Entries by Karen Wells

July 14 – Carpentry Team at Work

The “carpenter” team of James, Jim and Ben (shown below) took over last Friday. They arrived heavily loaded with materials and equipment. After repairing/replacing rotten joists in one of the Assistant Keeper’s parlors, they now have proper wood to replace floorboards and trim. Here’s Ben working on the flooring. Also on the docket were soffit […]

July 9 – Continued progress on grounds maintenance

Day 6. The team continues to clear the landing, spray for poison ivy (one team member is nursing an outbreak) and work on their “special project.” Rodger painted two sides of the shed. They report seeing an increasing number of monarchs. It was Jen’s birthday today, celebrated with a hike and popcorn made over the […]

South Fox Merchandise

Just a reminder, a variety of South Fox Island Light Station merchandise is available through our friends at the Shoal Shop. Proceed go toward transportation and restoration costs. We have the following items available for purchase.   Or, if you’d like to support the cause directly, you can make a tax deductible donation here.

July 7 – Cruisin’

It isn’t often one sees a cruise ship going by, but here’s Jen and Mary watching the Viking Octantis pass by enroute from Mackinaw Island to Milwaukee on a course heading inside of the Manitous. Photo credit: Sandra White In between ship watching, the team continued clearing, burning accumulated brush, and cleaning the lighthouse.

July 6 – Brush burning

Day 3: It rained all night with sprinkles most of the day. Sharon, Jen and Karen washed windows in the lighthouse. Meanwhile, Mary and Sandra cleared part of the landing while Rodger hauled brush. Everyone had a hand in keeping the brush pile burning, disposing of debris from the ice storm’s aftermath and additional brush […]

July 4 – Incoming Crew

This week’s turnover started early with a 6 a.m. departure from Leland this morning. What a great crew….long term volunteer and board member Sandra White is heading this week’s team. She’s  joined by a high school friend and her sister. Friend Karen is a diehard lighthouse person and prior South Fox volunteer. Jen was a […]

July 3 – Much brighter!

This morning’s report from team leader Kathy Sanders “It has been a busy week working on lead remediation and painting projects at the light station on South Fox. We remediated the trim in the front portion of the 1867 lighthouse and also did the bathroom. We then applied a finish coat to all those surfaces. […]

Leelanau Enterprise Article – June 28, 2025

Brian Freiberger reported on the station’s opening this past week’s edition of the Leelanau Enterprise. A link to the article is provided here. The text is also available via the Leelanau News Facebook page.    

July 1 – Scraping by

Board member Kathy Sanders arrived on island Saturday and has been hard at work with her assistants Jack & Jeanne. Here, they are scraping and wire brushing more of the entry hall in preparation for applying lead remediating primer. It’s hot, tiring and messy work Kudos to this team for taking this on! Going forward, […]

June 12 – Return home

The team left the island today. A painting team is scheduled next in a couple of weeks. We’ll post again when we have volunteers present and buildings open. Photo credit: Sandra White