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At its Board of Directors meeting at Central Michigan University this past November 22nd, the nonprofit Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association (GLLKA) honored MaryAnn Moore with its annual “Richard L. Moehl Award for Excellence in Volunteerism.” MaryAnn has been a dedicated GLLKA volunteer since 1992, serving as Board member, Director of Education, Vice President, and as the principal keeper at the Association’s St. Helena Island Light Station, a remote island lighthouse in Lake Michigan seven miles west of the Mackinac Bridge that has been completely restored by the GLLKA since it first began work there in 1986.
As keeper at the St. Helena Island Light Station, MaryAnn volunteers most of her summers on the island, welcoming visitors, serving as master boatman, repairing equipment, overseeing maintenance projects and training the hundreds of volunteers who have come to the island to help create what has been referred to as “The Miracle in the Straits of Mackinac.”
MaryAnn’s degree in Home Economics and Science from Central Michigan University, and Master’s degree in Textiles and Clothing from Michigan State University, and service as an educator with the downstate Woodhaven/Brownstone School District, combined with a love of nature, boating, the Great Lakes and their history served to uniquely qualify her for the service for which she as dedicated virtually every one of her summers over the past 22 years.
After retiring to Mackinaw City a few summers ago, MaryAnn spent ten continuous weeks on St. Helena Island without once setting foot on the mainland, putting her in the unique position of spending more time on the island than anyone since the last lighthouse keeper left the island in 1922 after the station was automated.
Terry Pepper, Executive Director of GLLKA, said, “We could never have successfully undertaken the restoration of the St. Helena Island Light Station without the assistance of the many Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, church groups and hundreds of individual volunteers and families who have given their time, skill, and labor in support of our efforts. While we are eternally grateful to everyone who has helped us in fulfilling our mission, the level and duration of MaryAnn’s selfless dedication is nothing short of stunning, and the GLLKA Board of Directors is honored and proud to be able to recognize that dedication through making this award.”
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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