Digest>Archives> Jan/Feb 2018

Big Sable Point Lighthouse Turns 150

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Big Sable Point Lighthouse in Ludington, Michigan ...
Photo by: Steve Begnoche

Over one hundred and seventy-five people turned out on a cold and wet day this past November to help celebrate the 150th birthday of Michigan’s Big Sable Point Lighthouse.

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American frontiersman Burr Caswell (1807-1896), ...

Located in Ludington State Park, the lighthouse is now cared for by the Sable Point Points Lighthouse Keepers Association (SPLKA) that was originally formed in the late 1980s under the leadership of Dick Smith.

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The attendees of 150th Birthday Party of ...
Photo by: Steve Begnoche

Today the restored light station is a popular location with tourists who are allowed to freely roam the grounds, climb the tower for a fee, and shop in the gift shop maintained by volunteers who also live at the lighthouse on a rotating basis to oversee its daily operations.

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Brenda Glerum and Shirley Mitchel at Big Sable ...
Photo by: Steve Begnoche

As well as being attended by a number of dignitaries, the 150th Birthday Party attendees were treated to entertainment by the Ludington High School Choir, and a trumpet solo by University of Michigan music professor Dr. Bill Lucas.

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Right, the men who encased the Big Sable Point ...

Today the SPLKA also operates and cares for three other Michigan lighthouses: Little Sable Point, Ludington North Breakwater, and White River.

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The Big Sable Point Lighthouse was built as a ...


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The Big Sable Point Lighthouse is shown here in ...


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When more help was needed at Big Sable Point ...


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David M. Sauer was the Officer-In-Charge or head ...


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By 1941, erosion was threatening the brick fog ...


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These three Big Sable Point Lighthouse keepers ...


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Serving as the 1st assistant keeper from 1948 to ...

This story appeared in the Jan/Feb 2018 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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