By David Fleet
dfleet@mihomepaper.com
Ortonville — From 6:30-7:30 p.m., Jan 22 the Brandon Township Public Library, 304 South St. will host Women of the Watch, Keepers of the Light. Registration required.
Kamryn Marck shares stories of female lighthouse keepers on the Great Lakes. She shares stories of childhood experiences at Michigan lighthouses, which led to her discovery of and fascination with several different women who tended the lights on the Great Lakes.
“I had no idea there were so many stories about women and lighthouses,” said Marck. “It was related to the time or era when women were not seen as part of the workforce. Typically, men held many of the government positions so the lighthouse jobs went to them, not women.”
However, women keepers did an amazing job at tending the light, she said.
Marck focused on four women keepers, all on Lake Michigan, in history: Harriet Colfax, a lighthouse keeper for 43 years at Michigan City, Ind.; Julia Sheridan, South Manitou Island; Mary Terry, Sand Point, Escanaba and Elizabeth Whiney, Little Traverse Lighthouse, Harbor Springs.
“These women were resilient, and tough,” she said. “Some women fell into the job after their husbands passed away, either way they all were very resilient and pioneers in their own respect.”