Spring Poem

My favorite Season is Spring.

I’m really scared of bees.

Spring weather makes me sneeze.

Lets jump in the pool to make us feel cool.

Let’s go on off to the beach so we can eat a peach.

Thanks! That’s my poem!

By:

Jenna

the show icarly

hey!

Does anyone like the show icarly? Its my favorite show! I do know Abby S, Madalena, And Rachel C like it. Anyone else?

I love blogging it is so much fun being on the computer and writing all sorts of things. I do like comments! See you guys at school!

Jenna

The Old Presque Isle

There are many lighthouses in Michigan, and they have all been important to Michigan’s history. In the past, ships came with lumber, so the shipping industry depended on lighthouses. Every lighthouse is unique in its own way. One of those lighthouses is the Old Presque Isle, with its important location and interesting history.

Old Presque Isle lighthouse is located on Lake Huron, near Presque Isle City. The name means “almost an island” in French. It was located there to guide sailing vessels that were carrying goods, into the harbor. The latitude and longitude are 45.3 degrees N. and 83.4 degrees W. Even though it’s called an isle, you can drive there because it is actually located on land.

As well as its useful location, Old Presque Isle has a unique appearance. It is conical in shape and only stands 30 feet tall. It is 18 feet wide at the base and tapers to 9 feet at the top. The tower is made of white stone and has a black lantern room on the top. The most unusual feature is the hand carved, stone spiral staircase that leads to the watch tower. The Old Presque Isle is a light station because the keeper’s quarters are not attached.

The Old Presque Isle lighthouse has changed in many ways, like most of the Great Lakes lighthouses. Old Presque Isle was built in 1839, by Jeremiah Moors of Detroit. It was paid for by Congress at a cost of $5,000. It was built to guide sailing vessels into the harbor to pick up and deliver goods and to seek shelter from bad weather. Henry Woolsey was the first keeper in 1840. The keeper’s duties included cleaning windows, polishing the light, and keeping the light fueled and working. This particular lighthouse is said to be haunted. For example, Old Presque Isle’s light was taken out but, people have reported that they still see it shining.

Even though the Old Presque Isle lighthouse was eventually replaced, the light was changed a few times during the 30 years that it was active. When it was first built, it had Argand Lamps with reflectors, and was fueled with whale oil. Those lamps were later replaced by Lewis lamps. In 1857, the light was upgraded to a fourth order Fresnel lens that was fueled with kerosene. It had a fixed white light that could be seen for 11 miles. The light was deactivated in 1871 when a new lighthouse was built at the end of the peninsula for better visibility. The lighthouse was sold around 1900 to A.C. Stebbins at a public auction for $75. His family rebuilt the tower and the keeper’s quarters during the 1930’s and 1940’s.

Today, the Old Presque Isle lighthouse is no longer active. It is in good condition because it is owned and maintained by the Presque Isle Township. It is open to the public. Visitors are allowed to walk through the museum and climb the tower. It was listed in The National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

The Presque Isle Lighthouse was an important part of Michigan’s history. It helped guide ships into the harbor and helped the economy grow in that area. It is the oldest surviving lighthouse tower on the upper Great Lakes. The most interesting thing I learned about this lighthouse is that many people believe it is haunted. I would like to visit Old Presque Isle someday because I want to see the ghost and learn more about this lighthouse.

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse by Madalena

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse

There are more than one hundred lighthouses in Michigan. They all guide ships through storms and darkness. Mariners depended on lighthouses in Michigan because if there were not any lighthouses, they would not see where they were going or where land was. With its different facts, location, physical characteristics, history, and present happenings, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse is very interesting.

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse is on Lake Michigan at the northernmost tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, just south of Mackinaw Bridge. It is located on the Straits of Mackinac. The county of Old Mackinac Lighthouse is Cheboygan. The latitude is 45 47’ 15” and the longitude is 8.4 43’ 46”.

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse has many special features, such as its shape and color. The lighthouse itself is a 50-foot cylindrical tower, which is attached to a large, two-story square tower and the two-story lighthouse keeper’s home. These structures are made of light brown brick with gray stones along the bottom. The roof is bright red. This lighthouse is known for its castle look.

Like most lighthouses in the history of the Great Lakes, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse has seen some changes over the years. Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse is just south of the most narrow point of the Straight of Mackinac. Before the lighthouse was built, ships had trouble seeing where it was safe to go, especially at night. The treacherous Straits of Mackinac also had a lot of fog. For a long time, nothing was done, even though many ships sank in the Straits of Mackinac. Finally Congress approved the construction of a fog signal and lighthouse, and building stared immediately after, in the summer of 1890. A lighthouse keeper was needed on hand twenty-four hours a day to maintain the light. The first lighthouse keeper was George Marshall in 1890, and he stayed for twenty-nine years. Then, in 1919, George’s adopted son, James Marshall, served as light keeper until 1940, when Henrick Olsen became the third keeper of the light. The fourth was John Campbell, who served for seven years until the station closed in 1957. That is some of Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse’s history.

The way the lighthouse worked did not change very much over the years. The government spent $20,000.00 to build the lighthouse, and the builder, John Peter, made it so well that it is still a great structure today. Until 1957, the 4^th order Frensel lens kept shining red, and the fog signal kept bellowing, but a few minor changes were made from the 1910’s to the 1940’s. The lens lamp fuel was changed from kerosene to incandescent oil vapor in 1913. The oil lamp was replaced with an electric light in 1929. A radio signal was added toward the end of the 1930’s. Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse had an oil house around the back. The Frensel lens is not operational today.

