Michigan Island Articles

Discover the Park – Islands

Friends volunteers tend historic gardens on Raspberry, Michigan islands

Friends volunteers tend historic gardens on Raspberry, Michigan islands

More than a century ago, Apostle Islands lighthouse keepers and their families planted gardens as sources of food, beauty and pride. The traditions continue today, with help from Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.This month, two volunteer crews joined the National Park Service to plant and maintain gardens on Raspberry and Michigan Islands. The process involves loading locally-purchased plants, tools and supplies onto a Park Service boat, unloading and hauling everything up the stairs and getting to work. The gardens are designed to be historically accurate. The vegetable...

Friends volunteers tend Gaylord Nelson Memorial Garden, first of many gardening opportunities

Friends volunteers tend Gaylord Nelson Memorial Garden, first of many gardening opportunities

Prairie Alumroot - Jon Okerstrom photoThe first green shoots emerge from the warming earth as spring arrives in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Outside of park headquarters in Bayfield and on the grounds of iconic island lighthouses, the gardens will grow, with help from green-thumbed Friends of the Apostle Islands volunteers.A team of five volunteers recently worked in the Gaylord Nelson Memorial Garden, clearing away last year's plant debris, pulling weeds, placing signs identifying the plants and refreshing the wood chips covering the paths. The project organizer says the garden...

Busy season: Summer gears up in the Apostle Islands

Busy season: Summer gears up in the Apostle Islands

Summer is gearing up in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. It is going to be a busy season. Here is a rundown of important things to know to make the most of your island adventures.BAYFIELD HEADQUARTERS AND VISITOR CENTERThe main Visitor Center located in Bayfield will be open for the season beginning May 15th. Park staff will be available daily to provide information, issue camping permits, and sell interagency passes. The bookstore will also be open.ELECTRONIC PAYMENTSDue to a recent executive order, park fees will be moving to electronic forms of payment. Due to connectivity...

Friends of the Apostle Islands and you: the art of making a difference

Friends of the Apostle Islands and you: the art of making a difference

A letter from our Executive DirectorsDear Friend, With so many good causes out there this time of the year, how do you decide which organizations to support? Well, making a difference is an art. As you plan your charitable gift-giving this holiday season, we hope you will consider:Giving to support the a place you love: the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is one of only three national lakeshores in the country, “a unique collection of islands” according to Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day and sponsor of the 1970 legislation to create the national lakeshore.Giving to a group that...

Friends volunteer wins 2024 Jerry and Mary Phillips Volunteerism Award

Friends volunteer wins 2024 Jerry and Mary Phillips Volunteerism Award

Bob Durfey, Friends volunteer“If you don’t do, you can’t b#@*h!” was Bob Durfey’s tongue-in-cheek advice recently as he received the 2024 Jerry and Mary Phillips Award for Volunteerism during a ceremony held at the Bayfield Heritage Association on November 20th. And, Bob is a doer, a true fixture in the nonprofit volunteer world in Bayfield and the Apostle Islands.“Whether it is helping to raise the tent every year at the Big Top Chautauqua, redesigning the Brownstone Trail on the Bayfield shoreline or tending the gardens at the historic Michigan Island lighthouse, Bob is the go-to volunteer...

Planting history: Volunteers tend the Michigan Island gardens

Planting history: Volunteers tend the Michigan Island gardens

Editor's note: Want to help us support the historic gardens of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore? Donate now to the Erica Peterson garden fund. You can also learn about Erica's leadership in Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and her love for the gardens.National Park history is often depicted on interpretive signs and in ranger talks. It is displayed in glass cases and glossy brochures. But in the Apostle Islands, history is alive and blooming in the historic gardens of the Michigan Island Lighthouse.Elizabeth Lane - NPS photoEd Lane served as the Michigan Island...

Friends volunteers follow in the footsteps of Michigan Island keepers and gardeners

Friends volunteers follow in the footsteps of Michigan Island keepers and gardeners

It’s a tough act to follow the lightkeepers of old. They were known for tending things - be it brass, the tower light or their flowers. Their gardens at the light stations reflected sincere diligence and pride. Each spring, usually the second week in June, Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore volunteers follow in their footsteps, board a park service boat bound for Michigan Island, and tend to the gardens.“We always wonder what shape the gardens will be in, who survived, or what plants have multiplied. And then there are the weeds. No matter the condition, I am always amazed at...

Friends Volunteers Tend Historical Gardens

Friends Volunteers Tend Historical Gardens

Imagine tending something that is 112 years old. Three volunteers (limited due to COVID safety protocols) recently joined two National Park Service rangers with shovels and watering cans to tend the gardens at Michigan Island.Flowers bloom in front of the old Michigan Island Lighthouse – Erica Peterson photo“We are the keepers of the light” is a tune often sung at Big Top Chautauqua. Michigan Light was first built in 1856. Lighthouse families there kept gardens to supplement both their food and leisure life. Volunteers from Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore helped the park...

Lakeshore Logbook – Terry Daulton

Lakeshore Logbook – Terry Daulton

As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we are collecting and sharing the stories of people connected to the islands, whether they are park guests, former residents or former park employees. This is the 25th in our series called “Lakeshore Logbook,” a collection of memories provided by former National Park Service employees. Living and working in the park on a day to day basis, they’ve experienced a lot to be sure. We hope you enjoy their perspectives. Terry Daulton worked in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore from 1981 through 1989 or 90. As a Student Conservation Association...

Friends volunteers lend their green thumbs, time and talent on Michigan Island

Friends volunteers lend their green thumbs, time and talent on Michigan Island

Gardening is an important part of the history of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Early lighthouse keepers planted fruit trees, vegetables and grains to provide nourishment for the body; they also planted flower gardens to nourish the soul. On Michigan Island, Elizabeth Lane raised three children where her husband, Ed, was keeper from 1902 until he retired in 1938. She also cultivated some amazing gardens. Of Elizabeth, Coast Guard Chief Walter Parker said,“How she used to love to get up to that island and get at that garden of hers. That whole station was one mass of...