SMMS Newsletter: June 1991


5656 W. Jagger Road Ludington, MI. 49431	June 1991	1990/1991, Vol.2, No.3 Copyrighted
R E M I N D E R ANNUAL MEETING & ISLAND PICNIC SATURDAY, JULY 27, 1991 EMPIRE TOWN HALL EMPIRE, MICHIGAN Annual Meeting - 10:30 A.M. Picnic - 12:00 NOON BRING A DISH TO PASS!

Dear Friends: It is with heavy heart that we must inform you of the death of Jack C. Phillips. Jack died on April 5, 1991. He was 46. He is survived by his wife Connie, son Peter and daughter Kristi. Jack loved South Manitou Island (his wife, Connie, is a Tobin). His love for the island grew over the past five years. He spent vacations and spare weekends there, taking pictures of island scenes, wildlife and flowers. Sometimes he camped with his family. He had also camped on the island alone, for as long as a week. Jack was also an experienced kayaker, and he had planned a trip to the island on this beautiful weekend in April. He had taken many precautions. The kayak was equipped with a flare gun, two—way marine radio with a special weather warning band, extra food, water and clothes. He wore a special protective dry suit and flotation vest. "He was wearing most of the proper stuff, and he was in great shape. He was obviously an expert at what he did", said Leelanau County Medical Examiner Matthew Houghton, who ruled on the following Tuesday that * Reprinted, in part, from an article in the Grand Rapids Press		Jack died of hypothermia — caused by prolonged exposure to cold water. The Coast Guard recorded water temperatures of 45.5 degrees in the surf where Phillips was found. The weather was mild as Jack departed from Glen Haven shortly before 10:00 A.M. on Friday, but it became violent by Saturday night when winds from the South were reported gusting at more than 40 miles per hour. Officials theorized that Jack camped on South Manitou on Friday night and may have been paddling to a different campsite sometime Saturday when his kayak capsized. When Jack could not right the craft, he apparently slipped out of its submerged seat, then clung to the side and waited for help that never came. The waterproof dry suit Jack was wearing enabled him to survive in the cold water perhaps up to six hours, according to Dr. Houghton, but he could not tell for sure when Jack went in the water. When Jack did not return to the mainland on Sunday, as planned, his wife, Connie, notified the Great Lakes Search and Rescue Center in Cleveland. A helicopter from Traverse City was assigned to take off early Monday, but fog prevented the flight until the afternoon. The helicopter crew spotted the bright yellow kayak and Jack's body about 3:30 P.M., washed ashore on North Manitou Island.

Shortly after Jack Phillips' death Connie wrote a long letter to Glenn and Ethel Furst, in which she states: " ... Jack's 'Fair Haven' here on earth was the South Manitou Island. He thought it was so beautiful, and the tranquility kept drawing him back there. He had a tremendous interest and love for the Island. He'd spend hours reading books on the history of the Island. All winter long, he'd sit by our fireplace reading and looking at pictures of island scenes, wildlife and flowers. He just couldn't wait to get back to see the first burst of spring plants and flowers and photograph them. Jack and I shared wonderful memories of our times spent camping at S. Manitou. He was the happiest when we was on the island, and especially when I'd go and share it with him. He thought a lot of you and Ethel, and was so pleased when he would see you over there, and would tell him more stories of island life. He felt so proud to be able to assist in the preservation of the history and beauty of the island. I have one very comforting thought after all that has happened, and it's that when Jack passed on, he was at the place where he was the happiest. I'm so thankful for that". To Connie and Family: We are advised that the soul will never, ever have a rainbow unless the eyes have tears. Let me assure you that the departure of Jack from our presence has added another story to the Manitou Island History, and that story will create thousands of beautiful rainbows throughout the world. Glenn Furst		Connie Phillips had requested from relatives and friends that, in memory of Jack, and in lieu of flowers, monies be donated to the South Manitou Memorial Society. She has requested that these monies be used to establish a special Lighthouse Fund which, as it grows, will enable us to assist the National Park Service in the restoration of South Manitou's Lighthouse. To date we have received $1,200.00, and a special fund will be established soon. WE HEREBY LIKE TO THANK CONNIE PHILLIPS AND HER FAMILY, RELATIVES AND FRIENDS FOR THEIR THOUGHTFULNESS AND DEDICATION TO SOUTH MANITOU ISLAND AND OUR SOCIETY! On May 14, 1991, Glenn Furst and I had a meeting in Empire with the National Park Service's Ivan Miller, Superintendent, Ray Kimpel, Administrative Officer, and Neil Bulington, Chief of Interpretation. We explained that the Memorial Society is establishing a special fund, to he used in financially assisting NPS in the restoration of the Lighthouse. We also requested information on the procedures which need to be followed to get the Lighthouse restored. The first Lighthouse was built on the Island in 1839. Little is known about its construction, or what happened to it. "Stories" have it that it was a wooden structure, with the light tower on top of it. It possibly burned down. The present, brick, structure was erected in 1858. This building too had a light tower on too. The inside was used as the keeper's quarters. In 1871 the lighthouse tower was built. The light, on top of the 100' tall structure, was visible for 17 miles. The Lighthouse was closed in l958, and it was turned over to the State of Michigan. The State never maintained the building, and it slowly deteriorated. The doors were left open, campers used it to seek shelter from the rain, and graffiti was printed on the walls of the tower and keeper's quarters. Walls began to crumble, windows were smashed and bricks were removed. The roof was damaged, rain water was leaking in.

