LADY OF THE LIGHT- Part 20
The
three weeks between the
Evening of the 4th of July and the visit
by lighthouse officials on the 25th,
passed in a flurry of
activity.
Jane sat sipping her
morning tea the morning of the 25th
going over the events in her mind. A
smile came to her face when she
remembered how she thought this was
going to be such a relaxed and peaceful
summer. Never in her wildest dreams did
she envision becoming the focus of such
attention over her battle to have the
"helpers" recognized. Equally amazing
was the passionate romance she found
herself in. Brian was the most
attentive, and romantic man she had ever
met. Jane realized she was falling
deeply in love with him, even more
amazing was she had no regrets. A
relationship was the last thing she
wanted as the summer began. Now all she
could do was hold on as she was swept up
in a classic "Whirlwind Romance", the
type she use to believe only in those
cheap romance novels.
Looking up
she saw it was already 9am. There was
much to do before the first tour of the
day. The big visit was schedule for the
4pm tour. Jane was nervous, but only a
little, she knew the normal tour speech
by heart by now. It was her welcoming
speech to the various officials that
bothered her. Brian had suggested she
visualize them as a group of Japanese
tourists with cameras around their
necks, She smiled and giggled at the
mental picture, and then she was indeed
less on edge.
The bright sunshine
had dimmed by 11am, and by the time
gates opened dark clouds rolled across
the horizon and a stiff wind had the
blue water frosted with whitecaps. The
first 2 tours were small, and the
weather held, but a storm was brewing.
By 3 the grounds were deserted and Jane
took advantage of the
break.
Whatever hopes Jane had,
that the officials tour would be small
and over quickly, were dashed by 3:45 as
she noticed a steady stream of cars pull
into the parking lot. Jane adjusted her
Keeper's uniform and went out to give
the most important tour of the
season.
The news of the big visit
had obviously caught the interest of the
locals, as Jane recognized many faces in
the crowd. She greeted each visitor and
handed them a copy of the brochure. Mr.
Thorton led the group of official
visitors. There were 2 distinguished
looking gentlemen in Uniform from the
Coast Guard, and then a trio of older
men from the Lighthouse Society. Each
one shook Janes's hand warmly and
introduced themselves. They made her
feel so much at ease with their
greeting, that she was confidant as she
stepped in front of the
gathering.
"Good Afternoon folks,
Today we are honored to have members of
the U.S. Coast Guard and the Lighthouse
Society of America with us on our tour.
So before we begin I warmly welcome Mr.
Dave Hogan , Secretary of the Lighthouse
Society, who has Asked if he could say a
few words after we take the
tour."
Jane led the group around
the grounds, reciting the history of the
structures and giving a rundown of the
duties of a lighthouse Keeper. She led
them to the spot between the cottage and
the tower and began her tale of Amanda
Grey and her husband. Everyone was
riveted to her as she told them about
the brave men and women who manned these
outposts. Finally she led the group to
the tower and allowed the group to
explore the inside and take photos from
the towers Lightroom. About 45 minutes
later the group gathered at the base of
the tower, and Jane motioned for her
guest speaker to come
forward.
Hogan, a frail looking
man of perhaps 65 stepped forward and
shook Jane's hand. "Thank you Ms.
Tolenz. I promise not to take much of
your time, as I see a storm brewing.
We at The Lighthouse Society of
America have strived to keep the history
of these magnificent towers alive. We
have the largest archives of photos, and
the most extensive collection of
memorabilia. We also have complete
histories of every major lighthouse on
the U.S. Coastline. So I have to say I
was impressed when I heard about our
hostess and her discovery of the
injustice done to the apprentices who
served at these towers. Now that I have
seen first hand her presentation, I am
even more impressed with her research
and organization of the information.
Therefore it is my pleasure to announce
that the Society plans on building on
Ms. Tolenz's work and will be adding
mention of all Keeper's Apprentices in
the written histories of America's
lighthouses."
He reached inside his
jacket and pulled out a rolled up piece
of paper. Motioning for Jane to come
forward, he continued. "Ms. Jane Tolenz,
on behalf of The Lighthouse Society of
America, I would like to extend our
appreciation and offer you a lifetime
membership in the society, and this
certificate of membership."
The
crowd applauded as he handed the paper
to Jane, who stood there smiling widely.
She stammered slightly as she shook his
hand and said"Why Thank you, Mr Hogan,
and Thank you to all who came
today."
Mr Hogan leaned forward
and said, "There's more Ms. Tolenz. It
is our sincere hope that you will aid us
in this project, and help research and
write some of the material we will be
creating in this project. We have been
invited to return here by the State of
Michigan on Labor Day and have you
preside over the ceremonies that day,,
when we deliver a leather bound edition
of this Tower's Complete history,
including the Apprentice
Keepers."
Jane was overwhelmed,
but managed to nod her head vigorously
and say, "Yes, I would be pleased
to"
Jane noticed a twinkle in Mr
Hogans eye, as he continued. "And now I
would like to introduce Capt. Robert
Jeffers of the US Coast Guard who has
another special announcement for all of
you today.
Capt. Jeffers, a tall,
rugged looking man in a crisply pressed
uniform stepped forward and shook both
Jane's and Mr. Hogan's hand. "Good
Afternoon to you all. As you know the
lighthouses on the shores of America's
waterways are now owned and overseen by
the U.S. Coast Guard. We work closely
with state governments who run the
parks, such as this one here. As with
any branch of the service, we respect
any attempts to preserve history and
recognize the efforts of those who serve
our country. This lady has done a
remarkable job and is to be proud of her
efforts. It has been decided that after
researching the stories behind the men &
women who died in service to their
country at these towers, that more needs
to be done. Therefore on Labor Day
this year we also will be returning to
this location. It will be a historic
occasion, as we rename this Lighthouse,
"Grey's Point" and install a stone
marker in Honor of Randy & Amanda Grey,
who lost their lives on this
spot."
Jane clapped a hand over
her mouth in surprise, and could feel a
tear build in the corner of her
eye.
Capt. Jeffers smiled at Jane
and then addressing the crowd he
concluded with, "I hope all of you can
be here that day, and I wish to thank
Ms. Tolenz for her determination and
efforts on this project." He took a
single step forward, turned towards Jane
and snapped a crisp salute to her. As
he stepped back into the crowd, it
erupted into Cheers and applause. As
Jane fought to keep her emotions from
overwhelming her, she noticed very
different reactions in two of her
guests. Mr. Thorton stood there as if
he had just eaten something unpleasent,
with an extreamly sour expression on his
face. In the very back of the crowd,
Jane saw Brian cheering and clapping
wildly as he mouthed "I Love you"
silently to her. The smile on her face
was as bright as any lighthouse beacon
that day........To be continued April
1st.
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