Barb reported “This morning at 7am it was 47°. The 9:45pm temperature was 51, barometer is 29.88 and steady. It likely never got above 60.” Much of the area between the boathouse and the hill was brush hogged with areas around the landing cleared by hand. Poison ivy was sprayed around paths for the safety […]
Today marked the mid-point of our season opening trip. Traditional keeper’s logs often reported on the weather and volunteer Barb Falkenhagen does it well with these entries she recorded: “6 am 48° and cloudy but no wind….. Temp at lunch was 66° with no wind, but the weatherman predicted thunderstorms between 2 and 4. We […]
It was hot in the sun (the thermometer registered 108, a reminder of the extremes the buildings must endure) but was 70 degrees in the shade. The team continued clearing downed trees, hauling brush, weed whacking, edging, cleaning and repairs on the workshop. Photo credit: Sandra White A late afternoon rain chased dinner inside and […]
The opening team of Cathy Allchin, Barb Falkenhagen, Tom McBride, Linda Posler & Sandra White is “on island” this week. The team was greeted with a number of unplanned projects. A loose tower shutter broke a window pane (yet to be repaired). A branch damaged the rear door on the workshop/summer kitchen, which Tom has […]
Our first team headed out to open up for the season accompanied by a number of day visitors. There’s clean up to be done from winter storm damage: a downed tree damaged the rear door of the workshop/summer kitchen and a loose shutter broke a window pane in the 1867 tower — unplanned projects to […]
Thanks to a donation from Sandy Hingston we have several additional historical items to add to our archives for Head Keeper Lewis Bourissau, who served from 1891- 1915. Bourissau was our longest serving head keeper and was responsible for implementing significant improvements to the station including the addition of the steam fog signal, the conversion […]
Preparations continue toward the upcoming season with an anticipated opening of the island the first week of June. We will be trying to do back-to-back trips or multiple week assignments. Volunteers joining trips will be asked to contribute $200 per person again this year. Our annual DNR matching grant has been submitted. We await a […]
If you want to learn more about the lighthouse’s history, restoration projects, the natural environment or just want to see some awesome images, do check out our South Fox YouTube channel. They’ve had 30,000 views, mostly since early 2024 when we started posting more content. We’ve also developed several playlists incorporating videos from other creators. […]
Tom McBride first volunteered for FILA in 2022 and has been engaged in a wide variety of projects including lantern room restoration, water and solar systems. He is an automotive engineer and small business owner. In this latter capacity, he and his wife Jackie run The Shoal Shoppe which distributes “Michigan 129” branded lighthouse items […]
Here’s President Linda Posler and her dog Georgie representing South Fox Island at Leelanau Historic Society Museum’s annual maritime festival this past week end. There was lots of local interest in our project as we continue to stabilize and restore buildings. Thanks to the Leelanau Historic Society who has a ongoing exhibit on the Lighthouses […]