Great Lakes Lighthouse Tales

by Fredrick Stonehouse

Stories of Lighthouses on the Great Lakes. info

Genres: History

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! Author Fredrick Stonehouse really did his research for this one. He sets up the book with one of the most useful introductions I’ve ever read, in which he lays out the responsibilities of a lighthouse keeper and describes daily life for the “wickies.” Each chapter that follows tells a different story about a particular event at a particular location. The Great Lakes are vast and dangerous, but they often seem overlooked in books and stories. Stonehouse remedies that here by focusing exclusively on Great Lakes lighthouses. These intrepid keepers faced a very different set of challenges than their colleagues on the open sea, and I found it fascinating to read about their experiences. Stonehouse takes his readers on a journey from the early towers of the 1700s to the modern days of automation. There is variety here, too. One chapter tells of the lighthouse that inspired a famous hymn, while another tells of a brave rescue during a storm. One tells of a rescue that came too late for some. And there are many, many tales in this small volume. The most fanciful chapter by far—a delightful yarn that is still grounded in solid research—describes a tragedy from the lighthouse’s point of view. This book is both true in content and informal in tone. It’s both celebration and elegy. Most of all, it’s history. It’s local history for many, and especially for Stonehouse, whose pride for the Great Lakes region and its unique happenings shines through on every page.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stonehouse books read like a conversation … buy him a beer and he'll tell you a tale. I think that's how he did his research -- from old salts. Lighthouse Tales gets the reader acclimated to the uniqueness of the Great Lakes lighthouses, the keepers and the challenges they faced and then moves onto stories from Lakes Ontario, Erie, Michigan, Superior. The Lake Michigan stories include tales from Pilot Island (the Gilmore, Nichols and Forest wrecks), St Martin Island (keeper Louis Bauchan and his chickens), Poverty Island (the treasure). Stonehouse writes: 'It is often said that ships have a spirit, a soul, a living aspect to them. Whether built of steel, wood or even fiberglass, there is an essence within the physical structure. A good captain lets the ship talk to him and takes note of what it says. I believe a lighthouse has the same type of spirit and it too can speak to the keeper. There are cases where the old time wickies claimed their lights did talk to them, telling of their fears and desires. And the keepers spoke back to the lights, reassuring them when the gales blew hard and encouraging them to keep the light burning. Like ships, lights were always feminine, never masculine.' Pick up this book, flip through the wonderful pictures and sit back for tales of times long gone.

[Harold Cheetham · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent and interesting book.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stories are good, history is useful and includes bibliographic notes. But the writing could be better, lots of unnecessary exclamation marks and typos.