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For the first time ever, two instructional courses on Great Lakes lighthouses will be offered on the World Wide Web. Maritime historian and author Frederick Stonehouse, adjunct faculty at Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan, will be the instructor for both courses. "No matter where you are in the world, if you can access the Internet, you will be able to take these courses," Stonehouse said. "While we expect to reach traditional students looking to fill in their programs with an exciting academic elective, we know there are others that would jump at the chance to study the lights."
HS-295, Great Lakes Lighthouses, (2 credits) will be offered through the Northern Michigan University Continuing Education Department at "www.nmu.edu/ce/independent" Click on "web-based," then scroll down to "HS-295." Tuition for the credit course is $270. All course requirements will be completed via the Internet, eliminating the need to visit the campus or submit material by mail. Credit students can enroll starting with the summer semester.
Lighthouses of the Great Lakes, a non-credit version of the HS-295 course, will be offered through "www.learninglighthouses.com" for a tuition of $150.
Stonehouse explained the difference between the two courses. "The credit course will adhere rigidly to high academic standards consistent with the university environment. The non-credit one will focus on the legion of lighthouse enthusiasts who just want to learn more about lighthouses on the Great Lakes."
Both courses will help the student understand the role and development of Great Lakes lighthouses. They emphasize the details of their construction, lighting apparatus, the daily routine of keepers, general organization and management, and significant Great Lakes lights. Students will acquire a thorough understanding of how these lighthouses actually operated and a general knowledge of U.S. lighthouses.
Northern Michigan University and Learninglighthouses.com are leading the way into the new millennium by using the World Wide Web to help students understand this important part of Great Lakes history.
For more information you can contact Frederick Stonehouse at: Stone@bresnanlink.net or 906-226-6014
MEET THE TEACHER: Frederick Stonehouse holds a Master of Arts degree in History from Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan and has authored sixteen books on Great Lakes maritime history, including the regional best sellers of Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and Great Lakes Lighthouse Tales. His book, Wreck Ashore, the U.S. Life Saving Service on the Great Lakes, won a national publishing award and is the predominant work on the subject. Another book, Haunted Lakes, Great Lakes Maritime Ghost Stories, Superstitions and Sea Serpents, has opened an entirely new genre in Great Lakes study. He is also a contributor to an Encyclopedia of American Literature of the Sea and the Great Lakes.
He has been a consultant for both the U.S. National Park Service and Parks Canada and has been an "on-air" expert for National Geographic, Discovery and History Channels, as well as many regional media productions.
Fred has taught Great Lakes maritime history at Northern Michigan University and is an active consultant for numerous Great Lakes oriented projects and programs.
His articles have been published in Skin Diver, Great Lakes Cruiser, Wreck and Rescue and Lake Superior magazines as well as other publications. He is a member of the National Board of Directors of the U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association and President of the Board of the Marquette Maritime Museum.
This story appeared in the
April 2000 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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