dozens and dozens of
times since. >> So it started with Cana
Island. Do you know how many lighthouses you've visited?
>> Well, all of them in Wisconsin, all 48.
>> And how many times? >> Some only once. And some. Oh,
multiple times multiple times, yeah.
>> And how did it become a shared project for both of you?
Was it just something you arrived at together?
>> Yeah, it kind of was by accident. Barb and I neither one
of us are writers. We always had a camera when we traveled around
the state, just mostly snapshot for family type photos. As we
visited a lighthouse or two, we took some pictures, some friends
of ours said, hey, you got really nice pictures here. Why
don't you write a book? We knew no better again, neither one of
us are experts in that. But Barb be.
and I have always been a team on a lot of things that we do, and
it just went went from there. >> Well, that's great. Was it
very difficult to research this book?
>> The research took a lot of time. We were still working at
the time when we did all the research, so it would be after
work at night, doing that. And the internet isn't what it is
now, which is fine. We had more luck and more accurate
information from descendants, historical societies, libraries
that would furnish us with information. >> Great, great.
Well, we're going to hear more from Barb and Ken
throughout the program. And right now we're going to go back
and please make a call and show your support for Wisconsin
Lighthouses and we'd like to say thank you with a gift of
Wisconsin Lighthouses. >> Well, it was absolutely
fabulous to hear that. That part of that interview with Ken and
Barb Wardius, the authors of the book Wisconsin Lighthouses there
will be hearing more from them later on. But in the meantime,
we have plenty of time for you right now to go to the phones
and talk to one of our volunteers and also take take
part in some of these wonderful thank you gifts that we can send
you when you join us as a member of PBS Wisconsin. So if you join
us at the $15 a month level, you have your choice of one of three
items you can pick up the DVD or items you can pick up the DVD or
Blu ray of the show that we've been watching. Wisconsin
Lighthouses. Or you can take a copy of the book that everything
is based on. With all those great illustrations and extra
stories. Or, you can take the wonderful tote bag that we have.
The nice large sized tote bag with illustrations of the Cana
Island Lighthouse at night and during the daytime. So wonderful
resolved. gifts at that level. You could
also join us at the $25 a month level. And we will send you all
three of those. So you'll get the book, the DVD, and the tote
bag. But I want to spend a little time talking about a very
special gift level that would be perfect for the young. The
youngster in your life, and that's if you join us at the $20
a month level. We will send you a copy of the book. Hello
lighthouse. This is by Sophie Blackall and it is an absolutely
gorgeous book. I've been having a chance to page through it.
Wonderful, wonderful illustrations in this book. A
perfect to fire the imagination of the youngster in your life.
But to come with that we also have this wonderful night light.
And if you look at that nightlight, you can see it has
this wonderful illustration of a lighthouse in the daytime. But
then at night the lights come on and the lighthouse and I just
love this. And then again in the daytime it will go back to the
daytime view. Wonderful for any youngster in your life. So
again, that's at that $20 a month level. So we have many
different things to encourage you to join us this evening.
Like the people that already have. If you're one of those
thank you. So much. If you're not, if you haven't done that
yet, please give us a call at 1-800-236-3636.
[peaceful, flowing piano]
- Narrator: Intricate layers of sandstone. [bird calling]
Rough pine and birch trees blanket rocky bays.
Sea caves smoothed !by centuries of rippling waters.
- Barb Wardius: Sand Island is on the western edge of the Apostles.
So, it's way out there.
If the weather conditions aren't right, you aren't landing.
And if you need to get off the island, you're not getting off.
The lake is the boss, definitely.
- Bob Mackreth: The lighthouse at Sand Island
was there primarily to give warning to ships
to stay off the Apostles.
- Built in 1881, the Sand Island Lighthouse
stands on a red jagged shoreline.
Walled in by a fortress of stone.
- Bob Mackreth: Sand Island Lighthouse
was fashioned from the fabric of the island.
It's a beautiful building,
which was built from the rock where it sits.
And I can't think of a more intimate way or profound way
that a building can be connected to its environment.
- Made of brownstone
in the style of Norman Gothic architecture,
Sand Island Lighthouse provided a picturesque setting
for a keeper's quiet life of solitude.
[evocative harp]
- Bob Mackreth: The second keeper at Sand Island
I find an interesting fellow for a number of reasons.
His name was Emmanuel Luick.
He came there for the 1892 season,
and then stayed 28 years
until the lighthouse was automated in 1920.
- Barb Wardius: Mr. Luick enjoyed lighthouse keeping.
- Bob Mackreth: Loved it; he thrived in the lighthouse life.
He spent his first couple of years
out at Sand Island all by himself.
Then, in 1896,
he married a young woman named Ella Gertrude Richardson.
She was from Providence, Rhode Island.
!- Ella was !16 years old
!when she married !the 29-year-old !Emmanuel.
!Joining him to live !at Sand Island.
- Bob Mackreth: She was enraptured
by his promises to live in a lighthouse.
And I'm sure it sounded very romantic.
- Neil Howk: Being in a beautiful setting,
in a lovely building, it's great.
But solitude can be a double-edged sword.
- Bob Mackreth: Guess what?
She wasbored out of her skull.
?
- Barb Wardius: All lighthouse keepers
were required to keep a daily log book,
and it was supposed to be one line
of what the weather was,
ships that had passed.
Perhaps what they did that day,
if there was painting or gardening going on.
- Bob Mackreth: Ella, on the other hand,
used it basically as a personal diary.
We have a very complete picture
of the Luicks' marriage falling apart.
- In one entry, Ella wrote,
"Mr. Luick hasn't anything to do,
and so he can help me do nothing."
- Barb Wardius: But again, she was 16 years old.
She just found lighthouse life very lonely.
- After ten years, Ella moved on.
Heading back east,
she became a nurse and later remarried.
Leaving behind Sand Island Lighthouse and Emmanuel Luick.
- Bob Mackreth: Emmanuel is not Mr. Charm. [chuckles]
It appears he was hard to get along with.
He went through assistant keepers at a fairly rapid clip.
And he didn't have a really good reputation.
But on the other hand,
he was an incredibly talented photographer.
Several years ago we discovered a treasure trove of photos
that Luick took.
They'd been sitting in a barn.
And this would be the first time
anyone had eyes on those photos in decades.
- Neil Howk: Several hundred images.
Some of the images are from the lighthouse on Sand Island
and what it was like to be a lighthouse keeper.
- Bob Mackreth: Excellent shots of the lighthouse and the surroundings,
which are quite artistic.
