Originally consisting of an informal gathering of retired lighthouse keepers, their families and friends, the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association (GLLKA) was officially incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 1983, making it one of the nation's longest-lived lighthouse preservation groups.

With a mission statement calling for "the preservation of lighthouses, the stories of those who kept them, and developing a new generation of preservationists", the Association's second President Dick Moehl realized the group needed to find a lighthouse to restore in order to fully bring its mission to reality.

Finding the abandoned 1873 St. Helena Island light station to be in deplorable condition, the group set its sights on adopting and restoring the abandoned relic. The United States Coast Guard had removed the lantern and most of the dwelling roof was missing. Vandals had broken into the structure and had torn out the windows, doors, stairs, interior trim and anything else which could be removed.

After obtaining a license to restore the light station from the Coast Guard in 1984, the group immediately took the abandoned lighthouse under its wing. With the help of a stalwart group of dedicated volunteers, work began on clearing years of accumulated debris and brush and securing the station for eventual restoration.

The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, and the following year the boys and parents of Boy Scout Troop 4 of Ann Arbor, Michigan began what would become an annual pilgrimage to St. Helena to assist with the restoration. After hearing of the groups' success, numerous other youth groups, Church groups and Girls Scouts began lining-up to assist with the restoration.

Over the ensuing years, the entire lighthouse complex has been lovingly restored, including the installation of a new wood shingle roof, rebuilding of the boat house and assistant keepers dwelling, installation of new lantern and chimney, and the replacement of thousands of bricks in the tower. Perhaps most amazingly, as a result of shallow waters which surround the island, all of the volunteers and materials have to be transferred to the island in small inflatable boat. Over the years, 21 Boy Scouts have successfully undertaken Eagle Scout Service Projects and Girl Scouts have earned 3 Gold and 5 Silver awards for their work on the island.

Talk about bringing our mission statement to life!

GLLKA also works to support other lighthouse groups throughout the Great Lakes and across the nation. GLLKA members serve on the Boards of both the American Lighthouse Coordinating Committee and the Michigan Lighthouse Alliance and numerous other lighthouse preservation groups. We have partnered with the Hiawatha National Forest in their work at the Round Island lighthouse, with St. James Township with their restoration of the Beaver Island Harbor lighthouse, and with Emmet County in the restoration and interpretation of the McGulpin Point lighthouse which the county purchased in 2008. GLLKA even lent a hand in the restoration of the Sandy Neck Lighthouse in Massachusetts by allowing that group to use patterns made for the restoration of the St. Helena lantern in casting new lantern components for the east coast lighthouse.

GLLKA members are spread throughout the USA and Canada, and keep track of the Association's accomplishments through a quarterly 42 to 56 page newsmagazine The Beacon, which not only covers the group's numerous accomplishments, but also includes news articles on lighthouses throughout the Great Lakes and rich articles on Great Lakes lighthouse history by noted Great Lakes lighthouse historians. We have published a series of books on Great Lakes lighthouse and Coast Guard history, and as a key component in fundraising for our restoration efforts, we provide historical narration on  numerous lighthouse cruises throughout the Straits of Mackinac every summer. We also arrange and host lighthouse excursions throughout the Great Lakes, all of which provide a unique combination of expert narration with the opportunity to experience many lighthouses which are normally difficult to see.

Click here to download a chronology of GLLKA accomplishments in Adobe Acrobat format