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Click on the blue box to the left of the song title to listen to the song.
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Tender, Come
Michigan City
Michigan City, IN
Little Lighthouse Girl
Presque Isle, PA
Child of the Keeper,
Keeper of the Light
Green Island, WI
Raspberry Island, 1903
Raspberry Island, WI
My Name is Rachel
Marblehead, OH
Two Harbors
Two Harbors, MN
Donahue Kept the Light On
South Haven, MI
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Out to Dunkirk
Dunkirk, NY
Lap of Luxury
Grosse Point, IL
Ishmael's Petition
Sodus Point, NY
Manitou Moonshine
Manitou Island, MI UP
In View of the
Round Island Light
Round Island, MI
Let the Lower Lights
Be Burning
Tramway Ride
Split Rock, MN
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Tender, Come
Tribute to the Lighthouse Service Vessels
Great Lake Lighthouse tenders were named after flowers. That their names would represent new life is appropriate; their arrival brought needed supplies, inspectors from the Lighthouse Service, spouses and children and much-needed visitors and fun! The tender's arrival was often one of the best things to happen in months.
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The Lotus and the Dahlia, the Aspen and the Amaranth
The Marigold and Sumac tend to the lighthouse
Tender come to the lighthouse, come
Tender, come to the lighthouse, come
Bring our supplies and then move on
Come to the lighthouse, come
Coal to feed the boiler's steam; for the light, the kerosene
All that helps us keep the station clean - - Come to the lighthouse
By tender he arrives, inspector by surprise
To do the white glove exercise when he comes to the lighthouse
Tender come to the lighthouse, come
We need to get a lot of work done
Bring our supplies and then move on
Come to the lighthouse, come
When the need to build arises, men, material and supplies
You bring to our construction site - - Come to the lighthouse
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You bring us books to read, a rotating library
They'll be well-read, that's a guarantee, so come to the lighthouse
Tender come to the lighthouse, come
We'll rest when our work gets done
Bring what we need then move along
Come to the lighthouse, come
Places near a busy port, places distant and remote
The tender visit brings us hope, so come to the lighthouse
Out to an island alone until mainland school is done
Then you bring the wives, daughters, sons when you come to the lighthouse
Tender come to the lighthouse, come
Tender, come to the lighthouse, come
Bring our supplies and then move on
Come to the lighthouse, come. Come to the lighthouse, come
Come to the lighthouse
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Michigan City
Michigan City, IN, Lake Michigan
Three girls who grew up at the lighthouse remember days in the park, playing with neighbors, going to the homes of friends, and being raised to stay away from wicked lifestyles, such as those characterized by people on showboats! So their strict parents did not take it well that Al Capone would cruise past the station on his way to a nearby vacation hideaway.
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North Indiana, life at the lighthouse
For three young sisters, idyllic, serene
Washington Park was the personal playground
For Eleanor, Betty and Jean
Traversing the catwalk with father was lovely
With joy Grandma Nolan embroidered and baked
Mother's protection could seem overstated
When the girls would remember their life at the lake
Most days there was peace at Michigan City
The lighthouse like a hawk would watch the waves
Every kind of ship, every kind of sailor
Both saints and sinners on the waterways
Churches and saloons in Michigan City
Crowning every corner with a name
Goals aside, a peaceful co-existence
Capone and all his cronies could invade
Had a speedboat most would notice
Distinctive style and opulence
Bought by the wage of evil ways
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Out on the roads he feared his rivals
So for pleasure and survival
He would often cruise to holiday
He made gangster waves at Michigan City
Sailing from Chicago to Long Beach
Keeper Moore would spot the villain vessel
And keep his children out of eyeball's reach
Charity, his wife, had puritan virtue
Shield her girls from evil's twisted plan
Was she wrong to fear the crime czar's presence?
Would fear have saved the boys of Bugs Moran?
Lost the Hoosier Slide to build Chicago
Built Chicago track by track and then
Lost Chicago piece by piece to strongarms
Hooligans, thugs and goons, wretched men
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Little Lighthouse Girl
Presque Isle, Erie PA, Lake Erie
The first child born on Presque Isle (the name means "almost an island") only lived there two years, but Nellie's parents pioneered a significant station's efforts and built for her a strong legacy. It boggles the mind to consider the isolation many individuals and families must have felt in staffing those remote but critical posts.
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Little lighthouse girl, Presque Isle was your home
One narrow peninsula of sand spits, dunes and stone
It's not quite an island, but this region of your birth
More than once your daddy called the loneliest place on earth
Then there were no roads, only lanes of sea and sand
Miles to walk, then sail or row to populated land
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Yet your parents' role, noble, good and right
Light to any foundering, floundering sailors in the night
Nellie, I know you must be resting in this legacy
Isolation was their life, but reaching out to save
Your mom and daddy's hearts were brave and true
And it helped no doubt when they had you,
Little lighthouse girl
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Child of the Keeper, Keeper of the Light
Green Island WI, Lake Michigan
The story of Frank Drew's return to his boyhood lighthouse home is touching and inspiring. Having lost his parents within one year of each other earlier in his life, Frank's wife died while he was Assistant Keeper at Pilot Island. Frank and his three young children came "home," where he raised them in the place where he was raised. This song is part of that story.
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Daddy kept the lighthouse out on Green Island
Out there on Green Island
Four miles off the Marinette shore
Faithfully he kept the light out on Green Island
Surrounded by Lake Michigan's waters
Standing guard at Green Bay's door
I was born and raised out there, out on Green Island
Born into the lighthouse life, lived it as I grew
Apprenticeship by birthright, out on Green Island
I was a lighthouse boy, son of Samuel Peter Drew
We wintered in Menekaunee, but when we were on the island
From the station we would sail there for doctors and supplies
Tempestuous, stormy weather, that could thwart our stalwart tries
We lost my sister, Anna, three months when she died
We prayed and worked and lived out there, out on Green Island
With age my growing wonder, what was life like out beyond?
