Had Thomas Jefferson been as enlightened as popular culture sometimes likes to remember him, Cape Fear’s Rebecca Long might have become America’s first woman lighthouse keeper. To learn more about membership, check out the SPLKA website HERE. Ida Lewis, keeper of the Lime Rock Lighthouse in Rhode Island, was awarded a gold medal in 1881 for saving lives at her imminent peril. 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. Coast Guard took over responsibility in 1939.
The care of the nation’s lighthouses moved from agency to agency until 1910, when Congress created the Bureau of Lighthouses. Duties also include selling SPLKA merchandise and keeping up the lighthouse and grounds. Lighthouse keepers became civil service employees in 1896. 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. You can reserve one or two bedrooms or the entire keeper’s house. Children keepers MUST be six years old or older and at least four adults (18 years or older) are required on the Station. “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. All NDLSA members are eligible to become lighthouse keepers. “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.