Meet Michigan’s last female lighthouse keeper

WHITEHALL, MI — Michigan’s last female lighthouse keeper not only brought distinction to her hometown, but put her small Lake Michigan town in the national spotlight back in the 1950s.

Frances Johnson was the first female keeper of the White River Light Station and would later be named the state’s last in a long line of women who became guardians of the Great Lakes.

Almost 150 years old, White River Light Station sits on the channel between White Lake and Lake Michigan − a popular throughway during West Michigan’s lumber era.

RELATED: This light station guided lumber across Lake Michigan after the Great Chicago Fire

Frances worked as an unofficial assistant keeper, directing boats on Lake Michigan in 1944 when she was married to a Coast Guard officer stationed at the lighthouse.

The work was not glamorous. She later told The Muskegon Chronicle she “had to paste wax the wood floors on my hands and knees” and would maintain the light station in preparation for unexpected visits from the Coast Guard.

Frances said Coast Guard inspectors would come unannounced and run their white gloves over the window sills.

Although she and the officer divorced, Frances returned to the lighthouse in 1949 when he left the post. She was the keeper for five years and lived onsite with her new husband and daughter.

Michigan’s “Lady of the Light” once even surprised national audiences with her unique career.

Johnson appeared on the CBS game show “What’s My Line?” where a celebrity panel tried to guess her profession in 10 yes or no questions. Each time a panelist guessed incorrectly, the participant received $5.

The panelists were striking out quickly trying to narrow down what Johnson did for a living, asking her questions about training, uniforms and armed services.

One panelist got stumped after asking, “Does your job relate to the land as opposed to the air or the sea?” and then getting even closer asking about working within unique enclosures.

You can find the full clip on YouTube, here.

When Frances returned a winner, The Whitehall Forum ran a piece on the victory with a photo of her flaunting the prize money.

Frances told the newspaper she stayed at the Edison Hotel during her trip to New York City and “spent some money shopping but brought the $50 check home to show my husband.”

She would later tell the Chronicle in 2000, “They couldn’t figure out where Whitehall was and they never got beyond that” referring to the celebrity panel.

After her television appearance in 1953, Frances served as lighthouse keeper for one more year making her the second-to-last lighthouse keeper for White River. The light station was decommissioned in 1960.

She remained active with the light station after it was purchased by a group of residents and donated to Fruitport Township. Later the light station turned into a museum, which is still the case today.

In her obituary, referred to as Frances Marshall after remarrying, the museum curator described her as fondly reflecting on her light station memories.

“She would just light up like a firefly,” curator Karen McDonnell told the Muskegon Chronicle in 2011. “She just had a sparkle in her eyes when she spoke. You could tell that when she harkened back to those years, she was living them.”

The historic light station sits on the channel connecting White Lake to Lake Michigan, located at 6199 Murray Road in Whitehall.

Visitors can climb the 38-foot tower and look out over Lake Michigan.

Run by Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association, the $8 museum admission fee gives visitors a peek into 19th century maritime history, including a piece of a Lake Michigan shipwreck and the original lens from the light station.