In late March of 1929 young Ted Wakefield, the son of local yachtsman and owner/founder of the F.W. Wakefield Brass Company, Fred Wakefield, looked across Vermilion's harbor from their beloved Harbor View home just above the Main Street beach, and noted that the lighthouse at the entrance of the west pier was leaning heavily toward the river and quickly informed his father. After some 70 years of service to sailors on Lake Erie the foundation of the sturdy iron structure had now nearly succumbed to the persistent high waters and heavy ice floes so common to the late winter thaws and wet springs along the shallow waterway. After contacting proper authorities a decision was made to have the light removed to be replaced by a, then modern, 18 foot skeletal frame tower topped with a light and equipped with a fuel tank.
In that same year a little man with a bushy moustache and a big mouth was rising to power in Germany. In our nation Calvin Coolidge was handing over his Presidency to Herbert Hoover, and the dark clouds of a great world depression were about to settle over the planet. In town a new river bridge, situated perhaps 75 feet north of the old, had just been completed at a total cost of about $132,000. Doc Jeffery had been killed at the Adams Street rail crossing just after Christmas on his way to tend to a patient. Local boys, Bud Fischer, Nelson Becker, Carl Knott, and Milton Benson had mounted an airplane propeller on the back of an old Ford chassis, and powered with a Ford engine in the back they claimed the vehicle could run at 55 mph over ice without a problem. The Roaring 20's that many believed were destined to go out with a bang did not. It was, indeed, with a whimper. The face of America was changing, and so was that of Vermilion.
The Vermilion Lighthouse was constructed nearly a decade after our little village had been incorporated (1847). It had been rebuilt twice, once in 1859 and again in 1877. Initially the light sat several yards back from the tip of the west pier. In 1893 it was moved north almost to the end of the stone jetty which formed its base. Aside from its practical service as a guiding light for commercial and pleasure craft whether the great lake slept peacefully or was punished mercilessly by giant waves crashing against its base from a northeast wind, it also served as a beacon of romance for young lovers, and as subject matter for many a photographer.
Since about 1919 when acetylene replaced oil as a fuel for the lamp only a part-time lightkeeper was required to service it. Prior to that time at least six different men had served as full-time keepers of the light. The first in the memory of most locals was a gentleman named Tom Allen. Following him were the Messrs.
Miles and Harris. Because this was a government position housing was included as a benefit for these people. Harris may have been the first to live in the government house provided on the southwest corner of Grand and Liberty Streets. When Harris died a Mr. Codding took over until he exchanged positions with Mr. J.H. Burns from Buffalo, New York who held the position until he retired.
The last full-time Lightkeeper was a fellow named Joseph Wetzler. Wetzler was born and raised in Sandusky. He and his wife, Bertha, had two children. The oldest was a daughter, Kathryn (Nalley), who was later a supervisor for the Lorain Telephone Company, and a son, Fred, who was mentioned in a 5-29-03 issue of the Vermilion Photojournal - Vermilion's weekly newspaper. Joseph and Bertha are seen in this photograph on the lighthouse steps that was taken in 1919 about the same time that oil ceased to power the light. Joe then left the job and went to work for the railroad. Hard of hearing he was struck and killed by a train as he walked down the rails to a group frantically waving friends sometime in 1924.
Finally in 1929 a crew of government workers under the supervisory eyes of O.W. Stevens of Lorain and government engineer, A.J. Savord of Sandusky, dismantled the light. It was moved to Charity Straits on Lake Ontario where it can still be seen today.
I need to extend a real special thanks to Fred Wetzler for the excellent photographs (he lent me) of the old light. Some (especially that of his parents) are exceptionally rare. They have never before been viewed outside his immediate family or his circle of friends.
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© 2006 Rich Tarrant