Another fatal return trip to the lighthouse occurred in August of 1959. Seaman Willis Parker was making his way back to the lighthouse after having transported a special work crew back to Key West. Boatswain’s mate Furman Williamson, who was alone at the lighthouse, lowered the large block and hook to retrieve the launch from the water. When it was within reach, Parker grabbed the block, but before he could attach the hook to the boat’s line, a wave lifted the vessel up and away from the tower. Instinctively, Parker grabbed onto the block, which then swung back like a pendulum towards the tower ramming his head into a piling. Parker dropped to the water. Williamson quickly threw him a life ring, to which Parker was able to cling for a couple of moments before slipping below the waves. Again, the keeper aboard the tower could only watch in horror. The following day, Parker’s body was found by a member of the search party – his brother.

The Canadian Coast Guard has been busy lately divesting lighthouses.... I guess they feel they're useless antiques that are expensive to up-keep today. Sadly, our lighthouse at Cape Spencer is on the list of those they wish to sell off to local community groups.... Which simply don't exist here.

I fear these icons of Maritime life are going to be lost to history soon. It's sad.

Wish I had the resources to purchase and maintain "our" light.

J

Wow, that's really interesting. Apparently that was a manned lighthouse and this incident occurred in 1959.



I think we were there in the summer of '58 or 59. It must have been the same lighthouse. There were certainly not two lighthouses off Marathon.

The South Haven lighthouse is one of 124 lighthouses in Michigan and just one of four in the state that has a catwalk

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The lighthouse was built in 1903 and the lantern portion that contains the light is believed to have come from the original lighthouse that was built in 1872.