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Larry Stowitts, (USCG, Ret.) of Saint Ignace, Michigan, was the happy recipient of a 7-foot-tall, 700-pound, steel replica of Michigan’s White Shoal Light, delivered to him this past Easter morning by his youngest son, Edward.
The inspiration for this gift was for Edward to show his appreciation to both his parents (Larry and his mother Tarry Stowitts) by replacing the previous wooden replica of White Shoal Lighthouse that had stood outside their home. Larry had built that model years ago, but it was determined last summer to be beyond repair. The timeline to start and complete the building of the new model replica also took on a sense of urgency with the return of Larry’s cancer.
Edward said that this labor of love took him 200 man-hours to complete between all the fabrication and research into making it historically accurate. The work began on February 11th and wasn’t completed until the day of delivery on April 17, 2022. His background in marine construction helped with the metal work. Edward credits his wife, Dawn, with helping him get back on track when certain details tripped him up, like figuring out the red striping. Additionally, she reminded him to take breaks during long work stretches. He also appreciates the patience of his neighbors who endured the hours of welding, grinding, cutting and hammering of steel.
Larry Stowitts was stationed at White Shoal Lighthouse during the navigation seasons of 1959 to 1963. A reminder of Larry’s service there remains in the closet of one of two bedrooms on deck 5 where he signed his name. It has become a renewed tradition for White Shoal Lighthouse volunteers to sign their name on a wall inside this same closet.
This story appeared in the
Sep/Oct 2022 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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