Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes – Book Tour part 5

This past weekend marked the end of a whirlwind book tour for Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes. Kim and I attended the Point aux Barques lighthouse Festival, which apart from being a wonderful event was also extra special for a couple reasons related to the story in the book. First, Point aux Barques is the location where Capt. J.H. Frahm built the “Dream”, the ship the Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes, Rev. William H. Law,  purchased from Frahm in 1903 in order to make it easier to set sail on his yearly trips around the Great Lakes to bring reading material and other good to all the lighthouses and USLSS stations.

The Life-Savers' Mission Boat - The Dream
The Life-Savers’ Mission Boat – The Dream

Another highlight of the event was meeting Point Aux Barques Lighthouse Society member, Scott Richardson whose Great-Uncle, Gardener Johnson, was a member of the USLSS crew that assisted Rev. Law at Bois Blanc in 1900. This assist was the catalyst for the Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes to change his mission and dedicating the rest of his life to serve the members of the Lighthouse and Life-Saving stations throughout the United States.  The Point aux Barques lighthouse Festival is well planned and appeared to be well attended. I highly recommend attending if you get a chance. More information on the Point aux Barques lighthouse Festival can be found at the Point Aux Barques Lighthouse Society website.

Jeff Richardson, John Kotzian and Scott Richardson
Jeff Richardson, John Kotzian and Scott Richardson

Now it’s back to reality for a while as the next book event which will be the 2014 Lighthouse Festival in Alpena, MI, Oct. 9-12. For this event I will be manning an Author’s booth at the Alpena Aplex Event Center. Tim Harrison, Editor in Chief & Publisher of Lighthouse Digest Magazine and President of American Lighthouse Foundation states: “There is no other festival like it in the United States. The organizers have done a fantastic job of drawing both vendors and lighthouse buffs from around the globe to what has become the largest and best lighthouse festival in the nation. October is a wonderful time of the year to visit Michigan, with the beautiful fall colors, close proximity to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island and lots of lighthouses, what more could one ask for?”. Hope to see you there.

Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse
Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse
Follow John

John

John Kotzian was born in Rogers City, Michigan located on the shore of Lake Huron and raised some 30 miles away in Hillman, Michigan. He is the great-great-grandson of the “Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes”, Rev. William H. Law.

His passion for the Great Lakes and its history grew from the stories handed down through both sides of his family about Rev. Law’s travels and relatives lost in the sinking of the S.S. Carl D. Bradley.

He currently resides with his wife, Kimberly, in Brooklyn, MI.
Follow John

Latest posts by John (see all)

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.