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The passing in May of Anna Hoge, 73, of Michigan is another loss to all who loved her first hand memories of growing up on an island light station.
For years, Anna has been telling her stories to classroom after classroom of schoolchildren and to anyone else that would listen. She felt it was vital to share her memories of island lighthouse life from her childhood years, a life that will never again be repeated in history.
She was an active participant in the Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival and became a great friend of Louis Bauchan, the last of the U.S. Lighthouse Service, until his death a few years ago.
Her memories were put into a book called, Childhood Memories of
a Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, recalling her memories of life at Passage Island Lighthouse where her father Vern Bowen tended the station. Her memories were also recounted in the book; Lighthouse Families and she appeared in the PBS series Legendary Lighthouses. A reportedly fictionalized historical account of her life will be in a soon to be released book, Pocketful of Passage.
A few years ago health issues prevented her from continuing classroom visits, but she continued writing letters from home and knitting scarves for the homeless.
Anna Hoge was a dear, sweet,
wonderful person, who will be missed
by many. However, the stories and memories she left with us will remain forever. Cards can be sent to her husband
Ralph Hoge, 806 Dayton Ave., Kalamazoo, Michigan 49048.
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