"A great read about some great ladies, Pat Majher's "Ladies of
the Lights" pays long overdue homage to an overlooked part of Great
Lakes maritime history in which a select group of stalwart women
beat the odds to succeed in a field historically reserved for
men."
---Terry Pepper, Executive Director of Great Lakes Lighthouse
Keepers Association
Michigan once led the country in the number of lighthouses, and
they're still a central part of the mystique and colorful
countryside of the state. What even the region's lighthouse
enthusiasts might not know is the rich history of female lighthouse
keepers in the area.
Fifty women served the sailing communities on Lakes Huron,
Michigan, and Superior, as well as on the Detroit River, for more
than 100 years. From Catherine Shook, who raised eight children
while maintaining the Pointe Aux Barques light at the entrance to
Saginaw Bay; to Eliza Truckey, who assumed responsibility for the
lighthouse in Marquette while her husband fought for four years in
the Civil War; to Elizabeth Whitney, whose combined service on
Beaver Island and in Harbor Springs totaled forty-one years---the
stories of Michigan's "ladies of the light" are inspiring.
This is no technical tome documenting the minutiae of Michigan's
lighthouse specifications. Rather, it's a detailed, human portrait
of the women who kept those lighthouses running, defying the gender
expectations of their time.
Patricia Majher is Editor of "Michigan History" magazine,
published by the Historical Society of Michigan. Prior, she was
Assistant Director of the Michigan Women's Historical Center and
Hall of Fame in Lansing, Michigan. In addition, she has been
writing both advertising and editorial copy for almost thirty years
and has been a frequent contributor to Michigan newspapers and
magazines.
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