Lighthouse in need of new keepers

By Brent Killackey

Tuesday, July 3, 2007 2:20 AM CDT

Journal Times

Whenever Jeff and Melissa Peterson's 4-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter see a picture of Racine County's iconic Wind Point Lighthouse, they tell people: "Hey, that's my lighthouse."

The children's sense of ownership is understandable.

For the past five years, the Petersons have lived on the lighthouse grounds, serving as the lighthouse keepers. In exchange for taking care of the grounds and managing events, they lived rent-free in the caretakers house.

"Unfortunately, I think they grew up thinking they owned the lighthouse," Jeff Peterson said.

The Peterson children's world view soon will need to change.

In August, Jeff and Melissa plan to leave behind the lighthouse keeper gig and move to a home in Racine.

That's opening up the post of lighthouse keeper - a job that doesn't come open very often. Prior to the Petersons, the previous lighthouse keeper, Mike Cooper, held the part-time job for 21 years.

Jeff Peterson offers one warning to would-be applicants: It's like living in a fishbowl. That's the reason they've decided to leave behind living on what he described as one of the best pieces of property in the city.

The lighthouse grounds belong to the Village of Wind Point, which designated the space as a park - and approximately 20,000 people visit the site a year, according to village officials.

"Every once in a while, you get people (who) walk right into the house," Peterson said.

The lighthouse was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The village started leasing the lighthouse from the Coast Guard in 1964, taking full ownership in 1997 - during that entire stretch relying upon caretakers to maintain the grounds in exchange for free rent.

The best part of residing on the grounds: the view - "It can't get any better," Peterson said, who also said he enjoyed its location by the beach.

Like Cooper when he was lighthouse keeper, Jeff Peterson's full-time job is a firefighter with the Racine Fire Department. That's not a requirement for the next keeper.

The Village of Wind Point will be advertising for the position and accepting applications, with the hopes of filling the post by August.

"We're looking for someone who has good skills, someone who is interested in lighthouses, outgoing and really people-oriented," said Wind Point Trustee Pete Christensen.

The position requires about 600 hours a year of work, doing everything from cutting the grass and cleaning the public restrooms to weeding the flower beds and coordinating events, such as small weddings held on the grounds.

"It's not intense work, but it doesn't really go away - it's pretty continuous," Christensen said.

In exchange for the work, the keeper and family gets to live in the 3-bedroom, roughly 1,200-square-feet caretakers house, which was adapted from the Coast Guard station.

The Wind Point Lighthouse was built in 1880 as one of about 220 lighthouses on the shores of the Great Lakes. At 112 feet, with 140 steps, it is one of the tallest on the Lakes.

The original Fresnel lens, designed and built in France using a series of prisms and lenses to magnify kerosene light, is displayed in the Village Hall, which is located on the lighthouse grounds.

The light became fully automated in 1964 and still is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard. The 1,000-watt bulb, magnified by a parabolic mirror, can be seen for 19 miles on clear nights.

People interested in more information on the lighthouse keeper position can contact the village at 639-3524.

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