- Luick also explored nearby communities.
Capturing photos of neighborhoods,
family farms,
and fishermen repairing their nets.
He meticulously documented life along Lake Superior.
- Bob Mackreth: He had a very good eye
for catching a personality.
And they are so sharp and vivid.
- Luick was able to evoke a sense of beauty
and convey emotion in a single image.
Capturing vibrant lives,
inhabiting a rich world from a bygone era.
- Bob Mackreth: They provided excellent detail
about what daily life was like
around the turn of the 20th century.
- Through his photography,
Emmanuel Luick preserved a moment in time
in a unique and personal way.
- Bob Mackreth: This man definitely was an artist.
Life is not all black and white.
There are shades of gray.
- Shades of gray, in a world full of color,
resided inside the Wisconsin lighthouse.
- Neil Howk: What is a lighthouse?
Well, on the one hand, it's the light,
and it's all of the aspects
that go into keeping the light lit.
But it was also a home.
People lived there.
- Linda Faust: Our Great Lakes lighthouses,
most of them were really family homes.
You can really see that
as you walk through the lighthouse.
- A bedroom adorned with childhood memories.
Lighthouse-issued chinaware
still waiting on the dinner table
for the keeper and their kin.
Family homes brimming with the presence of the past.
- Linda Faust: A lot of people think, "Oh, it was a easy life,"
but it was a difficult life.
The families were actually farmers.
When you think about growing your own food,
canning it, storing it, and preparing it,
they had to be self-sufficient.
- Barb Wardius: Mom's taking care of the kids.
There's the cooking, the cleaning, the sewing.
It was constant work, which amazes me.
- Linda Faust: People had to survive and fight the elements.
All of those things are true,
but not all of them were in isolation.
Especially up here in Door County.
[hopeful, reflective cello]
- Life at the lighthouse was a family affair.
No truer than in Door County.
[energetic violin, bird calling]
Often referred to as the "Cape Cod of the Midwest,"
Wisconsin's eastern peninsula
is notable for its scenic shoreline,
towering bluffs,
and 11 historic lighthouses.
- Kevin Osgood: Door County has the largest concentration of lighthouses
per mile of shoreline than anywhere else in the United States.
- Beacons such as Sherwood Point,
Baileys Harbor Upper Range,
and Pottawatomie
all served as homes to generations of families.
Today, in Peninsula State Park,
people flock to the popular Eagle Bluff Lighthouse.
Built in 1868 to light up busy Strawberry Channel,
!the lighthouse sits 76 feet high upon the bluff.
There, visitors walk in the footsteps
of Eagle Bluff's most memorable inhabitants,
the Duclon family.
- Linda Faust: The Duclons, William and Julia, lived here,
but they weren't alone.
They had seven sons!
- The family of nine !moved to Eagle Bluff Lighthouse
in 1883.
Keeper William Duclon, a veteran of the Union Army,
oversaw its daily operation.
His sons pitched in,
helping to maintain the buildings,
grow food, and assist in rescues.
A tightly-run operation,
the family was awarded several commendations
for the !best-looking lighthouse grounds
in the Great Lakes area.
- Linda Faust: The home today,
it still looks pretty much how it looked
when our Duclon family was living here.
It was full of life and full of laughter,
full of music.
- The music room was the heart of the Duclon home.
[phonograph starting up, old-timey piano]
- Linda Faust: When they move here to Eagle Bluff,
William surprised the family with a piano.
Julia grew up playing piano.
And she wanted a piano for her seven boys.
All seven boys learned how to play piano.
They also played violin, cello, bass fiddle,
accordion, harmonica, and guitar.
They were extremely talented.
- The Duclon boys !took their talents on the road,
performing around Door County !in dance halls and at weddings.
They also played in some rough venues,
holding their own in the occasional fight,
!even brawling once with the sons of a rival lighthouse family
over a group of young ladies.
- Linda Faust: One of the Duclon boys
threw the first punch.
[joyful chortle]
A big scandal back then!
- At Eagle Bluff, the family bond
was tied to their love of music.
Opening their home to entertain anyone who would come.
- Linda Faust: People were living in little log cabins
or little shanties by the water if they were fishermen.
So, to your neighbors, this place was a mansion.
And, of course, they were all interested in this home.
- At times, 40 people would huddle together
for a potluck and a musical melody.
- Linda Faust: For the Duclons,
the piano was an important piece in their lives; it was.
It connected them, really, with the rest of the families
living in the area.
This was quite the party house back in the day!
- The sound of the piano filled the air at Eagle Bluff
for decades.
Bringing friends and neighbors together at the lighthouse.
[warm, uplifting strings]
- Linda Faust: The Duclon family was here for 35 years.
This was a gathering place for these communities.
- Though not Door County's oldest or tallest lighthouse,
Eagle Bluff was perhaps the liveliest --
!thanks to the spirited Duclons;
their family home still welcoming people today.
- Ken Wardius: We call the lighthouse "the heart."
But the soul of the lighthouse
are the people that tended it,
the families that spent decades of their lives
making sure that mariners out on the lake were safe.
Dedicated, hardworking people.
?
- On the eastern edge of the Door Peninsula,
a trek across a limestone causeway
leads to the nearly nine-acre island in Lake Michigan.
The tiny isle is home to a giant
among the Door County beacons,
and one of Wisconsin's most celebrated:
Cana Island Lighthouse.
- Kevin Osgood: It's one of the jewels of the Door County lighthouses.
- Ken Wardius: Cana Island is iconic.
It has the tall white tower.
It's got the attached house next to it.
It stands for security.
It stands for safety.
- Barb Wardius: Cana is a beautiful lighthouse.
- Surrounded by shallow reefs and rugged shoreline,
Cana Island Lighthouse
has stood as a sentinel over Lake Michigan
for more than 150 years.
A witness to daring rescues and numerous shipwrecks
along the lake's dangerous shoals.
- Kevin Osgood: Probably the most memorable shipwreck at Cana Island
would be theBartelmein 1928.
TheBartelmewas a steamer loaded with coal
that ran aground
just a few hundred yards from the Cana Island Lighthouse.
- Stuck in shallow water and thick fog,
everyone on the ship was brought safely back to shore.
The ship itself was damaged beyond repair
and would remain there for nearly two years
as it was cut into scrap.
Though salvaged long ago,
theBartelmestill makes her presence known today.
- Kevin Osgood: Depending on how the waves are coming in,
you can still find some coal on the beach
from the wreck of theBartelme.
?
