Tuesday,
March 24, 2015: There was a very interesting one-evening class at
Forestview Middle School in
Brainerd.
Mike Roberts, the last keeper at
Split Rock Lighthouse on the north shore of Lake Superior, was the speaker.
Mike is retired now, but was a Coast Guardsman assigned to run the lighthouse
for over two years until it was decommissioned in 1969. Split Rock
Lighthouse was built in 1910 after a 1905 storm damaged or sunk 29 ships.
The lighthouse helped guide ships on Lake Superior for 58 years, keeping them
away from the shore and disaster. It was replaced by radio beacons and was
no longer needed. Now it is run by the Minnesota Historical Society with
about 100,000 visitors each year.
Mike told fascinating stories about life at the lighthouse with his
family. He also sold copies of his
book. Many copies were purchased because it is such an interesting
subject. Mike is shown here with a ceramic model of the lighthouse.
Also on the table, to his left, is a model of the Fresnel lens that directs the
light from a single 1000 watt electric light bulb. It can be seen for over
20 miles on an average night.
Split Rock Lighthouse is lit on November 10th each year in remembrance of
the the Edmond Fitzgerald. The Fitzgerald was on the other side of the
lake when it sank in a fierce storm in 1975. The event was made famous by
Gordon Lightfoot's hauntingly beautiful song,
The Wreck
of the Edmond Fitzgerald.
