‘Many Hands Make Light Work’ SCOUTS CONTINUE LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION

This story first appeared in the July 13, 2023, Mackinac Island Town Crier print edition

When Matt McMullen was a 12-year-old scout with the Freeland Boy Scout Troop 323 in 1996, he visited Round Island for the first time, participating in the troop’s second lighthouse cleaning trip, which has since become an annual tradition. Now nearly 30 years later, Mr. McMullen is still cleaning the lighthouse, but not as a scout, but as chair of the Round Island Lighthouse Preservation Society. He has taken on the mantle, assisting the newest generations of scouts as they help maintain the historic structure. Working with the United States Forest Service, the preservation society and scouts have many projects planned for the 1895 structure’s staircase, roof, and windows.

Arriving in mid-June with Scoutmaster Jake Monroe, 22 scouts and adult leaders worked for a few days on some general maintenance this summer. They camped in the wilderness of Round Island in tents, hammocks, or on bedrolls under the stars and cedar canopy. Mr. Monroe stepped in as scoutmaster about two years ago and his son is a scout, who became old enough to come on the lighthouse trip last year. Last year was also the first year the scouts went back to the lighthouse after a brief hiatus due to multiple factors, including the pandemic and high water, Mr. Monroe said. After a small group of about seven last year, word got out and a larger group made the trip this year, consisting of scouts between 12 and 17 years old.

The scouts knocked out the work in a few days, Mr. McMullen said, working about five hours a day, not always consecutively. At the beginning of the week, contractors working for the preservation society made laser scans of the structure and look at the lighthouse’s staircase. It was the first step toward much bigger projects, such as replacing the roof, which is one of the society’s first priorities, Mr. McMullen said.

“It’s not as simple as saying, ‘Let’s go to Home Depot and buy some cedar shake,’” he said. “It has to go through so many processes.”

Scout Jack Farkas sweeps the stairs of the lighthouse. George Lennox and Spencer Beson work in the background. 

Engineering drawings must be made, plans must be reviewed by the forest service, and the State Historic Preservation Office must give final approval since the lighthouse is a historic landmark, and the list goes on.

Each change takes about a year, at least. While the trip in June is usually dedicated to the Boy Scouts volunteers, and other trips are held with society member volunteers. The few times a year the society does visit, they light up the exterior, a rare sight, Mr. McMullen said. All the trips are accompanied by forest service workers.

A historically accurate door was recently installed, which took more than a year to complete, Mr. McMullen said. The group’s long-term goal is to reopen Round Island Lighthouse to the public again during annual open houses, which have been postponed because of the safety maintenance needed.

This year, the scouts did general maintenance, cleaning, and upkeep work. They swept the floors, cleaned the cobwebs, pulled weeds around the building, washed the walkway, and touched up paint.

“Essentially you’re opening a cabin every year that looks like it’s been closed for a number of years,” Mr. Monroe said.

The scouts also aim to complete one or two improvement projects each year, and this year’s was a bucket brigade where the scouts moved bucket of stones for protective landscaping work to slow erosion.

When they’re done, they to enjoy Round Island, relaxing, hiking, cooking meals, and watching the sunsets. It’s a few days full of hard work and camaraderie, Mr. Monroe said. The scouts especially enjoy the freighters, running out to greet them and wave a large painted plywood hand, exchanging signals with the ships.

“[We] just let the scouts be scouts at the end of the day,” Mr. McMullen said.

The trip is one of the scouts’ most anticipated events of the year. It’s an honor to help the society and the Forest Service restore the lighthouse, Mr. Monroe said, and the scouts learn a lot on the trip working as volunteers.

The preservation society was formed 14 years ago, and its board is mostly made of former Freeland boy scouts. As scouts aged out of scouting, Mr. McMullen said many wanted to continue doing preservation work on the Round Island Lighthouse. It works closely with the U.S. Forest Service on Round Island with a formal agreement, and they have one of the oldest continuous partnerships with the service, Mr. McMullen said.

Kari Thompson is the east zone recreation program manager for the Hiawatha National Forest and works closely with the preservation society. While the lighthouse is on federal land, it’s still jointly managed with the preservation society. The Hiawatha National Forest is unique in that it is the only national forest that administers lighthouses, like Round Island Lighthouse and Point Iroquois Lighthouse. While Round Island is mostly Hiawatha National Forest designated wilderness, the land upon which the lighthouse sits is not considered wilderness, meaning machinery can be used in preservation efforts, Mrs. Thompson said.

“It would be impossible to manage the lighthouse without Round Island Preservation Society,” Mrs. Thompson said.

While the structure itself is in great shape, it’s important to upkeep and maintain the lighthouse to honor the state’s maritime history and heritage, Mrs. Thompson and Mr. McMullen agreed. Mr. McMullen believes the Round Island Lighthouse is the perfect state landmark.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love [all] lighthouses,” Mr. McMullen said. But the Round Island Lighthouse is special. “To me, it just represents everything Michigan.”