FRANKFORT - People living in Frankfort continue to raise money for the restoration of the lighthouse.
Back in 2013, the city took ownership and maintenance of the lighthouse, and now they are looking to raise $1.1 million to restore it.
So far, they have brought in $8,000 for the lighthouse restoration.
Kevin Gauthier is planning to continue creating jewelry out of old glass until the entire amount of money needed has been raised.
“I expected to collect a few pieces of glass, do a feel-good thing. But when we collected over 300 pieces of glass broken inside the lighthouse in this way, that residents and visitors responded was amazing. We were cutting glass this summer back, carving it to the point of where I could do about 13 to 20 pieces a week when we were selling that many in 3 or 4 days,” he shares.
Another member of the community, Sue Fischer, also stepped up with her own talent - photography.
“It’s a source of joy and a source of proud pride, and to get to contribute towards it and to show off my love of that lighthouse along with my art, is just. It brings a lot of joy to me ... that lighthouse means a lot. And so many people have spoken about what Frankfort means to them, and so many are stepping forward and buying pieces and donating as well,” she explains.
Gauthier is hoping to continue to spread awareness during the holidays so people can have a piece of the lighthouse forever while proceeds go to its restoration.
“It’s kind of a win win win. The customer wins by getting a historic piece of the lighthouse. They get a piece of jewelry or historic, piece. The city wins because they get a third of the donation. It goes back for a third of the price, goes back to the lighthouse, and we win in the fact that we get people in to see the lighthouse glass and get to, have people in to see the store from there,” he says.
The fundraiser is also selling lighthouse calendars - 80% of the items can be bought at Korner Gem in Frankfort, while the remaining are at the Traverse City location.