After the National Park Service took possession of the structures, the fog signal building and the lighthouse and tower were "stabilized". The roofs were replaced, windows were restored, sidewalks repaired and crumbled plaster and other debris were removed from the dwellings, and the bricks were replaced. The inside and outside of the tower were painted, as was the outside of the keeper's dwelling and the fog signal house. In addition, a few years ago, a new breakwall was installed to protect the shoreline from damage done by rising Lake Michigan waters. However, to safely conduct public tours of the tower and the buildings, and to receive possible funding from the Federal Government for complete restoration, a historical, architectural study must first be conducted. Within the National Park Service, and for that matter, within any other organization concerned with historic preservation and restoration, no work can safely take place without such a study. A study is time consuming, and costly, and with today's state of the federal budget, funding may be difficult to obtain. At present, we can only "guess" at the cost of the study, and are not even close to guessing at the cost of the total restoration of the Lighthouse! Neil Bulington, who transferred to Sleeping Bear Dunes from Fire Island in the State of New York, informed us that a lighthouse there, which is also located within a National Park, was completely restored with the help of an organization such as ours. Other lighthouses have been restored totally with private donations. IT WOULD BE A CHALLENGE FOR US TO UNDERTAKE SUCH AN ENDEAVOR, WOULDN'T IT? We have contacted the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association to make them aware of what we are contemplating and requested information to possibly help us along.		Funds for the restoration project may be available through grants, from We State of Michigan, Foundations and historical organizations. Large businesses may be willing to donate funds, for tax exempt purposes. Anyway, these are just a few of the possibilities of raising money for the project. Neil Bulington also suggested (while we are waiting for the above to happen), that in the meantime SOME restoration of the Lighthouse may he possible without too much cost involved. At present, close to 10,000 people visit South Manitou every summer, and many are interested in seeing the inside of the keeper's quarters, and they like to climb the tower as well. While the inside of the keeper's quarters have been cleaned up, the graffiti is still on the walls. Few artifacts are on display, such as photographs, list of keepers names, or names of ships they assisted. The Nat'l Park Service may be able to construct some temporary displays, if we are able to provide some information about the Lighthouse. Glenn Furst hopes to appoint a FINANCE committee of, perhaps, five members who will oversee the disbursement of the monies in the special Lighthouse fund. Ivan Miller, Superintendent NPS, has requested that we write a letter to Sleeping Bear Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore, stating the purpose of our organization and the Lighthouse Fund, and in what manner we think we'll be able to assist NPS with the restoration project. A letter from an organization such as ours will be helpful to the agency to possibly obtain funding for the restoration. We hope to have a letter in the mail shortly. At the same meeting, Ray Kimpel informed us that the group of students from the Lockman Center in Traverse City was going to the island on May 22, to erect a new picket fence.