- Cana Island Lighthouse
was constructed to be a titan
among the Door County lighthouses.
Its tower reaches 89 feet into the sky,
with its walls nearly 4 feet thick at the base.
Built from Milwaukee Cream City brick,
the lighthouse stood firm on the exposed island
while repeatedly put to the test
by fierce and unpredictable storms.
- Barb Wardius: Ten years into the life of the lighthouse,
they noticed it was weathering
much faster than was anticipated.
In the early 1900s, they put the metal cladding around it
to protect it.
And it's still there today, so it worked.
- The powerful structure remains a distinctive landmark
along the Door Peninsula,
making it one of the area's most popular attractions.
Its historic and scenic appeal
calling visitors to take a journey back through time.
- Kevin Osgood: Cana is a special place,
and if you walk out there, then you feel it.
- Barb Wardius: People go inside
and realize this is a piece of history.
- At the base of the tower,
a doorway beckons into the past.
A climb up the spiral staircase.
Step by step,
102 cast-iron stairs
stretch toward the top of the tower.
- Kevin Osgood: Feel that ache in your calves
as you climb those steps in the lighthouse,
and think about what those lighthouse keepers had to do
to keep that lamp lit.
Wow!
- Marching upward,
the open stairwell allows air to flow through the tower.
Portholes mark the progress of the ascent.
Waiting above, a treasure of Wisconsin's maritime history.
- Barb Wardius: As you get into the actual lantern room area,
you can look up and see the Fresnel lens.
It's still there today.
- Still in operation, !the Fresnel lens at Cana Island
is one of a select few
to remain lit in all the Great Lakes.
- Kevin Osgood: The fact that it is still a navigation beacon today
speaks volumes about it.
It's well over 150 years old and still guiding ships.
- Barb Wardius: It's phenomenal.
- Finally, step outside onto the gallery deck.
A breathtaking panoramic view
of Lake Michigan and the Door Peninsula awaits.
[thoughtful strings and horns]
- Kevin Osgood: You look at that vastness of Lake Michigan
from the top of the tower
and imagine it's at night, and it's a dark, moonless night.
And the only light you see is this one.
- Ken Wardius: You see the light.
You have a sense of, "We're going to be okay."
The lighthouse is a beacon to history.
It's a monument
to bravery, to stability, to security.
If you close your eyes
and you dream about this perfect lighthouse --
Cana Island is, to me, that place.
[crickets chirping]
>> Hi. I'm James Steinbach. I'm a volunteer here at PBS
Wisconsin. We're taking just a quick break. Well, actually,
this might be a little bit longer break, because it's a
challenge break. This extraordinary program that
you're watching now, made here at the station, made here in
Wisconsin, made for you. And this is the premiere. So this is
really something to see. And this is a critical time to call
us at 1-800-236-3636. And make your pledge of support
because it's a challenge break and your pledge will be doubled.
Call us now. 1-(800) 236-3636 and is a reason to call us now,
partly because it's a challenge break, but also because this
program, I hope, is really inviting you to explore
Wisconsin in ways you may not have thought of. You've probably
driven by lighthouses. You've probably maybe even seen a book
about lighthouses. Maybe you've visited 1 or 2. But to be able
to see so many in this one program is really an
extraordinary opportunity. And that's why we're asking you to
call 1-(800) 236-3636. >> Well, hello, I'm Kerman Eckes
and I'm on the staff here at PBS Wisconsin. And now is the
perfect time as James mentioned, for you to call and become a
member of PBS Wisconsin because your pledge, your donation will
be matched dollar for dollar. It's a great time for you to
call and really, really have a wonderful impact. And show your
support for us here at PBS Wisconsin. And of course, when
you do, we have some thank you gifts that we'd like to send
your way at a $15 level. That's $15 a month. You have your
choice of three different items. You can decide to choose a copy
either in DVD or Blu ray of Wisconsin Lighthouses. The show
that we've been watching as James mentioned, that's a PBS
Wisconsin production. Wonderful people from the station here
have worked on this show. It's a really beautiful show that's
been put together and again, that's at $15 a month or you can
choose a copy of the book that the show is based on. Wisconsin
Lighthouses. That's by Ken and Barb Wardius, a beautiful book
with wonderful illustrations. It's really more much more in
depth information about the lighthouses. A great thing for
you to add to your library or for your third choice, you can
choose this huge tote that we have right here. It's got the
Cana Island Lighthouse in the daytime, and then on the other
side, the Cane Island Lighthouse at night. So those are all
fantastic. If you can't choose between those, go ahead and join
us at $25 a month and we will send you both the DVD, the book
and the tote. So we have many, many ways to say thank you when
you join us here at PBS Wisconsin. Now go to those
phones and call us at 1-(800) 236-3636.
>> Hi, I'm David Hoffert, a volunteer here at PBS Wisconsin,
and I don't think we've actually said this yet. We've said it's a
challenge break, but our goal is 50 calls during this break. Now,
that's that's a pretty audacious goal, right. But we have that
goal because we know that a program like this means so much
to so many people in this state, because it's personal. This is
our story brought to your airwaves because of our
collective work together now, now, Kerman was just talking
about those gift levels, and you and you noticed she kept saying,
$20 per month or $25 per month. That's because the best way that
you can support programing like this is to become a sustaining
member of PBS Wisconsin. Give on that monthly basis. So that your
support doesn't run out. Just like this incredible programing
won't ever run out. Give us a call 1-(800) 236-3636.
>> Helping you explore Wisconsin is really at the heart of our
mission. It's built into what PBS Wisconsin is about. And
always has been from the beginning. And if you think
about that, not every PBS station is able to do this kind
of work. Everyone would like to. But not everyone is able to. And
the reason that we're able to is because we have your support.
And for generations, people have supported PBS Wisconsin and
that's what makes the difference. That's what makes it
possible for us to do this program and all the programs
that you enjoy. Some are national that we bring in, but
many of them are local programs, whether they're documentaries or
histories or news and public affairs, like Here and Now.
This is something which every week you can count on programs
from PBS Wisconsin that will take you places you may not have
been. We'll reveal things you may not have thought about.
That's really worth something, especially during this challenge
break. We want 50 calls. We're at 11. We can do better than
that. Give us a call 1-800-236-3636.
