It was Saturday July 18, a beautiful summer day, when a group of fifteen members of the Harbour Lights Collectors Club - GREAT LAKES DISTRICT took a tour of the Sturgeon Bay Canal Coast Guard Station. Our tour guide Petty Officer Greg Stark started our tour with a welcome to the station and a few rules while on the grounds. Our tour took us into the station to view the the Comm Room, Mess Deck, Galley and offices. Officer Stark was called away for an emergency so Bob Pierson took over as our new guide. The next stop was the 41' search-and-rescue boat. It takes a crew of three to operate the boat. The boat has a B-zero status, which means the response time to a rescue is less than an hour. While we were there an emergency call came in and the crew were on their way in less than two minutes. The lighthouse tower is 98 feet high and was built in 1899 and then reconstructed and modified in 1903 because of the high winds in the area. There are 117 stairs to the top and a Third Order Fresnel lens. In the summer there are 18 members that work at the station. In winter the station on Washington Island closes and the members come down to work at Sturgeon Bay. Our tour was about two hours long, and after the tour we all got together for a door prize drawing. Harbour Lights donated a HL217 Sturgeon Bay Lighthouse for the grand prize, along with other Harbour Lights items.
The winner of the grand prize Harbour Lights HL217 Sturgeon Bay Canal Lighthouse was 82 year old Katherine Schab of North Bend, OR, mother of member Lorin Schab of Orland Hills, IL.
During the visit to the boat, Bob Pierson found a door prize ticket on the ground. The tickets were handed out to everyone before the tour began. Katherine realized it was hers. We all joked about that being the winning ticket. When it came time for the drawing, Bob drew the last ticket for the grand prize, you guessed it. Katherine was the winner. Everyone laughed and cheered.
