Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association

GLLKA was incorporated in 1983 as a non-profit organization. Its purpose is to facilitate the accumulation and exchange of information about the histories of Great Lakes lighthouses and their keepers, so that life at these stations may be accurately interpreted, their history preserved, and a new generation of preservationists developed. In 1997, GLLKA received a 30-year license from the U.S. Coast Guard to restore and use the St. Helena Island Light Station. GLLKA now holds workshops at the lighthouse, which is on the National Register of Historical Places. In 1991 and 1993, GLLKA produced award winning materials for its workshops, including educational resource guides. GLLKA also organizes conferences and cruises of the Great Lakes. In 1985, GLLKA received a project grant from the Michigan Council for the Humanities to identify people who worked or lived in Great Lakes lighthouses and record their oral histories. The taped histories were then used to create a book and video entitled, Living at a lighthouse : oral histories from the Great Lakes (1986). GLLKA and members of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Museum also worked very hard to get Mackinaw declared the site of the National Lighthouse Museum. However, New York (State) was eventually selected as the site. The Beacon, a quarterly publication with news, photographs, articles, and drawings of Great Lakes lighthouses is also published and distributed through GLLKA. Lastly, GLLKA works with other lighthouse organizations to help achieve their preservation/restoration goals. (This information is from the collection.).