Even though Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse is open to the public, it does not burn today. They built it on land so the waves don’t hurt or damage the lighthouse. It was built 62 feet above land so that the boats would see the light. It was established in 1890. Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse was decommissioned in construction of the Mackinaw Bridge.

There are so many interesting facts to discover about the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. There is a town close by named Marquette. The Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse is near where Marquette died. It is between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. There used to be a fort under the lighthouse. I hope I can go visit this lighthouse and see it for myself one day.

Lighthouse Reports

Please feel free to post your lighthouse report on our Classwork page for extra credit!

Mrs. McC

Tacy’s Lighthouse Report

Holland Harbor South Pierhead Light

Michigan’s lighthouses have played an important role in the history of the Great Lakes. Every lighthouse is unique in its own special way, and all are dependable to steer ships away from rocky shoals. There are over 100 lighthouses in Michigan that help save lives. One of these is the Holland Harbor South Pierhead Light. With its important location, interesting description, memorable history, and helpful light, Holland Harbor Light is one of a kind.

The Holland Harbor South Pierhead Light is located on Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan in the waters near the city of Holland, Michigan. The light station’s structure was built specifically in its location to guide larger ships and give them access to Lake Macatawa as they entered from Lake Michigan. With a latitude of 42º 46′ 57″ N and a longitude of 86º 12′ 57″ W, the Holland Lighthouse is located on the southeast shore of Lake Michigan. To visit the Holland Lighthouse, take US31 into the city of Holland.

Along with its strategic location, the Holland Harbor Light has distinctive physical characteristics. The beautiful light station is made from wood and brick in the shape of a red square. It is a Twin Gable architectural style. The Holland light station is 32 feet tall, which is about two stories. With both the tower and the dwelling painted red, this beacon of light stands apart from all others.

The history of the Holland Light is just as interesting as its looks. It was built in 1907 by an Army Corps of Engineers work crew. This light station was built so that the community would grow. The Lighthouse Board recommended the establishment, but Mr. Poe, the engineer, approved the idea. In 1870, Congress agreed to pay $16,000 for this light. There were three light keepers in the years before automation, and the first was Melgert Van Regenmorter. Joseph Boshka followed in 1911 and Captain William Robinson took care of the light in 1940. The light keepers had many duties. They had to take care of the fog signal engines, fuel and oil the engines, and make sure the light was lit all night. That was the most important job of a light keeper.

Even though the lighthouse itself had very few changes, the Holland light has had quite a few. The visibility of the light increased from 9 ¾ miles to 13 miles, and the range of the light is 5 miles. A horn sounds one blast every 30 seconds. A flashing red light blinks every four seconds and was automated in 1907, but the Holland lights were electrified in 1932. The fuel first used to keep it lit was a 150 candlepower lamp. The fuel didn’t stay the same though. It made a huge jump from a 150 lamp to a 5,000 candlepower lamp. The tower was first lit with an iron lantern, but that changed also. It started with a fixed 5^th Order Fresnel Lens, but it 1907 it changed to a fixed 4^th Order Fresnel Lens.

Although the Holland Harbor Light is not open to the public, her light still burns today. It is still in use, and thanks to the United States Coast Guard, it is in great condition. The Coast Guard is not only restoring the light station, they also own it. They funding is raised by the Holland Harbor Lighthouse Commission which was formed in 1974 to help preserve this important piece of history.

Though it has been restored, the Holland Harbor South Pierhead Light is still in danger of falling apart. The United States Coast Guard and the Holland Harbor Lighthouse Commission are doing all they can to help save this light station, but they can’t do everything. I would like to visit this lighthouse because I think it would be a wonderful experience. It may not be for a while, so I hope to see it still in good condition. In the future, the Holland Harbor South Pierhead Light may need our help. Many people are working to save her; shouldn’t we help save one of “America’s Castles” too?

by

Tacy

Snowday Fun!

In the morning when I woke up I was so excited to go to the Hannah Montana 3D Concert! I picked out my clothes and put them on. Then at 5:15 my friend Jessica came and picked me up. We were singing Hannah Montana songs. When the movie started at 7:00. I got all excited! I had a great time, but when things popped out at me it was a little creepy. Well that was my fun!

Jenna

Super Bowl

I had so much fun on Saturday night. I was in my house with my mom, dad, and my brother, Trevor. We were watcking the Super Bowl. Since I spent most of my life in New England, my family was rooting for the Patriots

Tacy

Our snow day

We had a snow day and it was realy fun. I went to get some ice cream from dariy queen,and it was realy good. we were playing games like tic tac toe,and guitar hero.we also wathched t.v. that is what I did over are snow day.

Corey

Moving Day

Hey! Did I ever tell you I was moving?!? No worries! 🙂 Im staying at our school.I have been packing lots of boxes! But now were finished! We are living with our grandma and grandpa. I am on their computer right now. I enjoy going on the blog. Anyway I live about 3 or 3 and a half miles from EP. I have a pool now. Maybe I could have a class pool party! My room is smaller then my old one and it smaller than my old one but I can live with it. My old was 2 story but we had to move out. But I didnt want to. When we put the boxes in the truck there was this switch that could move the ramp up and down so u didnt have to walk up the truck. It was a Ryder truck. That was my moving Day! We moved January 3rd.