Docent Duty

by Kathleen Ernst

My husband Scott and I are recently back from our 4th stint as docents at Pottawatomie Lighthouse in Rock Island State Park, WI. 
Rock Island is situated off the northern tip of Door County in Lake Michigan, and Pottawatomie is the state’s oldest light station.

The current lighthouse, built in 1858, was magnificently restored by the Friends of Rock Island in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  It sits on top of a bluff on the northern end of Rock Island, over a mile from the boat landing and campground.  There are no roads on the island, and it takes two ferry rides to get there.

As docents, we give tours to guests from 10 AM to 4 PM each day.  Since Scott and I both love history, and telling stories, it’s a great gig.  We’re also responsible for housekeeping chores.


Otherwise, we get to live at the lighthouse.  How cool is that?

There’s no electricity or indoor plumbing.  (That’s Scott filling an Igloo at the old pump, in the rain.)  But we have a fridge and stove powered by bottled gas, and we get to sleep in the keepers’ bedroom.


We have lots of quiet evenings.  Lots of time for an impressionable writer to ponder stories of long-gone keepers, and to imagine the lighthouse as it once was.



So it was pretty much inevitable that I would write a book about the lighthouse.


In The Light Keeper’s Legacy (coming in October), my protagonist Chloe Ellefson is invited to serve as a guest curator at Pottawatomie Lighthouse.  She’s excited about the job and eager for some solitude in such a beautiful, remote place.  Needless to say, since this is a murder mystery, her time on Rock Island isn’t quite as peaceful as she’d hoped.

 Writing the book let me explore some new personal issues for Chloe, who is struggling to figure out what she wants from life.  And it let me write an homage to the strong individuals who lived on Rock Island in the 19th century.  The Light Keeper referenced in the title is Emily Betts, a real  and totally awesome woman who served as Assistant Keeper at Pottawatomie.  (In the National Archives photo below, that’s Emily barely visible in the doorway.)

 The book also showcases the complexities of managing natural resources over the years.  And it let me share a very special place with readers—some of whom will, I hope, decide to visit Rock Island and support ongoing restoration projects.


 It doesn’t get much better than that.

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Documenting the Crimes

“Chloe found the first body right there,” I said, pointing.

My husband Scott said, “Perhaps you should keep your voice down.” Then he balanced precariously on the shifting beach cobbles and started shooting. Digital images, not bullets.

I’ve mentioned before that Book 3 in the Chloe Ellefson series will take place on Rock Island, WI, in Lake Michigan. It’s a state park. Much of the action will take place at Pottawatomie Lighthouse; I’ve had the good fortune to serve as a live-in docent there several times, and know it well.

But other scenes take place at other locations on the island, such as the magnificent boathouse.

Since my mysteries are rooted in long-ago events, I do a lot of historical research. And since I write about real and public places, I need to be careful about getting not just the historical details but the geography right.

Book 3 (tentatively titled Beyond Death’s Door) takes place the first week in September, and Scott and I spent last week visiting the story’s locales. I wanted to make notes about what flowers were blooming, what birds were migrating through, etc. at the exact time of Chloe’s visit.

We also photographed and videotaped each location. The videotape will help me remember perspective when I’m actually writing or revising the pertinent scenes.

As a benefit for spending time back at the scene of the crime, as it were, we stopped in the independent bookstore on neighboring Washington Island. Preliminary plans for a book launch in 2012 are now underway. I also pinned down a few last details at the local archives, and questioned the local ranger about a logistical issue I’d been confused about. And we visited—just for research purposes—a local tavern/restaurant, which is famous for never closing during Prohibition (the proprietor got a pharmacist’s license and dispensed Bitters.)

All of this took place the week Book 2, The Heirloom Murders, was officially released. I’m juggling launch events for that with finishing the manuscript for Beyond Death’s Door. It’s a wee bit overwhelming (especially since I’m working on a children’s book project as well), but it’s also great fun! I got to wander around two gorgeous islands, and write off travel costs as a business expense. How cool is that?

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Unplugged

by Kathleen Ernst

For the past several years my husband Scott and I have served as volunteer docents at a lighthouse. We spend nine days in late May-early June living in Pottawatomie lighthouse, which is in Rock Island State Park, WI.

We give tours to guests from ten to four each day, and do some light housekeeping. The park campground is over a mile away, and there are no vehicles or roads on the island, so our afternoons and evenings are pretty peaceful.

Pottawatomie is the oldest light station in Wisconsin. It was established in 1836, although this gorgeous structure wasn’t built until 1858. Keepers lived at the station until 1946, when the light was automated. (For more photos and details, check out Should It Stay, Or Go? and Beyond Death’s Door on my personal blog.)

Scott and I refer to the experience as camping indoors. The lighthouse has no cell reception, electricity or running water. The parlor has a stove, but the rest of the building is unheated.

I love history, and I love nature, so the gig is ideal. More than that, though, my time there is good for me as a writer. Like everyone else, my days are usually crammed too full. My days on Rock Island give me time to read, to scribble in my notebook, to think. No email, no FB, no phones. I don’t realize how fragmented my brain gets until I have a chance to truly slow down. I come home with pages and pages of notes and ideas.

How about you? Do you have a favorite spot to recharge?