Frederick Stonehouse

Fantastic book! Author Fredrick Stonehouse really did his research for this one. He sets up the book with one of the most useful introductions I’ve ever read, in which he lays out the responsibilities of a lighthouse keeper and describes daily life for the “wickies.” Each chapter that follows tells a different story about a particular event at a particular location. The Great Lakes are vast and dangerous, but they often seem overlooked in books and stories. Stonehouse remedies that show more here by focusing exclusively on Great Lakes lighthouses. These intrepid keepers faced a very different set of challenges than their colleagues on the open sea, and I found it fascinating to read about their experiences. Stonehouse takes his readers on a journey from the early towers of the 1700s to the modern days of automation. There is variety here, too. One chapter tells of the lighthouse that inspired a famous hymn, while another tells of a brave rescue during a storm. One tells of a rescue that came too late for some. And there are many, many tales in this small volume. The most fanciful chapter by far—a delightful yarn that is still grounded in solid research—describes a tragedy from the lighthouse’s point of view. This book is both true in content and informal in tone. It’s both celebration and elegy. Most of all, it’s history. It’s local history for many, and especially for Stonehouse, whose pride for the Great Lakes region and its unique happenings shines through on every page. show less

I love the lakes and local history, so this book really intrigued me.
However, I found it to be a little dry, it was easy for my mind to wander while reading and made some stories hard to understand. There were many stories in here, some long, some short and switching lengths was jarring to my wandering thoughts because sometimes there wasn't a clear separation of stories.
The stories I did understand and kept my full attention were really interesting! I marked some good ones and next time I show more come back to this I will likely browse through it rather than read it cover to cover.
The pictures were nice, there were many newspaper articles and things directly quoted, overall, a well put together, meaningful book, despite some flaws. show less

As a “transplanted” citizen to Michigan I was…like most people that view these colossal lakes for the first time…literally speechless. Huge, gigantic, and all other adjectives that people strive to come up with to express their amazement are so inadequate. After I was here a few years and had visited and traveled all 5 of these “monster” waterways…the 4 within the borders of the U.S. and the one within Canadian waters…I took a real interest in the freighters that hauled their show more loads up and down these waterways…especially those that were unfortunate enough to rest on the BOTTOMS of these lakes with their cargo and sadly most or all of their crews. Shipwreck Museums are almost as popular with me as libraries. The Edmund Fitzgerald has always been one of my favorites and the author… that for more than half a century now… has told their stories was my source of accurate information. It seems unbelievable that this 729-foot…13,000 ton legend could have gone down in mere seconds taking all 29 members of her crew to 530 ft of frigid Canadian waters of the unpredictable, Lake Superior... but that is indeed what happened. The captain was in contact with another freighter…The Anderson…that had left Wisconsin loading docks at the same time as him, on November 10, 1975. The Coast Guard report indicated that their belief was that it either took on water in the long row of hatches where it’s load of iron ore pellets were stored or it hit a shoal and punctured it’s hull. 45 foot waves had been breaking her deck…a part of this November storm that has gone down as one of the worse in Lake Superior history. Whatever had happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald…and what happened to her crew… has never been really known only sumised based on what little facts they had. Mr. Stonehouse says that singer and song writer Gordon Lightfoot’s song The Ballad of The Edmund Fitzgerald is very close to what probably did happened. One of my biggest thrills was seeing the bell that has been since recovered and is housed at The Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Bay, Michigan. show less

This book provides an overview of many of the shipwreck disasters on the Great Lakes, which happened during the month of November. While I understand the author's intent to cover a few of the major accidents and bring in others as they fit the timeframe and enhance the story, I wonder if Mr. Stonehouse didn't tackle too much for his book. I had some trouble following the chronology. An introductory section explaining the format and plan for the narrative would have been helpful, and there show more really isn't much of a conclusion. In addition, an index would add to the usability of this book. show less