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In the March, 2004 edition of Lighthouse Digest, editor Tim Harrison asked his readers a question about the “Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes, Reverend William H. Law: “Just who was he?” It seems that Tim has run across a small file on Rev. Law in the archives that contained very little information on the man. Had I been a subscriber at the time, I might have been able to provide a little more information; however I wasn’t and I only ran across Tim’s request while doing my own research on the man. (Obviously, I’m now a subscriber to Lighthouse Digest.)
You see, the “Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes” was my great-great-grandfather on my mother’s side of the family. I had known his youngest daughter, Ruth, for a brief moment in my earliest years but was unaware of “Grandpa” Law until many years later. I have memories of visiting his home in Hessel, Michigan with my parents and grandparents. They would tell me about him “being one of the first white settlers in the Hessel area” and about his “visiting all the lighthouses.” This information, while interesting to me, lacked a lot of detail, and being young, I didn’t think to question any further.
It wasn’t until my grandmother passed, and a few of the Sky Pilot’s publications that had been handed down to her were passed on to my mother that I began to get an idea about who he was and what he did. I’ve always had an interest in lighthouses and maritime history, especially in regards to the Great Lakes. Having been born and raised in Michigan, the Great Lakes are an ever-present part of my life. But it wasn’t until 2010 that I really started to want to know more about the man and his works.
I had just turned 38 years old, and after 12 years with the same company, I was laid-off for the first time in my life. I managed to land on my feet by doing the same work I had been doing, only this time contracting my services to companies around the world and working out of my house.
I found this not only provided me decent annual income, but it also afforded a lot more free time. With this new found time, I decided to look for answers to some of the questions I had about my ancestor.
I started by making copies of the publications my mother had. I then searched the internet for clues about the “Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes” that could lead me to more information. I went through the family tree to see if I could track down other descendants who might have information, and I searched many libraries and newspaper archives as well. What I found was a truly remarkable story that had fallen through the cracks of history. Apart from a few mentions in books by Timothy Harrison, Frederick Stonehouse, and Connie Small, the full breadth of Reverend Law’s life and works had never truly been told. So I decided to try my hand at writing his life story, which culminated in the release of Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes: A Biography of the Reverend William H. Law (2014, Avery Color Studios)
So just who was “The Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes?” Rev. Law came to the United States in the late 19th Century after serving as a Canadian Baptist missionary on Manitoulin Island. He found that the competition between the missionaries of various faiths on the island left something to be desired, so he decided to relocate to the United States, setting up shop in the Les Cheneaux Islands area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. While he was still an ordained Baptist, his work in the area was largely non-denominational, and he served to the spiritual needs of those who requested his service, mostly lumbermen, sailors, and Native Americans.
Law and his family sought to become naturalized U.S. citizens and took advantage of the Homestead Act to carve out 160 acres of land in the area now known as Hessel, Michigan. He obtained a small commission for his work from the Western Seaman’s Friend Society and between this, sales of timber from his property, and charitable donations from wealthy benefactors, Law carried out his mission work in the area for many years. He built a Bethel Home to serve the needs of anyone in need. He travelled the headwaters of Lake Huron in a naptha-powered launch named Pittsburg – so named because many of the funds gathered to purchase the launch came from benefactors in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
It was in this very craft, through an encounter with a United States Life-Saving Service crew stationed on Bois Blanc Island, that saved him from perishing in Lake Huron and he was presented with an opportunity that would drastically change his mission. After meeting the men and their families, hearing their stories, learning how little income they received for putting their lives on-the-line for others, and learning how lonely life could be at the stations, Law rededicated his life’s work to serve those in the Lighthouse and Life-Saving services. His new mission of bringing “The Beautiful Gospel of Humanity” to the lighthouse keepers, life-savers, and mariners throughout the United States would see him become a seasoned sailor, author, politician, and a great friend to many.
Starting in 1900 until his death in 1928, Reverend Law carried out his mission with a 3-pronged approach. During the summer months he would set sail in his “Floating Library” and make personal visits to as many lighthouses and life-saving stations as he could manage.
These travels brought him to all of the stations on the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway, and portions of the Northern Atlantic Ocean. On these trips, he brought books, newspapers, and magazines so the men and their families had fresh reading material. He brought fresh fruit, candies, and occasionally ice cream to brighten their day. For any children he encountered, he provided toys and games and carried with him various selections of music and a phonograph for all to enjoy.
During the winter months, Rev. Law collected the stories he gathered on his trips, compiled them with various news and interesting anecdotes, and created a publication that he would then mail to every lighthouse and life-saving station in the United States. In the event that someone wrote him back, he would then try to keep regular correspondence with the individuals.
The third piece of his new mission was to extensively lobby the government of the United States to provide better pay and pension to those serving in the Lighthouse and Life-Saving services. He worked closely with Senator Townsend of Michigan on a bill that would eventually be passed in 1915 which combined the Revenue Cutter Service with the United States Life-Saving Service under the umbrella of the newly formed United States Coast Guard, and more importantly to Rev. Law, provided for better pay and pension to those in the service. Law continued to lobby to bring the Lighthouse Service under the fold of the Coast Guard for the remainder of his days, unfortunately passing before it finally became a reality.
He became known throughout “the highways and byways of the Great Water World” by the many nicknames given to him by the keepers, surfmen, sailors, and businessmen as “Sky Pilot to the Lighthousemen,” “The Jolly Apostle of the Inland Seas,” “The Bishop of Out There,” “The Laughing Doctor,” but the name he was most known by was “The Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes.”
He was a man of unconquerable optimism whose main goal in life was to make others happy. Those who knew him often remarked on his kind expression, jovial smile, wind-tanned face, and the ever-present twinkle in his eye. He was quick to start up a conversation and tell a joke or amusing parable with total strangers just to get a smile. Hedwig C. Jankowski, one such traveler fortunate enough to have met the good reverend in just this way, remarked that he was “one of the cheeriest personalities imaginable” and even though he was an ordained minister, “if you met him on the highway at any hour of the day or night you would mistake him for an ordinary human being.”
An article in the Association Men magazine from 1922 sums “The Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes” up nicely in one paragraph: “Ask any man in any way connected to the United States Lifesaving Service and he will immediately conjure for you a picture of a rather rotund little individual whose ruddy cheeks are capped by snow-white hair, and whose happy smile tells better than all the words that could be compiled, of the warm heart which generates a contagious spirit of good fellowship.”
Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes is available from Lighthouse Digest as item # 2153 for $17.95 on-line at www.LighthouseDigest.com or by calling 207-259-2121.
Click here to buy at http://www.shop.foghornpublishing.com/product.sc?productId=1458
This story appeared in the
Jan/Feb 2015 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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