Lastest News

2011 Docent Application Now Available

To apply for a week as a docent at the Pottawatomie Lighthouse at Rock Island State Park, complete the 2011 Docent Application form and send it to Tim Sweet by February 1, 2011.   Decisions on 2011 docents will be made at the Winter FORI Board meeting and reported to applicants by March 15th, 2011.

 

Applicants who are members of the Friends of Rock Island are considered ahead of other applicants.  To become a FORI member, see our Membership page.  See the Lighthouse Tours page for more information on being a docent at the Pottawatomie Lighthouse.

 

Rock Island State Park in the News   

An article appeared in the Sunday, July 25th edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel which described what being a docent at the Pottawatomie Lighthouse is all about.  The Stehlow family of docents hosted journalist Meg Jones of the Sentinel as a guest at the Lighthouse recently.  Be sure to look at the photos that accompany the article.  They are some candid shots of docent life that give the feel for what life in the Pottawatomie Lighthouse can be.

 

July 3rd Cookout

Our 2nd annual Bar-B-Q and Silent Auction was a fantastic success!  The sale of 400 meals and the many donations for the Silent Auction raised a wonderful sum to bolster the efforts of FORI to help maintain the state park we all love so well!  Merchandise sales added to the success of the event too!

 

Thanks to FORI members and Friends who donated items for the auction and to those who visited the island to enjoy the day!  Thanks to Jeff Cornell, the Captain of the Karfi ferry, for running extra long hours for our event.  He commented that he had never had a boatload going back from the island while a whole boatload waited on the dock for him to come back to get them.  He was a busy ferryman that day!

 

Watch for news of a 3rd annual Bar-B-Q on July 4th weekend, 2011 and make your plans now to attend next summer.

 

Pottawatomie Lighthouse is Wisconsin's Oldest Lighthouse!

The Lightstation on the north end of Rock Island is the oldest lighthouse in Wisconsin.  It has been restored as a live-in museum to what it was in its 1910 era.  Docents live in the lighthouse from Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day each year, giving tours from 10am-4pm daily and from noon - 4pm Sundays.  Tours include a visit to the lantern room to see the replica of the 4th Order Fresnel lens and to look north to St. Martin's Island in Michigan and northwest to Escanaba and the Upper Michigan Garden Peninsula.  Pottawatomie Lighthouse is a 2-flat with living quarters for the Head Keeper on the main floor and for the Assistant Keeper and his family on the second floor.  One unique feature of this lighthouse is that every room has a large closet which was very uncommon for homes built in 1858.  Besides tours, the museum has a gift shop with Rock Island and Lighthouse clothing and souvenirs.  Donations for tours are gratefully accepted in the Summer Kitchen.  

 

Other News:  See our News page for information on the In Wisconsin TV segments featuring Rock Island State Park and the Pottawatomie Lighthouse