When Mom and Daddy died within one year of each other
I struck out from the island, I went out on my own
I worked the tugs and lumber boats, worked the fishing vessels
Mary Louisa became my wife, had three children of our own
Well I returned to lighthouse life, served at Pilot Island
After three years Mary died there, pain like none I'd ever known
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Eleven years of marriage and three children at my feet
How could I create a home to meet my family's needs?
I was shocked with wonder when an opportunity
To go back to my childhood home, Green Island, came to me
Seventeen days, forty-nine miles, back to Green Island
Battling ice it was a treacherous ride, back to my boyhood home
It took seventeen days to go forty-nine miles,
But we finally reached the island
That small schooner won the day, triumphed over the storm
When we set our feet on shore, such a sight to see
Felt like Mom and Daddy's arms were reaching out to me
I helped to save some lives while I was stationed at Green Island
The Neptune, she was going down -
Got to twenty-four in time
I was cited for my bravery, rewarded just for doing
What my daddy would be doing if he were still alive
My daddy kept the lighthouse out on Green Island
And so I kept the lighthouse, proud to be my father's son
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Raspberry Island, 1903
Apostle Islands Chain WI, Lake Superior
Keeper Charles Hendrickson's tenure at this Apostle Islands lighthouse included building a new
tramway and Assistant Keeper's quarters, as well as installing a fog signal. Safe passage around Sand Island and through the narrow channel often depended on more than light, as thick fog or smoke from foresters' pine slash burn-off would make the beam invisible.
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Downbound from Duluth they come to the bay they call Chequamegon
Downbound from Duluth they come to Bayfield or Ashland
Faced with foggy or smoky skies, thick darkness blocking the light
Maybe they need a sound for a sign
Raspberry Island in 1903 when the fog signal made its first sound
Charlie stoked the fire, climbed the stairs, checked the light
Like a clock's hand he'd start back around
First thought the Apostles were twelve, they turned out to be twenty-two
Beautiful islands in broad daylight, and a maze in the night to steer through
He used to blow Gabriel's Horn, praying that tone pierced the dark
Over the channel toward Sand Island's shore;
Give those captains an audible mark
Eight men brought the boilers up the bank in June of 1903
Followed by coal, it was 22 tons, and by August she's ready to steam
Three second blasts she would sound, seventeen seconds between
Three times each minute through the fog or the smoke
The 10 inch steam whistle would scream
Downbound from Duluth they come to the bay they call Chequamegon
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My Name is Rachel
Sandusky Bay (Marblehead) OH, Lake Erie
Rachel Wolcott was the first female lighthouse keeper appointed on the Great Lakes. She received that
assignment when her husband Benajah died, and was replaced by her new husband when she remarried. She perhaps knew the light, and the cost of the lighthouse life, better than anyone. This is a small part of her story.
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My name is Rachel, and I married late
Mirthful with music, Benajah my mate
Had been a widower, made me his bride
His labor, the lighthouse; we worked side by side
Happy this fiddler, with every chance
Near home or beyond it, he'd play for the dance
I'll never forget them, those bright gleaming eyes
The first time I met him, Benajah my prize, and we danced
Living on Bayshore and working the station
Trimming those wicks and polishing brass
Scrubbing the staircase with care and affection
And cleaning each lens, preparing for night,
each morning by 10, Clear was the glass
My name is Rachel, and formed in our time
A bond never broken between his heart and mine
Summer of '32 our region was plagued
Legions of victims, many lives claimed
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Cholera boats were shoved off at Sandusky
With hopes that the bodies would drift far away
But the tides beat them back to the shoreline and my dear sweet
Benajah and young William, both decent and good,
Arranged proper burial, prepared the graves
Took in the sickness, the both of them died
I was named the lightkeeper and I served her with pride
Replaced though when Jeremiah and I wed
He the new keeper, so documents said
But I never got Benajah's name out of my head
My name is Rachel, I lived by the flame
No longer Jeremiah's, I took back the name
Benajah had given me, my fiddler dear
As a Wolcott they'll remember me, remember me near to Benajah
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Two Harbors
Two Harbors MN, Lake Superior
Agate Bay and Burlington Bay share the shoreline at Two Harbors. A natural breakwater made Agate the best choice for the enormous ore docks jutting out from the coast on the southern side of the bay. Two guitars play an instrumental reflection on this beautiful lighthouse and the waters over which it stands guard.
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Donahue Kept the Light On
South Haven MI, Lake Michigan
Captn James Donahue was a decorated veteran of the Civil War, wounded twice in battles. Having lost a limb, one might expect he would have chosen a less rigorous life. But this heroic figure continued in service to his country, winning commendations and awards for his exemplary life as a keeper.
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Enlisted back in '61
Eighth infantry of Michigan
At the Battle of the Wilderness
He lost a leg, no less
From Private on to Captain, he
Served with pride and dignity
Left Union forces still to serve
Just one leg but bounteous nerve
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Out on the catwalk ice would form
In sudden squalls and bitter storms
One good leg, one wooden limb
Nothing would deter him
Character, consistency
His service bridged a century
From sundown to the break of dawn
Donahue kept the light on
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A legend on that inland sea
South Haven's keeper fearlessly
Encountered trials, spirits strong
Donahue kept the light on
Well they all felt better with their husbands out
When an angry storm would come about
The wives felt better with their husbands gone
Donahue kept the light on
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