Let’s Hit the Beach!
An afternoon at the beach. What could be more pleasant? That’s what I thought while driving to Michigan City, Indiana on Monday.
The forecast was for temperatures in the low 30s, 20 mph winds with gusts up to 38 mph, and a “wintery mix” of rain and snow. Oh, and the waves could be as high as 22 feet!
OK, so only photographers are going to get out of their car on a day like that. I was headed for the Michigan City Lighthouse.
Michigan City
The town served as the principal grain market for northern Indiana between 1837 and 1844. In the 1850s, railroads came bringing their repair shops with them.
The Haskell & Barker Car Company was established in 1852. Manufacturing up to 15,000 railroad cars a year, it quickly became the city's largest employer. The lumber market also boomed.
Cheap convict labor became available to manufacturers when the Northern State Prison opened in the early 1860s. Harbor construction began after the Civil War. By 1868, the Michigan City Harbor could accept large vessels.
The town’s fortunes began to wane after 1900. Convict labor was outlawed. The lumber trade died out. The Michigan Central Railroad moved its rail shops at the close of World War I. Hoosier Slide, the town's once-towering sand dune, was completely mined out by the 1920s.
The Lighthouse
There has been a lighthouse at the harbor for 183 years. The first was an 1837 brick & stone lighthouse built at the edge of Lake Michigan. The second lighthouse, built in 1858, is now a museum near the entrance to the park.
The current lighthouse was built in 1904. It uses the old lantern, lens, and light from 1858. Seven lighthouse keepers and 14 assistant keepers served here from 1837-1940. From 1904 until 1933, keepers had to walk across an elevated iron walkway, or “catwalk”, to reach the lighthouse.
In 1933, the lighthouse was electrified. In 1939, the U.S. Coast Guard took over the service. The now unused catwalk was at risk of demolition.
In 1960, the lighthouse was deemed surplus by the Coast Guard. The General Services Administration sold it to Michigan City in 1963 for $18,500. The catwalk was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Shot
I knew when I arrived that this was going to be interesting. I had to lean into the wind just to inch my way from the parking lot to the beach. And when I started kneeling to set up my gear, a powerful gust of wind knocked me over backwards.
The wind stung me with a mix of snow, rain, and sand. It turned out that crouching behind a concrete handrail stanchion offered a little protection from the wind. And if I positioned my lens perfectly, it stopped getting covered with rain and snow.
I hope you feel the power of a Great Lakes storm from the photograph. And if you’re a little daring, head out there for yourself when the next wave forecast says to stay away.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus