Lighthouse association, historical society present writers series. 

James Jensen

Lighthouse association, historical society present writers series. 

PERE MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP — The Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association, along with the Mason County Historical Society, will again sponsor the Winter Writers Series.  The series begins on Thursday evening January 16 at 7 p.m. and will be held at United Methodist Church of Ludington, 5810 W. Bryant Road.

The first speaker in the series will be James Jensen, a local Ludington historian. Jensen will present “The Captain, the Princess, and Ludington,” a history of early industrialist Eber Brock (E. B.) Ward and his notorious daughter Clara Ward, who became the Princess de Caraman-Chimay. Special emphasis on connections to Ludington; sawmills, salt works, railroads, etc.”

On February 20, Pamela Cameron, a retired educator and librarian from Kalamazoo, will talk about her book, “Sport, Ship Dog of the Great Lakes.” The story is based on Sport, the dog who lived on the Great Lakes lighthouse tender ship Hyacinth.  This book was recognized as the best historical children’s book for 2019 by the Historical Society of Michigan at its conference in September. Hear the story about the fascinating research that Cameron did while she was writing the book. She has many historical documents and actual pictures of Sport and his life aboard the Hyacinth.  

The third program in the series is scheduled for March 20.  Dr. Bill Lucas from the University of Michigan will present his Michigan Lighthouse Legacy Project. Lucas has written or commissioned other artists to write fanfares for Michigan lighthouses. A fanfare is a short ceremonial tune or flourish played on brass instruments, typically to introduce something or someone important. More than 40 fanfares have been composed for this project. Lucas has assembled professional brass players to record the fanfares. When the CD is produced, copies will be donated to Michigan lighthouse organizations like SPLKA for raising money and awareness for preservation of lighthouses.  SPLKA is especially interested in the forthcoming CD as fanfares have been written for all four of the lighthouses under our care. The program is a multimedia presentation that will appeal to all lighthouse enthusiasts. 

The Winter Writers Series is hosted at the United Methodist Church in Ludington.  There is a $5 charge to attend which covers expenses and goes to support both SPLKA and the Mason County Historical Society.