New Lantern and Railing Installed

(2009) The railing is about to come to rest atop the lighthouse, where it will be secured by thick bolts to the 160-year-old tower .

MACKINAW CITY – Under a crisp blue morning sky a newly fabricated lantern and railing were driven aboard a flatbed truck Thursday from Moran Iron Works in Onaway, where they were constructed, to the McGulpin Point Lighthouse, the centerpiece of Emmet County’s new park on the Straits of Mackinac just west of Mackinaw City. Rainy weather had delayed the 50 mile trip and installation by three days.

Attending Thursday’s installation were Sandy Planisek, chair of Emmet County’s Historical Commission; Dick Moehl, president of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association; GLLKA Executive Director Terry Pepper; Emmet County Controller Lyn Johnson; and Jim Tamlyn, chair of the county’s board of commissioners.

Emmet County purchased the lighthouse from a private owner last July and will make it accessible to the public this summer. A new light within the lantern will be turned on during a ceremony on Saturday, May 30, marking the first time in over 100 years that the lighthouse will again protect shipping on the Straits. The public is invited to attend the gala ceremony, with music, fanfare and refreshments. Thousands have been invited to what promises to be the most significant historical event in the state this year.