>> Well, thank you James. And don't forget when you do call
and join us as a member of PBS Wisconsin this evening. We have
some. Thank you gifts that we can send you your way at. If you
join us at that $15 a month level, you have your choice of
three different items. You can take a copy either in DVD or Blu
ray of the show that we've been watching. So a great way to go
back and visit the visit those lighthouses once again. Or you
can take a copy of the book by Ken and Barb Wardius. Wisconsin
Lighthouses. And this is the book that everything is based
on. So much more in depth. Writing about the different
lighthouses. There's some great historical and current day
pictures of the lighthouses. So that's a wonderful addition to
your library. Or you can choose this beautiful tote. It's a nice
large sized tote, a heavy canvas and it's a great way to show
your support. So talk to one of our volunteers about that and
they can help you on your way to becoming a member. In the
meantime, we're going to go back and see some more of the
interview with Ken and Barb Wardius. They have some
great more great information about the creation of their book
Wisconsin Lighthouses. So here's Ken and Barb.
>> Hi, I'm Eric Greiling, director of friends of PBS
Wisconsin. We're back in the studio with Ken and Barb. Your
book was really important to our research, to make this
documentary Wisconsin Lighthouses, and it really is a
companion to the documentary. Can you give us a bit of an
overview of your book? >> Oh, it's broken down
geographically to different sections of Wisconsin: Lake
Superior, Lake Winnebago. We had no idea there were lighthouses
on Lake Winnebago when we began our research. And then all the
rest of the lighthouses are on some portion of Lake Michigan.
One one portion is called the Bay of Green Bay, and then the
rest of the coastline all the way down to the state line in
Lake Michigan. >> Are there some highlights of the book you'd
like to call out? Any special features?
>> One of our favorite stories involves the Lueck family at
Sand Island Lighthouse. Emmanuel Luke was the keeper there, and
he brought his bride, Miss Ella, at 16 years of age, to live on
the island with him. Well, lighthouse life was difficult.
She lasted about ten years and left Mr. Lueck went out east,
remarried and became a registered nurse. But don't
despair, Mr. Luke found love and did remarry and have two
children on sand Island. >> And that's not the only story
about a woman being in a lighthouse or a lighthouse
keeper, is it? >> No, no, it's not. Barb
and I grew up in Milwaukee. There's a lighthouse in Lake
Park, Milwaukee, North Point Light. When we went there to do
research, we learned of a lady by the name of Georgia Stebbins.
Once we learned a little bit of her story, fascinating woman, a
head lighthouse keeper for over 30 years at Milwaukee North
Point. That was very, very rare during that era. Just a fabulous
hard working mother, wife and lighthouse keeper.
>>And we're going to hear more about Georgia Stebbins
in this next segment. So let's go back to the program.
We'll come back to Barb and Ken later. And if you want
to have a copy of Wisconsin Lighthouses as your thank you
gift, please give us a call at 1-800-236-3636.
>> And again, this is a challenge break. Our goal is 50
calls. We're at 31. But I bet we're actually at more than that
because the phone lines are busy. If you are currently
waiting to get through please stay on the line. You can also
go to pbswisconsin.org, but your call will be answered and it
will count towards that challenge break. We just need a
little patience because there is a great response, which of
course is incredible. We just heard a bunch of information
about the stories in this book. I want to point out. It's also
just a great like road trip guide, right? My wife and I have
hosted exchange students for a few years, and we've planned
these epic road trips and we've been saying we should do more in
Wisconsin. What a great opportunity to kind of have a
have ideas planted of where we should go and what we should
explore right in our own backyard. But whatever your
motivation, maybe it's the book, maybe it's supporting a program
like this. We are now up to 36 calls going for 50. Give us a
call 1-800-236-3636. >> I'm a member of
PBS Wisconsin and I like to think that when I do that, I'm
helping to bring all of these shows to people all across the
state. And to me, that's something that's very important.
So if that's something that's important to you, call us right
now during this challenge break and we will put your your pledge
of support to work immediately. And we'll also send you some
wonderful thank you gifts. You can have a copy of the DVD
or Blu ray of the show that we've been watching. Or you can
have a copy of the book, which again, is this fabulous book.
Wisconsin Lighthouses by Ken and Barb Wardius. We've been hearing
from them. And the book, it could be a road guide for you
as you're touring Wisconsin and looking at lighthouses, but no
matter how you use it, it's a fabulous book and it's something
you'll want in your library. Or you can choose to take this
beautiful canvas tote. It's a nice large sized tote. On one
side side it has the Cana Island Lighthouse at night and
on the other side is the Cane Island Lighthouse. At daytime.
So these are all great. Or you can take all three of these if
you call and become a member at the $25 a month level.
Then we also have one special level that I'd like to
talk to you about. And this is for $20 a month. And we're
calling it kind of the children's level because it
includes a fabulous book called Hello Lighthouse with
illustrations by Sophie Sophie Blackall and the illustrations
are absolutely beautiful, but the story is beautiful too. It
tells about a lighthouse keeper that comes. It talks about the
day to day life in the lighthouse, the lighthouse
keeper's family comes. There are good things that happen and bad
things that happen. So this is a fabulous book. But we also
include this wonderful nightlight and the nightlight is
in the daytime. It's a lighthouse in the daytime. And
then when the lights go out, the lights come up on the on the
lighthouse in the in the nightlight. So I think it's
absolutely any child would love this. I would love to have this
nightlight at my house. I just think it's absolutely wonderful.
But you would get that that book and the and the nightlight
for $20 a month. >> So we're going to be back to
the next segment of the lighthouses show Wisconsin
Lighthouses in just a minute. But one thing that you may not
know is that even after the program is done, there's an
opportunity to explore in depth. If you go to the PBS Wisconsin
website, you'll be able to see a virtual tour of the Cana light,
which lets you inside the light, and also you can walk up the
stairs without actually walking up the stairs, which is kind of
cool, especially if you're not going to be able to get there.
Maybe tomorrow. So you can go and check that out. This is the
kind of thing that is important to us at PBS Wisconsin. The
program is important, but the program is a way for us to give
you something of value. And when there are things in addition
that we can do, like that, like this virtual tour or the
educational programs that we that we provide for schools and
teachers, whether it's homeschool or public schools or
private schools or parents at home, these are really important
pieces of what PBS Wisconsin does. It's not it's not just TV
anymore. It's pretty broad, but at the heart of it, at the heart
of it are these extraordinary programs and right now, during
this challenge break, and we're at 63 on our way to 70, keep on
calling. If you get if you don't get through right away, stick
with it. Call us at 1-800-236-3636.