Glenn and I were able to be on the island with them, as were our spouses. The youngsters worked hard on putting up the fence around the gravesite of Conrad Hutzler, and so did Ray Kimpel, Neil Bulington, Glenn and Anton. A good time was had by all, the fence is standing, and we were promised that other fences will follow, according to George Sarns, program coordinator. We had budgeted $200.00 for the fence. However, this time the materials for the pickets came from Mr. Sarns' own cedar swamp. The youngsters cut the cedars and dried them, then cut the pickets. George requested that the $200.00 be placed in the newly established Lighthouse Fund. We gladly obliged. The students found their trip to the island interesting, especially because one of them is a descendant of the Tobins. In appreciation for their work Glenn gave every one a Sandhill Savage Certificate, after they found gull feathers for their hats and stones with holes in them to wear around their neck. Talking about Sandhill Savages ... Have you ordered your Certificates yet? For your children, grandchildren, but most of all, for yourselves? The Sandhill Savage project is totally financed by Glenn Furst. However, all proceeds have been donated by Glenn to the Memorial Society. We like to thank Glenn for the effort he has put into this, and for all the donations. If you have not already done so, please place an order for the certificate soon. IT'S BEAUTIFUL! Last week we purchased another $500.00 Certificate of Deposit through the Empire National Bank. The CD has been added to our Perpetual Fund, which now amounts to $5,000.00. Interest of this CD will also be directly deposited into our Savings Account, to be used for operating expenses.		Please, remember our annual meeting and picnic on July 27, 1991. It is important! We need to elect a new slate of officers. The nominating committee has been hard at work, and hopes to get you names of new officers shortly. We also need to vote on an amendment to the By—Laws; a copy of the amendment is attached. The old By—Laws state that the Board of Directors consists of a President, Vice—President and Secretary/Treasurer. The present Board of Directors suggests that this be changed to read: President, Vice—President, Secretary AND Treasurer. When the Society was small, it was more convenient to have the combined office of Secretary/Treasurer. However, the workload has increased, and we believe that it will enhance the efficiency of both offices if the positions are separated. PLEASE VOTE YES! A very familiar face will be missing from the annual gathering, namely that of Martin ("Sonny") Egeler. He passed away on April 5, 1991 at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. He was 67. Mr. Egeler's friendly smile was part of the picnic. He would talk to everyone present, helped set up the tables and chairs, and always made sure the Town Hall was in spotless condition after everyone had left. The picnic will not be the same without him. He was buried at the St. Philip Neri Church Cemetery at Empire. He was a life-long Leelanau County resident, and he was an excavating contractor. He also was a member of the County Road Commission. He was a veteran of Army service during World War II. He was born at Empire on Sept. 16, 1923, a son of Martin P. and Florence Kelderhouse Egeler. On June 27, 1953, he married Norma Tobin, who survives.

Sandra Black informed us that IRENE (THOMPSON) LUDWIG passed away in Sarasota, Florida on April 2, 1991. She was 89. Irene was the daughter of Theodore Thompson and Matilda (Beck). The family moved to South Manitou Island in approx. 1904. Irene was married to Albany Anderson, who died in 1921. She later married William Ludwig, who was serving in the U.S. Coast Guard on the Island. She will be sadly missed by her family and friends. ADDRESS CHANGE: Floyd S. Thompson 303 Lucas Street Barberton, Ohio 44203 PLEASE ADD THE FOLLOWING NEW MEMBERS TO YOUR LIST: Harley H. Beck 300 Madison Michigan City, IN. 46360 Ph: 219—874—5945 Robert H. Beck 4837 Johnson Rd. Michigan City, IN. 46360 Ph: 219—874—6585 Kathy Bietau P.O. Box 2234 Frankfort, MI. 49635 Ph: 616—352—6106 Judy Fogle 2595 Okemos Rd. Mason, MI. 48854 Ph: 517-349—2794 Charles L. Gum 5218 Sunrose Lansing, MI. 48911 Ph: 517—882—7874 John & Suzanne Hughes 4316 Seminole Dr. Royal Oak, MI. 48073 Ph: 313—549—1812		Paul & Karrie Johnston 499 Cambridge South Lyon, MI. 45178 Ph: 313—437—4460 William L. Lewis 610 W. Sugnet Midland, MI. 48640 Ph: 517-631—5223 Robert & Helga Meeker 1791 Peters Road Troy, Ohio 45373 Ph: 513-339—4000 Donald F. Thompson 739 Rose Street Traverse City, MI. 49684 Ph: 616-947—6525 Beverly Plum 212 W. Hurlbut Charlevoix, MI. 49720 Ph: 616—547-2289 Richard 0. Riker 11833 84th Ave. West Olive, MI. 49460 Ph: 616—895—7814 or 235—7470 Adm. Willard J. Smith 9134 Peninsula Dr. Traverse City, MI. 49684 Ph: 616—947—6571 Mike Walker Environmental Ed. Chairperson Glen Lake High School Maple City, MI. 49664 Ph: 616—334—3062 Sincerely, Johanna M. de Kok, Secretary


SMMS NEWSLETTER Vol.2, No.3 Copyrighted June 1991
BY-LAWS: ARTICLE III THE OFFICERS Section 2. The officers of the Corporation shall be a President, a Vice-President, and Secretary/Treasurer. The immediate past President shall serve as member-at-large and as ex-officio member of the Executire Committee. TO BE CHANGED TO: Section 2. The officers of the Corporation shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The immediate past President shall serve as member-at-large and as ex-officio member of the Executive Committee.