Aug. 14, 2006

Mackinaw City, Mich. — By opening day 2007, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse will be enhanced by colorful blooms and berries, thanks to a grant of $500 from the Principal Financial Group Foundation, Inc. and the efforts of the Perennial Garden Club of Cheboygan County.

The monies will be used to purchase period flowers and plants that might have surrounded the lighthouse during the 1910s — the period to which the lighthouse is interpreted. Planting of the lemon custard lilies, red twig dogwood, serviceberry and northern red oak will commence this fall and be completed next spring.

Glenn Hargrove, regional representative for the Principal Financial Group, will present the grant check to Perennial Garden Club president Ramona Boyce in a public ceremony at the lighthouse at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 24.  Mackinac State Historic Parks’ Chief Curator Steven Brisson will also be on hand to participate.

The Perennial Garden Club is one of only 193 nationwide to be awarded a grant under this Principal program, which is operated in affiliation with National Garden Clubs, Inc. to support civic development projects honoring those who serve (or have served) our country.

The garden club plantings are expected to complement a comprehensive landscaping project for the lighthouse slated for completion by May 14, 2007.

A guiding light of the Straits of Mackinac since 1892, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse served as a beacon to guide ship traffic in the region until the completion of the Mackinac Bridge in 1957. Today, visitors to the site discover the importance of this strategic light and learn about the lives of lighthouse keepers through interactive exhibits and period settings.

Mackinac State Historic Parks, a family of living history museums and parks in northern Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac, is an agency within the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Its sites include Fort Mackinac, Mackinac Island State Park and Historic Downtown on Mackinac Island, and Colonial Michilimackinac, Historic Mill Creek and Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City. MSHP sites are accredited by the American Association of Museums. Visitor information may be obtained by phone at (231) 436-4100 or on the Web at www.MackinacParks.com.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).