There are just under 800 lighthouses currently standing in the U.S., a number that can slightly fluctuate depending on a person’s definition of “lighthouse.” (Some counts include unofficial lights, meaning they’ve never been listed as Coast Guard navigational aids and are more like sculptural pieces, such as the Robert Manning Memorial Lighthouse in Empire, Michigan.) According to D’Entremont, about half of these lighthouses are active. lighthouses that offer “volunteer keeper” programs tend to get booked up months, if not years, in advance. They’ve got hundreds of years of history, and they tend to exist in some really beautiful and dramatic places.” (North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras Lighthouse alone has approximately 500,000 visitors per year.) “Lighthouses were built for nothing but altruistic reasons, helping to aid navigation and to save lives and property. “I call it catching the lighthouse bug,” says Jeremy D’Entremont, historian for the United States Lighthouse Society, referring to the reasons millions of people visit U.S. Yet I felt secure standing beside the fifth-order Fresnel lens, a beacon that once shone up to 13 miles from the lantern deck atop Mission Point Lighthouse, lighting the way for many lost sailors. Strange really, since these cold, deep waters are home to dozens of well-preserved shipwrecks, vessels from the late 1800s and early 1900s that became the victims of unpredictable storms while shipping lumber and other maritime commerce. The Ludington and Little Sable lights are open to the public, seven days a week, from May to September.Looking out over the west arm of Grand Traverse Bay, a part of Lake Michigan, I felt a sense of calm. To learn more about membership, check out the SPLKA website HERE. SPLKA is 760 members strong and responsible for the maintenance of Big Sable, Little Sable, Ludington North Breakwater Light and White River Light Station. The mission of SPLKA is to preserve, promote and educate, and to make the lighthouses accessible to the public. “Once you have worked at the light, you will know those answers and be able to give even more information about the questions people ask.” “The most common question is how many stairs there are to get to the top of the lighthouse,” Manning said.
Duties also include selling SPLKA merchandise and keeping up the lighthouse and grounds.
Here, accepted volunteers will learn about the lighthouse’s rich past, as well as the first aide options available on site. A training session will be offered during the last week of April. “The most important duties are to be a friendly face, greet visitors who come, and to be able to give a little of the history of the lighthouse.”Īpplications are being accepted until the positions are filled. “If you are interested, it is better to get your application in, sooner than later,” Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association (SPLKA) Director Peter Manning says. (Big Sable Lighthouse is full.) Tours of duty are one week long, and the keeper stays at the Ludington State Park for Ludington North Breakwater Light duty and at a residence in Silver Lake State Park for Little Sable duty.
Positions are currently available at the Ludington North Breakwater and Little Sable Lighthouse. If you’ve ever thought about becoming a lighthouse keeper, sign-up is now! Volunteers are invited to join the Volunteer Keeper Program, receive training on lighthouse history, and become ready to welcome visitors to enjoy exploring the local landmarks.
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