>> And when you do call us and become a member here at PBS
Wisconsin, we have some fabulous thank you gifts. Let me very
quickly run through these for you. If you call and become a
member at the $15 a month level, you have your choice of three
different items. You can take a copy of either a DVD or Blu ray
of Wisconsin Lighthouses. The wonderful program that we're
watching this evening, or you can take a copy of the book
Wisconsin Lighthouses by Ken and Barb Wardius. This is where
everything came from. This is the inspiration for the program
that we've been watching or you can also have this wonderful
canvas tote, and it's a nice heavyweight canvas tote. But
what really makes it stand out are these beautiful
illustrations. These are also by Sophie Blackall, the wonderful
artist that has done so much for us here at PBS Wisconsin.
If you would like all three of those items, call and
become a member at the $25 a month level and we will send you
the DVD. The book, and the tote. And don't forget, we have that
special children's level as well that features the copy of the
book. Hello Lighthouse. Again with those by Sophie Blackall,
and that nightlight. So many, many thank you gifts. Our
volunteers can go over those again with you. So give them a
call at one (800) 236-3636. >> We are about to go back
to the program to the to the final segment of the program
tonight we just hit our goal of 70 calls. But keep calling as
long as you are waiting to talk to a volunteer. When the program
resumes, your gift will be doubled. Making a program like
this is a risk, right? What if people don't want it? Well,
clearly you do. That's really important to know. Give us a
call 1-(800) 236-3636. And thank you.
[MUSIC]
[playful, rhythmic strings]
- Ken Wardius: The thing that strikes me about Wisconsin lighthouses is
the variety.
Different sizes, shapes, colors.
There's a lot of really unique lighthouses.
[bird calling]
- Narrator: Stationed in quaint port towns.
On breakwaters marking harbors,
like Kewaunee
and Sturgeon Bay.
And along the shoreline
like the state's tallest lighthouse,
Rawley Point, at 113 feet.
These aids to navigation are connected
to a legacy of travel along the Great Lakes.
Starting with the earliest travelers to mark the way,
the First Nations people.
- Katrina Phillips: If you think about how people
look at landmarks when you're on the road,
they had landmarks on the lake.
- Kevin Osgood: They would climb trees
and they would cut maybe half the branches off
from the ground up.
Those are known as "lob trees."
Each of those meant something:
either turn left here or turn right there.
Go east, go west, go north.
- Katrina Phillips: These trees are, essentially, their lighthouses.
[fire crackling] - Fires were utilized for travel at night,
often lit on large tree stumps near the shoreline
or placed high on a hilltop.
Mirroring these signal fires,
the region's early lighthouses
were positioned on elevated points.
Their design was short in stature
yet built for function.
Paving the way for a more stylistic approach
to lighthouse architecture on the Great Lakes.
- Barb Wardius: They finally evolved
to the tall brick and metal structures
we know today with Fresnel lenses in them.
[birds chirping]
- Bob Mackreth: Some of them are
magnificent works of the architect's art.
They're beautiful.
- A giant sentinel
stretches 108 feet into the sky.
Its stark white tapered tower,
prominent against the shoreline.
Wind Point Lighthouse,
located near Racine in southeastern Wisconsin.
[warm, mellow melody]
- Ken Wardius: Wind Point really is a gorgeous work of art.
- Barb Wardius: It's strong, it's majestic.
It's very graceful.
It's just simply beautiful.
- Michael Gasperi: Pretty much the defition of picturesque,
Wind Point Lighthouse.
- Built in 1880,
Wind Point's architectural design
is known as the Poe-style lighthouse.
A style attributed to Orlando Metcalfe Poe,
a veteran of the Civil War
who served under General William Shern.
After the war,
Poe was the Chief Engineer
of the Upper Great Lakes Lighthouse District
and oversaw the construction
of numeroubeacons along the Great Lakes.
- Michael Gasperi: What Poe really brought was
a much more substantial, brighter, taller structure
than what had been here before.
- The soaring tower at Wind Point
is indicative of Poe-style lighthouses,
which are recognizable
by their distinct cylinder shapes.
And it h just the right taper
to really make a hundred-foot tower look right.
[playful, dreamy melody]
- Barb Wardius: At Wind Point,
you can stand at the base and look up,
and it just seems to go onforever!
- Near the top of the tower,
an ornate detail !accents the base of the balcony.
Corbels, or brackets,
designed in the Florentine-inspired Italianate style.
- Michael Gasperi: They could have just been
straight pieces of triangle,
but they're actuallylightly shaped.
It's unexpectedly simple,
but yet it's beautiful and it has an elegance to it.
!- A callback to the Renaissance, a rebirth.
Wind Point Lighthouse
marked a time !of progress and hope in America
post-Civil War.
- Barb Wardius: The time that Wind Point
was built in the 1880s and put into service
was a boom time for Wisconsin.
- Brendon Baillod: On the Great Lakes,
there were more vessels per square mile
than any place else in the world.
- Lake Michigan was filled with steamships
and enormous straight-deck freighters.
They were overflowing with a new export:
grain.
- Brendon Baillod: "Prairie Gold," as they called it.
That was where the money was.
Almost all grain that was being consumed on the East Coast
was coming out of Wisconsin.
Lighthouses were just essential to protect those investments.
- Wind Point was chosen for its strategic location
between Milwaukee and Chicago.
The rapidly developing region
was attracting more than just commerce.
It was welcoming scores of new residents.
- Brendon Baillod: Lake Michigan was an early target
for immigrants from Europe.
- Albert Muchka: You had ships full of immigrants
coming from Buffalo, New York.
They arrived on paddlewheel ships and steamers.
You know, the immigrant story of the late 19th century.
They would come to Wisconsin.
- Seeking freedom and opportunity,
the journey to Wisconsin was challenging.
After a harrowing trip across the Atlantic,
many immigrants still had to brave
the crowded and dangerous Great Lakes.
- Brendon Baillod: With that volume of vessel density,
you're going to have accidents.
- Ted Karamanski: Some ships didn't make it.
- Ships like thePhoenix,
considered one of the worst disasters on the Great Lakes.
[flames burning] About 200 Dutch immigrants
lost their lives
when thePhoenixsank off Sheboygan in 1847.
[blowing ship horn]
But for the many immigrants who did find safe passage,
a lighthouse meant reassurance in a new land.
- Albert Muchka: The lighthouse was that feeling of safety.
[uplifting piano]
- Ted Karamanski: When you saw the lighthouse
at Manitowoc or Sheboygan,
you had reached your destination,
and there had to be a sigh of relief.
- Albert Muchka: The idea that the ship captain
knew where he was going.
In a storm, you knew there was land here.
