Daily Sitka Sentinel

Herring Hop to Help With Lighthouse Upkeep

By SHANNON HAUGLAND

Sentinel Staff Writer

The Cape Decision lighthouse is not an easy place to get to – but that’s kind of the idea.

“It’s really remote,” said Chris Brooks, president of the Cape Decision Lighthouse Society. “As far as places you can go to be that isolated ... it’s the beauty of the wilderness.”

The Cape Decision Lighthouse Society, which has adopted the historic navigation aid off the southern tip of Kuiu Island, will have its annual fundraiser Saturday at the ANB Founders Hall. It’s called the Herring Hop, and will feature a fish and chips dinner, a dessert silent auction and a dance. Doors open at 5:30, with dinner at 6 and the dance, with music by Slack Tide, starting at 7:30 p.m. 

“We’re just going to kick up our heels, and have a lot of fun,” said Karen Lucas, founder of the lighthouse society. The fish and chips will be provided by Sea Daddy’s Fish and Chips, and tables will be decorated with herring eggs.

The proceeds will help pay for the nonprofit society’s expenses in the ongoing restoration and maintenance of the lighthouse.

Volunteers make a two-week work trip to the Kuiu Island lighthouse every year. This year’s trip will be in mid-May, and the project will be repair of lighthouse windows “all in compliance with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties,” said Lucas, who is administrator of the society.

The organization has received an $18,048 Historic Preservation Grant from the state for the windows project, and was one of four organizations to receive such a grant. Lucas said volunteers will do as much work on as many windows as they can in the two weeks they are there, but it’s a huge project.

Historic Architect Gary Gillette of Juneau, who completed the window restoration at the volunteer-supported lighthouse at Sentinel Island, is supervising the project.

The Cape Decision Light Station was built in 1932, the last light station to be built on Alaska’s coastline, Lucas said. Largers vessels unable to pass through Wrangell Narrows or looking for a more direct route to the fishing grounds had to navigate around Cape Decision, which prompted the construction of the lighthouse. 

The lighthouse was manned by a U.S. Coast Guard contingent until 1974 when it was automated with the installation of a diesel electric system. The signal light is 96 feet above sea level, with a visible range of 27 miles out to sea. The light is now powered by solar panels and requires little maintenance, Lucas said.

Lucas became involved on the project to restore the lighthouse when the Coast Guard surplused it in 1997. As a member of the Port Alexander Historical Society, and a part-time Port Alexander resident, Lucas put together a proposal to claim the property for the local population surrounding Cape Decision, as an economic development project.

The Cape Decision Lighthouse.  (Photo provided) 

“We wanted locals to have a part in it,” she said. Those include the fishing communities of Port Alexander, Port Protection, Point Baker, Cape Pole and Edna Bay. The Cape Decision Lighthouse Society was founded as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 1997. 

“We were awarded a five-year lease (in 1997) with the U.S. government to take over this property and 214 acres of lighthouse reserve,” Lucas said.

In 2004 the nonprofit was granted the deed to the property. She said the mission of the organization is to preserve the lighthouse and the surrounding wilderness for public recreation and education.

Since taking over ownership the society has been focused on obtaining grants for restoration and making the lighthouse available to the public.

“It was really starting from the ground up, building the membership base, doing the fundraisers,” she said.

Today the society has 70 dues-paying members. She said it’s been a massive undertaking, and a labor of love, but the work has been paying off.

The lighthouse now is equipped with heat, hot water, refrigeration, running water, and even Internet service. 

The project has attracted its supporters over the years, including Mike McIntosh of the Boat Company, who is a major annual donor. 

When asked about the appeal of the place, she had a similar answer to Brooks’: “I would say the remoteness. It’s soothing. It’s just really beautiful. The flora and fauna is unique from Baranof Island. It has sandier soil, different wildlife. It’s heavily wooded – all old-growth. It’s never been logged.”

Brooks said he fell in love with the place when he brought a group of workers in from the Southeast Alaska Guidance Association, and stayed for a few weeks in the late 1990s.

“After that I was like, wow, this place is awesome. I need to get involved,” said Brooks, who lives in Salmon Beach, Wash. The next year he joined the nonprofit’s board, and has been coming up for the work parties ever since. He said he remembers marveling at the feats of engineering that it took to build the lighthouse, and also noted its deteriorating condition. He said it was easy to be inspired to help.

“It’s a really important part of our maritime heritage,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity to contribute to something that’s really special.”

The lighthouse is a one-story art deco style building measuring 46 by 46 feet, with 14-inch thick exterior walls of reinforced concrete. The square tower that holds the cupola and navigational light is 14 by 14 feet, and rises from the center of the flat roof.

Lucas said the society is always looking for volunteers to join in the work parties, for one or two weeks. She thanked McIntosh and the McIntosh Foundation for their support over the years, as well as the ongoing efforts of Brooks, and fellow volunteer Sean Cavlan. Lucas said the group needs help of all kinds, from carpentry to cooking for the work parties. Those interested may call her at 747-7803.

The Herring Hop organizers are also looking for prep chef volunteers to help make BBQ baked beans and coleslaw for the Saturday Herring Hop fundraiser. Donations of desserts for the auction may be dropped off after 9 a.m. Saturday, or at the event. Those interested may call Brandon Marx at 747-1392.