Box 1 of the collection includes the work of Jack Edwards on the history of St. Helena Island, as well as an extensive genealogy of Archie and Wilson Newton, brothers who bought the island in 1853 for commercial purposes. Also included are copy negatives of Great Lakes Cruiser articles related to St. Helena Island.
Boxes 2 and 3 contain a large set of photographic negatives taken by Jack Edwards, shortened to JBE. The set appears to be a collection of personal photographs as well as photographs taken for the Great Lakes Cruiser magazine.
Box 4 contains photographs taken for the Great Lakes Cruiser, papers relating to scholarly work on St. Helena, and a photograph index of the most of the photographs included in the collection.
Processing Notes: Items that were acidic, fragile, and damaged were copied, along with all original negative sleeves. There were approximately 2 folders worth of peripheral materials which were withdrawn from the collection.
Publications donated with this collection were separately cataloged. Mackinaw Island postcards were interfiled into the Michigan postcard collection.
Biography:
Richard L. “Dick” Moehl became president of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association two years after its formal organization in 1983, and served as the association’s president until its 25th anniversary in 2008. Under his leadership, the GLLKA was able to focus on the restoration of some of the state’s most cherished lighthouses, with the jewel being the lighthouse on St. Helena Island. The restoration project on St. Helena helped to preserve a state treasure, as well as opened the island to educational groups to learn of the island’s rich history. Mr. Moehl was awarded the American Lighthouse Coordinating Committee’s prestigious Ross Holland Award in 2007 in recognition of his service to the state of Michigan’s coastal history, and more information on his accomplishments both regionally and nationally may be found at the ALLC’s website, amlhcc.org.
Jack Edwards was also a member of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, as well as a writer and photographer for the Great Lakes Cruiser Magazine, in publication until 2006. Mr. Edwards also worked on the restoration project on St. Helena Island, publishing an extensive history of the island.
History: Laid to waste by looters and the weather, the St. Helena Island Light Station was found by the GLLKA in 1983 in danger of collapse. The group immediately set to work on restoring the structure, obtaining a restoration license in 1984. By 1988, the structure was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, marking the future protection and preservation of the island’s most cherished structure. Built in 1873 in response to increased maritime traffic through the Strait of Mackinac during the Civil War years, the lighthouse alerted ships away from the island’s jagged shoreline. The lighthouse was operated by two keepers until 1922, when it became the state’s first automated light, operating through a “sun valve” system invented by Nobel Prize winning engineer Gustav Dalen. Other lighthouses throughout the state would soon follow St. Helena’s model. More information on the St. Helena Island Light Station may be found on the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keeper Association’s website, gllka.com.
