Ladies of the Lights: Michigan Women in the U.S. Lighthouse Service

Introduction

Introduction Lighthouse keeping in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was a rugged life ‹lled with long hours and hard work punctuated by periods of real peril. Not a profession for the fainthearted, it was thought by many to be unsuitable employment for the “fairer sex.” But more than ‹fty women in Michigan proved the naysayers wrong. Acting as both assistants and full-›edged keepers, these women served the sailing community with distinction for more than a hundred years—often juggling their of‹cial duties with the demands of raising their families. Several of these women even died while in the service. But where are their stories told? In history books, in the classroom , on TV, or in the movies? The sad truth is that—with the exception of a book chapter here and there—the contributions of Michigan’s “Ladies of the Lights” have almost been lost to time. The inspiration for this book was Kathy Mason’s cover story for the September/October 2003 issue of Michigan History magazine. Entitled “Mystery at Sand Point Lighthouse,” it attempted to answer questions surrounding the death of keeper Mary Terry, whose body was consumed by a terrible ‹re that struck her Escanaba lighthouse in 1886. More intriguing than the mystery of “whodunnit,” though, was the inclusion in the article of a table of names of forty-nine other women who had served their country (as lighthouse keeping was a federal job) and their state in this unique profession. Besides names, the table also listed the lights these women Historians believe this may be the only known photograph of Sand Point (Escanaba) keeper Mary Terry, who died in a suspicious fire at the lighthouse in 1886. Photo courtesy of the New York Public Library, Robert N. Dennis Collection of Stereoscopic Views 2 [To view this image, refer to the print version of this title.] kept—all over lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior as well as on the Detroit River—and the years during which they served. Some stayed for only a year or less; were they just placeholders until a permanent keeper could be found? And several women were employed between the years 1861 and 1865, begging the question: Were they ‹lling in for a husband called away to war? And what about the woman who was posted at two lights on Lake Michigan—Beaver Island Harbor and Little Traverse—for a combined total of forty-one years? What was her story? Can we assume that she loved her work, or she never would have stayed so long? If last names are any indication, it also appeared that some of the women in the keepers’ list might have been related and, if so, in what way? In short, more questions were raised than answered by the Michigan History article. But they were good questions meriting more research . The opportunity to engage in that research came in 2007, when this book’s author was hired as the assistant director/curator for the Michigan Women’s Historical Center and Hall of Fame in Lansing. The Historical Center houses the only museum in the state dedicated to women’s history. And one of the ‹rst responsibilities of the new curator was to develop an exhibit to place in the museum’s changing gallery. It didn’t take long to zero in on a subject: Michigan’s female lighthouse keepers. The topic of lighthouses has universal appeal in Michigan, home of the greatest concentration of lights in the United States. And lighthouse keepers—illustrated in our imaginations by a solitary ‹gure surveying the seas from a lofty tower—are viewed as equally romantic. Layer on top of that the prospect of a female face and you have the foundation of an intriguing educational display. The exhibit was quite popular—more so than any other previously launched by the institution. And it continues to be enjoyed by new audiences each year as it circulates among cultural institutions— museums, libraries, and schools—in the state. This book was intended to present the themes of the original exhibit —e.g., how did female keepers get appointed to these jobs? how did they tend a light and a family at the same time? were they treated Introduction 3 differently from men?—and to expand on the discussion of its themes. Those who have seen the exhibit will enjoy reading more about the trials and triumphs of these amazing...