And as an immigrant coming in on one of those boats,
being afraid and having the crews then tell you,
"Don't worry, the shore's over there.
See the light."
- Waiting on the shoreline outside Racine,
Wind Point Light.
Classic Old World design in a new world.
- Barb Wardius: Your first glimpse is this majestic tower
leading you to your new home.
I think it would stop your heart
just because you think, "I'm finally here.
I've made it."
[waves crashing against the shore]
[tender piano, water current]
- In nearby Milwaukee,
on a wooded bluff 107 feet above Lake Michigan,
sits the city's famed Lake Park.
!A hundred and thirty-eight acres
of winding paths, deep ravines,
and panoramic views of the water.
The park's centerpiece: a beacon like no other --
North Point Lighthouse.
- Ken Wardius: North Point Lighthouse
is actually a compilation
of parts of three different lighthouses.
- Originally constructed in 1855,
severe erosion to the bluff it stood on
!jeopardized the brick structure.
In 1888, a new cast-iron tower !was built a hundred feet inland,
!with the lantern of the original lighthouse placed on top.
But by the turn of the 20th century,
North Point needed yet another upgrade.
- Mark Kuehn: What do you do when you design a park?
You plant trees.
Well, by 1911, the treeline's too high.
You can't see the lighthouse anymore.
- The solution was a third tower
built in the same location,
with the previous tower and lantern
fitted on top of it.
- Ken Wardius: If you look at the current lighthouse
at North Point today,
there's actually a seam in the middle
that differentiates the new base,
which has circular windows,
from the top half,
which has rectangular windows from the tower built in 1888.
- The unconventional history of North Point Lighthouse
made it a fitting home
for its most famous resident.
A keeper who would challenge the social norms of her era.
A keeper named Georgia Stebbins.
- Mark Kuehn: In 1873, Georgia was living in New York.
She gave birth to two daughters,
but she lost them in childbirth and illness.
Then, she was informed that she had tuberculosis.
The doctor said, "The only chance you have
"is to get out of New York
and get some fresh air."
- Georgia Stebbins' father was the lighthouse keeper
at North Point in Milwaukee.
The fresh breeze off Lake Michigan
was just what the doctor ordered.
- Mark Kuehn: She decided that she would go out there
to recuperate and hopefully get better.
Her husband, Lemuel, who was a watchmaker,
she left him back in New York.
She didn't realize how long she was gonna be out there.
- Barb Wardius: Just for someone to leave your home state
where you were born and where you know everything,
and to come alone to the wild, wild West
that was Wisconsin even then.
[chuckling] I can't imagine!
- In Milwaukee, Georgia Stebbins' aging father
was declining in health.
The family feared
he was unable to continue his duty to the lighthouse,
risking his job and their livelihood.
Georgia stepped up and took over
as the unofficial keeper at North Point Light.
- Barb Wardius: She freely was willing to learn
all the trade of the lighthouse-keeping duties,
and she just stepped in, and she just did it.
- Mark Kuehn: She was active,
she had to climb stairs, she was outside, she was busy.
In those days, you're talking
long Victorian dresses, petticoats, button-up shoes.
- Barb Wardius: I'm picturing her holding up the skirt,
and then, having some fuel in her other hand
to go up the stairs and tend to her light.
Don't forget Georgia had tuberculosis.
Just her will must have propelled her up those stairs.
- Georgia Stebbins's health improved.
Reinvigorated, she embarked on a new life for herself
at North Point Lighthouse.
She had found her purpose.
- Ken Wardius: She took the job seriously.
Did the job exemplary
and was just a dedicated person.
Steadfast, like the lighthouse itself.
- Mark Kuehn: There was times
when she would see a ship that ran aground below the bluffs.
She would go down there, get out in a rowboat,
and row out and rescue the crew.
- Barb Wardius: The lighthouse and tending to it
seemed to be her life.
She was always here, always on duty.
- Committed to North Point Lighthouse,
Georgia Stebbins built her life around it,
rarely leaving its grounds,
even with her responsibilities growing
as she welcomed a son, Albert.
- Mark Kuehn: Her son was born at the lighthouse.
She gave birth at home
because she had to keep up her duties.
There was no such thing as maternity leave in those days.
You just gave birth and got right back to work.
!- With her beloved bullmastiff, Tappan, by her side,
!Georgia raised her son alone at the lighthouse.
- Barb Wardius: She was just a really, really strong woman.
Georgia Stebbins was definitely a portrait of dedication.
- In 1881, her dedication paid off.
After seven years of serving in an unofficial capacity,
the U.S. Lighthouse Service
named her the official head keeper
of North Point Lighthouse.
- Ken Wardius: For a woman in that era,
it was not common at all
to have the official head keeper title.
Officially, she was head keeper for more than 20 years,
but with helping her father,
she was here for almost three decades.
- Mark Kuehn: It was amazing.
She retired before women had the right to vote.
- Georgia Stebbins retired in 1907
as the longest-serving lighthouse keeper
in North Point's history.
- Barb Wardius: She was a woman definitely before her time
working in a man's world,
running the entire show for all these years
as a lighthouse keeper.
[pensive piano, crickets chirping]
[slow, tranquil piano]
- Ken Wardius: It's important for people to know
the stories of the people
that ran these lighthouses, for many times, decades.
They had pride in their job.
They had pride in their families.
They had pride being a lighthouse keeper.
[wind blowing]
- Though beginning in the 1920s,
the winds of change
!started to descend upon the role of the lighthouse keeper.
- Ken Wardius: In their wildest dreams, they had no idea
what the future might bring with technology.
- The innovation of electric-powered beacons,
followed by radar and radio communication,
would transform the state's maritime landscape forever.
- Neil Howk: Over the years, the advances of technology
allowed the lighthouse service to automate the lights
and did away with the need for having keepers.
- Ken Wardius: These advances in technology
really put the lighthouse keepers and the lighthouses
out of business.
The 1940s and '50s would have been the time
when most lighthouses were starting to be phased out.
?
- Often abandoned,
lighthouses quickly fell into disrepair.
- Ken Wardius: There are many lighthouses
that do not have a happy ending.
Some lighthouses were intentionally demolished,
never to return again.
The Racine Reef Lighthouse
was a unique light on the Great Lakes.
One of a kind.
Victorian style.
Gorgeous.
Gone.
- Today, very few lighthouses remain in operation.
Their sweeping beams !replaced by flashing LED lights,
new cost-effective steel-framed towers,
and GPS navigation.
