By Andrea Boeshaar
About a decade ago, I wrote a novella for Barbour Publishing
that was included in the collections Keepers of the Light and Lighthouse
Brides. My story has been re-released in a new collection that released last fall. The
setting is Milwaukee’s North Point Light. At the time I wrote “Beacon in the
Storm,” the Coastguard owned the lighthouse and it was in sorry need of repair.
They wouldn’t allow me to tour it (even though the officer I spoke with was in
possession of the key) because he couldn't guarantee my safety. Even so, I fell
in love with the old lighthouse and called it “my lighthouse.”
Built in 1851, the lighthouse opened for business in 1855.
In the 1870s, erosion of the yard threatened the structure so the present one
was built in 1886. Lake Park was constructed in 1893 and by 1900 the trees in
the park threatened the lighthouse’s ability to guide ships safely into
Milwaukee’s harbor. By 1912 the old tower was raised and a taller, more effective
one (present tower) built. In 1994 the North Point Light was taken out of
service.
I grew up hearing the foghorn that came from the light
on the breakwater, except as a child I thought it came from the North Point
Light. The deep bass warning call made it impossible for me to go to sleep at
night. I’d always imagine the keepers of the light being very busy making sure
ships that got lost in the fog didn’t run aground or slam into the breakwater.
Today Milwaukee County and North Point Lighthouse Friends
run the lighthouse. It’s open for tours and weddings and it touts a museum with
a Blue Star status. But I still call it “my lighthouse.”
Are you a lighthouse-lover? Did you tour any lighthouses lately and, if so, which ones?
