Belinda Moorefield was volunteering on July 8 inside the gift shop at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse, north of Rogers City. Moorefield said the gift shop is located in the original bunkhouse. She and her husband, who goes by “Muffin,” are in their 10th season of volunteering at the lighthouse.

“We sold everything we owned about 13 years ago,” Moorefield said. “We live in an RV and winter in Florida.”

She added that they are originally from Winston Salem, North Carolina.

On July 8, John Foglesong and his 4-year-old son Dallas, along with other family members, were enjoying a visit to Forty Mile Point Lighthouse. They traveled by van more than 2,000 miles, from San Antonio, Texas, to visit family and do some sight-seeing in Northeast Michigan.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley From left, Sheryl and Duane Maxwell, of Spring Hill, Fla., stand with the many bags of litter they’ve collected while out walking as they travel around northern Michigan in their RV. The couple also volunteers at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse, which is where they were staying on July 8 when this photo was taken.

Terry Haag and her husband Steve traveled from Loudon, Tenn., to volunteer for their first time this year at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse. She said she was enjoying the beauty of the area, as well as volunteering inside the keeper’s house.

Duane and Sheryl Maxwell live in Spring Hill, Fla., but they spend a lot of time in Michigan in the summer, and they volunteer at the lighthouse and camp in their RV on the grounds. The couple travels in their RV and picks up litter when they are out walking. Last year, they amassed over 100 large bags full of litter. Duane Maxwell is 77, and Sheryl Maxwell is 79.

“We picked up several bottles and cans that predated the 1976 bottle return law,” Duane Maxwell said, adding that one of the glass bottles is valued at about $40. “A Mountain Dew bottle with engraving on it … We did deep cleaning. We went down in the ditches.”

Duane Maxwell adopted two townships, Krakow Township in Presque Isle County, and Fork Township in Mecosta County, where his mission is to pick up litter, walking every mile of roadway in those townships.

“I try to walk eight to 10 miles a day,” Duane Maxwell said. “I just figured, as long as I’m walking, I might as well pick up trash.”

News Photo by Darby Hinkley The front of the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse keeper’s house is seen on July 8. Tours are available, and the interior is filled with artifacts and plaques detailing the history of Forty Mile Point Lighthouse.

The Maxwells enjoy helping out by picking up litter, and they also love volunteering at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse. Duane Maxwell is originally from Posen, and he taught school in Rogers City for 36 years.

Free tours given by volunteers are available at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse, as well as tours of the Glawe School, a one-room schoolhouse established in the 1880s. Those who are able can take the winding stairs 53 steps up to the top of the lighthouse tower for a fantastic view, as well as historic information from a volunteer in the tower. At the top is the 1872 light, which was crafted in Paris. Visitors can also tour the 1896 fog signal building as well as the Calcite ship, with historic educational presentations by “Muffin,” an enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteer.

Forty Mile Point Lighthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, according to the Michigan Historic Site sign on the lighthouse grounds.

“During the late 1800s, the U.S. Lighthouse Board created a system of coastal lights along Lake Huron’s Michigan shore so that mariners would always be within sight of at least one,” the historic sign reads. “With a light south of Forty Mile Point on the Presque Isle Peninsula and one to the north at Cheboygan, an eighteen-mile stretch of shoreline remained unlighted and dangerous. In 1890, the board recommended that a light and fog signal be built at Forty Mile Point. The light was completed in 1896, and Xavier Rains served as the first keeper. The lighthouse was transferred to Presque Isle County in 1998, but the Coast Guard retained ownership of its Fresnel lens.”

The historic sign is sponsored by the Louisa St. Clair Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The other side of the sign features information about Lake Huron: Graveyard of Ships.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Terry Haag, of Loudon, Tenn., volunteers inside Forty Mile Point Lighthouse on July 8. This is her first year volunteering at the lighthouse.

The sign explains that violent storms on Lake Huron have made it dangerous for ships, and as of 2006, 1,200 wrecks had been recorded on Lake Huron, including 27 wooden vessels lost during the Big Blow of 1905.

“One of these, the steamer Joseph S. Fay, ran aground,” the sign states. “A portion of its hull rests on the beach approximately 200 feet north of the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse.”

Inside the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse keeper’s house, a plaque explains some interesting history about the 1908 Metz Fire, which claimed the lives of 37 Presque Isle County residents, destroyed the homes of 150 families, and partially destroyed the homes of 80 more families.

“On October 15th of 1908 the fifth largest fire in Michigan’s history began,” the plaque explains. “Because of the dense smoke the keepers were sounding the fog whistle almost constantly. The keeper’s journal from that time reads, ‘Connected the hose and kept it working at full capacity to keep the fire from the fog signal building — Sounded a signal of distress, but no one responded. With the brave and capable efforts of Mrs. Rains and Mrs. Smith, we were able to save all the buildings.”

Another plaque inside the keeper’s house states that the last civilian lighthouse keeper left the lighthouse Dec. 31, 1943, and Coast Guard personnel took charge the following day.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley A historic sign is seen on July 8 at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse site is registered as a Michigan Historic Site.

The lighthouse was automated on Jan. 1, 1969, according to another plaque. The 2.4 acres with the lighthouse remained under government ownership and everything else was transferred to Presque Isle County on Aug. 16, 1971 as part of the Legacy of Parks program.

In 2007, four campsites were built on the grounds and the guest lighthouse keeper program was started, according to another plaque inside the keeper’s house.

“Guest Lighthouse Keepers spend from two to four weeks at the lighthouse acting as docents and working the gift shop,” the plaque states. “For these duties they have the use of a full hookup campsite. Because of this program, the Lighthouse Society has been able to keep the lighthouse open and free for viewing between Memorial Day and mid-October.”

News Photo by Darby Hinkley “Muffin” is a very knowledgeable volunteer at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse. He is seen on July 8 giving a presentation inside the Calcite, a historic ship located on the lighthouse grounds. At the ship’s wheel is 4-year-old Dallas Foglesong, visiting with his family from San Antonio, Texas.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Belinda Moorefield volunteers on July 8 inside the gift shop at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse, north of Rogers City. Moorefield said the gift shop is located in the original bunkhouse.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley The light inside the tower at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse has engraving on it that says “Paris 1872.”

News Photo by Darby Hinkley The Lake Huron shoreline is seen in this photo taken July 8 from the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse tower.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley The Calcite is seen at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse, where knowledgeable volunteers offer tours and historical information.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Many artifacts are on display throughout the keeper’s house at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley A vintage piano and furniture are seen inside the keeper’s house at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley The inside of the keeper's house at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse maintains a historical feel with vintage furniture and decor.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley The dining room in the keeper's house at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse is seen in this photo taken July 8.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley A bedroom in the keeper's house at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse is seen in this photo taken July 8.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley The basement of the keeper's house at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse features an old-fashioned laundry washing setup.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Glawe School, established in the 1880s, is available for tours on the grounds of Forty Mile Point Lighthouse.