Often reduced to lonely landmarks,
lighthouses remain in various stages of ruin
in a test against time.
- Kevin Osgood: Preserving a 150-year-old lighthouse
has its challenges.
- Ken Wardius: Lighthouse preservation today
is a difficult job.
It takes tremendous resources --
people, time, money --
to refurbish a light that has not been in good repair
for, many times, decades.
[ripping tape off]
!- In 2006, the sound of pounding hammers and buzzing saws
reverberated throughout
a tranquil island in Lake Superior.
Wind, weather, and time
had all taken their toll on Raspberry Island Lighthouse
in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
- Neil Howk: Anybody who owns a house
knows just how much maintenance
goes into keeping a house livable.
We had to refinish the floors, fix all the plaster walls,
fix the windows, fix the doors, put a new roof on,
refurnish the kitchen.
- From painters to plasterers,
over 50 different types of tradespeople
plied their talents to this complex and exacting project.
A rehab a hundred years in the making.
- Bob Krumenaker: Raspberry's been gradually falling down.
The last time it had a major renovation, a lot of work done,
was 1906.
- A federal grant awarded to the National Park Service
assured that Raspberry Island !Lighthouse would not go extinct.
- Bob Krumenaker: These places don't just survive on their own,
they require, in this case, legislation,
they require committed people,
they require a fair amount
of public money and private money --
and the dedication of hundreds of people.
- After two years of hard work and dedication...
- Tour Guide: Welcome to Raspberry Island!
- Raspberry Island Lighthouse was ready for its grand reopening.
- Bob Krumenaker: Okay, three, two, one, cut!
- Crowd: Yay! [cheers and applause]
- Bob Krumenaker: Raspberry in a lot of ways
is the showcase of the Apostle Islands.
It's not the biggest lighthouse.
It's not the most dramatic setting,
but it has a human side of it,
I think, that really resonates with people.
[uplifting synthesizer]
- Today, boatloads of visitors !still ferry across Lake Superior
to explore Raspberry Island.
- Tour Guide: Welcome to Raspberry!
- The quaint charm of the lighthouse
drawing them in.
- Neil Howk: The white building, the red roof,
the blue sky, the blue water.
It's just a beautiful location.
- Ken Wardius: It's one of the best-restored lighthouses in the state.
It's gorgeous.
- Barb Wardius: You walk in the lighthouse.
It's like you've been transferred back in time
to the 1920s.
- The lighthouse is preserved and curated
to reflect the year 1924.
Chosen to honor !Raspberry's keeper, Lee Benton,
who kept vivid notes
detailing his family's life !at the lighthouse in the 1920s.
A roadmap outlining Raspberry's rich history.
- Neil Howk: We reestablished the dining room,
dining room chairs, dining room table, pictures for the walls,
the sewing machine that Lee Benton used to use.
- Tour Guide: This is the keeper of this light.
- Neil Howk: The fun part about taking people on tours
is a lot of the older folks,
it kind of reminds them of what they saw
when they went to visit their grandmother growing up.
Just reminds them of their youth.
- Even outside, the lighthouse grounds
are authentic to the past.
- Fred Schlichting: We have a vegetable garden.
We also have flower gardens.
They're in the exact same location
and are the exact same species
that were here back in the '20s.
- Barb Wardius: When Lee Benton and his family were there,
they would have taken great pride
in keeping the grounds and the home neat and tidy.
- Ken Wardius: They were working every single day
at some sort of maintenance, painting, cleaning.
- Their hard work would not be in vain.
The pride of place !the Bentons imbued in Raspberry
is a legacy that continues today.
- Barb Wardius: Raspberry Island is a tribute
to the keepers that came before.
They were stewards of the light, the tower, the home.
So, I think they would be pleased to know that
it's been well taken care of, it's been restored,
and company is welcome 'cause there's something to see.
- Given a new purpose, a second life,
lighthouses themselves
have now become keepers of history.
- Ken Wardius: It's important to preserve
that maritime legacy and heritage.
It gives you a connection to the history, the people.
Really takes you back in time.
?
Ken Wardius: Lighthouses have a connection
to an era that is long gone,
but it's important to keep that history alive.
- Cathy Green: Whether it's individuals or the Park Service,
there are custodians of these lights
who continue to maintain them
for the historic resources they are.
- Neil Howk: Being able to see
this span of a century and a half
of the history of Wisconsin
all encompassed in the buildings.
- Barb Wardius: Those people are gone,
but the stories still remain.
- Stories of courage, duty, and family.
!Lighthouses continue to inspire and capture the imagination.
- Mark Kuehn: I think what draws people to lighthouses
is their uniqueness and what they stood for.
They're monumental in a way.
- Bob Mackreth: A lighthouse is a guiding post.
A lighthouse is a beacon to show people the true path.
It's become ingrained in our culture.
- Brendon Baillod: Probably for a hundred years,
that maritime culture was a huge part of our state,
and it molded our character as a people.
- Cathy Green: It's really at the heart
of who we are here in Wisconsin.
- Pillars of strength.
Guardians of history.
The power and appeal of the Wisconsin lighthouse endures.
The spirit of the state
embodied in these iconic structures.
- Ken Wardius: They stand today still
as symbols of dedication, hard work.
They are a beacon of hope.
A beacon of security.
That's the essence of what a lighthouse is.
>> Hi, I'm James Steinbach. I'm a volunteer here at PBS
Wisconsin. And this extraordinary program, which I
know. I know you're enjoying because here you are at the end
of it and you're still listening to us ask you for money, which
is a good thing to do because it isn't just about the money we
need that. Absolutely need that. That's why we ask. But it's also
about the support, the most important thing you can do as a
person in Wisconsin is to watch PBS Wisconsin and to share that
with other folks, to tell them about the show you watched, to
sit down with other folks and watch it. That's really what
we're about. It's community. It's about Wisconsin. We are
here because of you. We are here because you and I support PBS
Wisconsin and we support it with our dollars. We support it with
our thoughts. We support it with our eyeballs. It's all an
important part of PBS Wisconsin. So keep on doing those things.
Keep on, keep on sending the money, keep on sending
yourselves. Keep on sharing with your kids and call us at
1-(800) 236-3636. >> Well thank you James.
I'm Kerman Eckes on the staff here at PBS Wisconsin. And if
you've already called us this evening, thank you so much. If
it's something you've been thinking about doing, now's the
perfect time to go to those phones and talk to one of our
volunteers. And of course, don't forget, when you do join us here
at PBS Wisconsin this evening. We have some fabulous thank you
gifts that, and I'll run through these briefly for you right now.
