Since I’m writing a book
about a girl who lives in a lighthouse, I decided to reprint a related series
of blog posts from 2013. This one was posted on July 8, 2013.
Womanning the Lights
on Southern Lake Michigan
Yes, that’s what it says.
“Womanning” the lights, not manning them.
Mind the Light, Katie, by Mary Louise Clifford and J. Candice
Clifford, tells the story of thirty-three female lighthouse keepers, including
two that kept the lights burning on the southern tip of Lake Michigan, not too
far from where I live.
Harriet Colfax “wommaned”
the Michigan City Light Station from 1861-1904. Unlike most female keepers, she
was neither a lighthouse keeper’s widow nor a lighthouse keeper’s daughter. She
seems to have just decided to do it. And with a cousin in high places (he was a
U.S. Congressman at the time), she asked for and received the appointment.
Small of stature and
frail in appearance, Harriet was not an obvious candidate for the position,
which at times required her to lug the oil for the lamps across fragile
walkways in gale conditions. Yet she managed to fulfill her duties faithfully
for 43 years.
The lights did go out at
times, but that was the weather’s fault, not Harriet’s. Her log entries record
her struggle keeping up the light on the west pier. During storms, she reached the
light by walking along a wooden catwalk elevated above the pier. The catwalk
kept her above the huge waves that swept over the pier, but the catwalk had its
own dangers, and the wind damaged it numerous times. In October 1886, Harriet
fought a long, hard struggle against the gale to light the lamps. As she
returned to shore, she turned around and saw the entire tower fall into the
sea.
In spite of the hardships
of the job, Harriet maintained the Michigan City lights until failing health
caused her to retire at the age of 80. There were probably times when she hated
her job, but her 43-year career makes me think that it must have mostly given
her satisfaction.
Not so for Mary Ryan, who
kept the Calumet Harbor Entrance Light for seven years (1873-1880) after her
husband died. Her log entries don’t paint a picture of a happy woman. They include
the following comments.
- “This
is such a dreary place to be all alone in.” (December 1873)
- “Oh for a home in the sunny south.” (April
1874)
- “I
think some changes will have to be made this is not a fit place for anyone
to live in.” (April 1880)
- “Oh
what a place.” (August 1880)
- “This
is all gloom and darkness.” (November 1880)
Or maybe it was just the
climate she despised, not the lightkeeping duties themselves. After all, she
did stick it out for seven years.
Stay tuned to find out
how the younger generation reacted to lighthouse living.
* * * * *
For more information on
Harriet Colfax and the Michigan City Light Station, see pages 49-56 of Mind the Light, Katie and/or check out
the following websites:
http://www.us-lighthouses.com/displaypage.php?LightID=309
For more information on Mary
Ryan and the Calumet Harbor Entrance Light Station, see pages 57-58 of Mind the Light, Katie and/or check out
the following website:
* * * * *
The picture at the head
of this post shows the current Michigan City East Pierhead Light. That light was
not constructed until 1904, around the time that Harriet Colfax retired, so she
might not have lighted it. Still, the catwalk in the picture—suspended high
above the pier—is probably similar to the one on the west pier that gave
Harriet Colfax so much trouble.
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