A Pocketful of Passage

Postscript

In 1943 Annie Bowen and her family moved to the Presque Isle Light on Lake Huron. The name Presque Isle means “almost an island” in French. The tall white tower and snug keeper’s house stood on the end of a skinny peninsula that jutted out into Lake Huron just north of the town of Alpena . The Bowens lived at Presque Isle for three years. Annie was happy there and has wonderful memories of life at this Lake Huron station. Sadly, Vern Bowen was seriously injured when he fell off the roof of the fog signal building in 1947. Billie and the children had to leave the lighthouse while he recuperated in the hospital. When he recovered, they moved to Sault Ste. Marie where he worked in the Coast Guard offices. Two years later Vern Bowen retired, and the family settled in Kalamazoo, Michigan. After she graduated from high school, Annie Bowen married and had a son and a daughter. Years later she ful- filled a lifelong dream and became a nurse. She cared for cancer patients who loved her friendly outlook and gentle 75 o s t s c r i p t 02฀BM.indd฀฀฀75 12/8/06฀฀฀1:54:19฀PM ways. After she retired, Annie visited many schools and told children about lighthouses and her childhood memories. In 1978 the Coast Guard installed a solar-powered signal in the Passage Island tower and replaced the beautiful Fresnel lens with modern plastic optics. The beautiful old lens is now on display at the Coast Guard station at Dollar Bay in Houghton, Michigan. The Passage Light still guides ships, but no one lives on the island. The tram tracks have rusted, and the buildings are boarded up against Lake Superior ’s harsh weather. Passage Island is now part of Isle Royale National Park. Park visitors can take a small boat to the island and hike through the enchanted forest up to the lighthouse. Annie did return to Passage Island three times, once with her son and his family. She raised an American flag whentheyarrivedandplayedwithhergrandchildrenamong the rocks, where the lichen burners still glow brightly. She also found the spot where she buried her toys, but she did not dig them up. “They are part of the island,” Annie said. Passage Island always remained her favorite place. Annie passed away in 2006, but hopefully her memories will live on for many years. Postscript 76 02฀BM.indd฀฀฀76 12/8/06฀฀฀1:54:19฀PM About the Author Loraine (Rainy) Campbell is a naturalist and museum director who loves the Great Lakes. She met Annie Bowen Hoge after leading a Michigan Audubon Society tour to Isle Royale and Passage Island. She lives in Rochester Hills, Michigan, with her husband and their menagerie. This is her first book. About the Illustrator Marie L. Campbell is an artist studying at Northern Michigan University, where she hikes the Lake Superior shore with her beloved Saint Bernard. This book is her first collaboration with her mother. 77 02฀BM.indd฀฀฀77 12/8/06฀฀฀1:54:19฀PM ...