If you call and become a member at the $15 a month level, you
have your choice of one of three items you can take a copy of on
either DVD or Blu ray: Wisconsin Lighthouses. The fabulous show
that we've just finished watching, so you can go through
that again. Or you can get a copy of Wisconsin Lighthouses
the book by Ken and Barb Wardius. So a great way to go
back and get some more in-depth information about those
lighthouses. And finally, for your third choice, we have this
absolutely fabulous tote and I love this tote. It's a nice
heavyweight canvas tote. But what really makes it stand out
is the artwork. That's on the tote itself. The artwork is done
by artist Sophie Blackall and she has done a beautiful
illustration of Cana Island Lighthouse in the daytime on one
side, and then on the other side is the Cana Island Lighthouse
at night. So absolutely beautiful tote a great way if
you're into lighthouses. This is something that you're going to
want to add to your collection. Or you can get all three of
these with a commitment at $25 a month here for PBS Wisconsin. So
it all starts with you going to your phone and dialing
1-(800) 236-3636. >> And I'm David Hoffert. I'm a
volunteer here at PBS Wisconsin, and I get to say, but wait,
there's more because there's another gift level that Kerman
didn't have time to talk about. right in between the two. At $20
a month, where you get more of that. Sophie Blackall art. So
this is a children's book. Hello Lighthouse, with a lot of her
illustrations and also a nightlight. And this is the this
is the same artwork that was on the tote bag that Kerman was
just showing you. This one's pretty cool though, because it's
the daytime artwork now, and if it got dark, it
would be the nighttime artwork on that same bag. And this is
art that that Sophie Blackall made for PBS Wisconsin for this,
that tote bag and that nightlight. You cannot get that
anywhere else. So this is a great time to show your support.
Give us a call. 1-(800) 236-3636.
>> So in this last segment we were watching, we heard the
story of Georgia Stebbins and this is a woman you saw the
show. You know that. Who dedicated her life to keeping
the light. And she stayed there. What did it say? She stayed
there never spending a night away from the lighthouse. Never
spending a night away from the lighthouse. Is that the
dedication of that is really worth knowing and telling these
stories. Telling these stories about Wisconsin folks who you
may never have heard of, who have done these extraordinary
things. It's one of the things that I really value about PBS
Wisconsin. It's great to have the celebrities and all the
things that we do when we do music. But the greatest thing is
when we see our neighbors and our friends and the histories
from the past that really reveal to us something about where
we've come from and perhaps where we're going as well,
because it all connects. And I think that that's something that
PBS Wisconsin really celebrates and encourages you and engages
you and invites you to share. So give us, give us a call.
1-800-236-3636. >> Thanks, James. And when you
call us this evening here at PBS Wisconsin and become a member,
we have those. Thank you gifts. Let me run through these
briefly. One more time for you. If you call and become a member
at the $15 a month level, you have your choice of one of three
items. You can take a DVD or Blu ray copy of the program that
we've just watched, so that fabulous show on Wisconsin
Lighthouses. Or you can take a copy of the book that everything
is based on. Wisconsin Lighthouses by Ken and Barb
Wardius. And your third choice at that $15 a month level is
this tote bag by with art by Sophie Blackall.
So, talk to one of our volunteers. They can run through
those levels and that information for you once again
in the meantime, we're going to go back one more time to talk to
Ken and Barb Wardius. So enjoy hearing from Ken
and Barb. >> Hi, I'm Eric Greiling,
director of friends of PBS Wisconsin. We're back with Barb
and Ken now. You two are probably the experts on
Wisconsin Lighthouses for folks who are just inspired by the
program, they just watched, what kind of tips do you have for
visiting lighthouses around Wisconsin?
>> Lighthouse festivals are a great time to go the Apostle
Islands has one in the fall around labor Day and Door County
has one in the spring and in the fall, and there are lighthouses
that are often open that are not open to the public during the
rest of the year. It's a good chance to go and a lot of those
lighthouses are not open to the public, but some are.
>> What kind of guidance do you have of the 48 lights in the
state? >> Eric? Less than a third of
them are open to the public and only a portion of those are in
any kind of form of, you know, good restoration where you'd
want to go in and really look at what life was like back in the
1800s. For example, there's a number of lighthouses that have
friends, organizations involved with them. Those are very, very
helpful to check their resources out as well.
>> Speaking of resources, in addition to your book, what
kinds of additional resources would you recommend?
>> Oh my goodness, we were so blessed by so many people and so
many organizations helping with research, public libraries,
historical societies. There's a number of lighthouse researchers
throughout the United States, a couple names come to mind Terry
Pepper. Com and Lighthouse Friends dot org are a wealth of
information of lighthouses throughout the Great Lakes, as
well as the entire country, and we should say you also have a
lecture on our University Place series, which folks can find
online. >> We do. That's great. That's
great. >> Well, thank you so much for
coming into the studio. Thank you for watching. I hope you've
enjoyed Wisconsin Lighthouses. If you want to make a gift to
support this program, take advantage of some of our thank
you gifts. Like this book Wisconsin Lighthouses. You can
make that call right now at 1-800-236-3636.
>> Well, we're going on to our next show in just a moment but
you still have plenty of time to join us at PBS Wisconsin.
If you did join us this evening, thank you so very much.
We appreciate your support. And remember, that support
makes it possible for us to continue to do shows
like Wisconsin Lighthouses. Don't forget, we have some
fabulous thank-you gifts our volunteers can run through all
of those. We have a copy of the program we just watched,
on either DVD or blu ray. We have a copy of the book
Wisconsin Lighthouses, that everything is based on.
And of course we also have that beautiful tote bag with artwork
by Sophie Blackall. So we have many ways to thank you when you
join us here this evening. But again, it all
start with you, taking that step and saying ""yes"
PBS Wisconsin is something I value. And so I'm going to
call 1-800-236-3636. Thank you again.
[MUSIC]
?
- Announcer: Funding for Wisconsin Lighthouses
is provided by
the David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund,
Dr. Henry Anderson and Shirley Levine,
the Ruth St. John and John Dunham West Foundation,
Jan Botz and Tom Lippert,
the Dwight and Linda Davis Foundation,
A.C.V. and Mary Elston Family,
Slater Family Fund,
Barb and Mike Madden,
Obrodovich Family Foundation,
The Great Lakes Foundation,
Ruder Ware,
the Fund for Lake Michigan,
Trust Point,
Wisconsin Coastal Management Program,
and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
donors to the Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs,
and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.