Tours to North Manitou lighthouse crib begin
From staff reports
Five years ago, when four couples—Daniel and Anna Oginsky, Dave and Sherry McWilliam, Todd and Natalie Buckley, and Jake and Suzanne Kaberle—won the bid to acquire the North Manitou Shoal Lighthouse— commonly referred to as “the crib”—they set an ambitious goal to restore the lighthouse and begin to offer tours by July 4 of this year. The group accomplished their goal with two weeks to spare.
On June 19, two team members led four tourists on the first official tour of the crib. A larger group will visit on July 3 and on most Saturdays through the summer. Trips leave from Leland harbor on a charter fishing boat captained by Jim Muñoz. At this point, tours are open to members who have signed up to support the North Manitou Light Keepers’ restoration effort.
“Tours this year are pretty well filled up,” said Light Keepers board president Dan Oginsky. “We’re offering them to existing members: the tours are what people have been waiting for.”
The Light Keepers will offer a special tour to the crib aboard the Mishe-Mokwa—the ferry which transports travelers to the Manitou Islands—on Friday, July 23, at 6:30 p.m., following the group’s annual rally and information session at 4 p.m. at Leland’s Main Street Gallery. That cruise costs $25 per person.
According to Oginsky, the typical tour lasts about 2-3 hours and includes approximately 60 minutes at the crib. Visitors climb out of the boat and scale a 20-foot vertical ladder to the lighthouse deck. The tour includes a description of the lighthouse and its history and a trip to the lantern house which sits 60 feet above the water level and offers tremendous views of Lake Michigan and the mainland shoreline.
“I’d encourage people to join and become a member,” said Oginsky. “When you become a member, we like to say, ‘You own a lighthouse.’ You get t-shirts. You support the effort. You get direct messages and mailings from us. And it’s easier to get on our list to do tours. To become a member, visit NorthManitouLightKeepers.org, or follow the group on Facebook and Instagram.
The ownership group ultimately hopes to turn the lighthouse into an inn that offers overnight lodging.
Earlier this year the Light Keepers received a Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program grant from the State Historical Preservation Office to replace the old decking and stop water intrusion and structural damage to the crib, the group reported in a March press release.
“Phase 1 of our restoration includes making the lighthouse safe, clean and suitable to visit,” said Oginsky. “We cleaned up 30 years of bird guano, gave it a fresh paint job, took out and restored all 22 rectangular windows, and replaced all glass in lantern houses.”
The next step is to replace the level 3 top deck, whose steel plates covering the deck are corroded and water damaged. The third step is to replace the sea doors, which are welded shut at the water level. Lower lake levels allow boats to one day pull up to the door and walk straight into the lighthouse basement. Phase 2 of the restoration will include installing mechanical systems inside so the ownership group can offer overnight and weekend stays in the future. The crib contains four guestrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a common area.
“Someday it’s going to be a really comfortable place to go stay for a weekend in America’s most beautiful place,” said Oginsky.
