Jewel of the Port has good summer

Programs continue to grow at Lorain Lighthouse

The Lorain Lighthouse is 101 years old, but fresh programs are starting to grow at the Jewel of the Port.

The Main Street Lorain group of the Lorain Growth Corp. met Oct. 5 and heard from lighthouse foundation trustees about the 2018 season.

The report was glowing, and not just because of sunrise happening before the morning meeting.

“It’s been a good year for us,” said Linda Lumadue, who handles reservations for the Tuesday night dinners at the lighthouse.

Lumadue’s husband, Jim, also is a lighthouse trustee.

Lumadue said she wanted to offer her perspective on Lorain because she grew up in Newcastle, Pa., a steel town that has lost jobs and population over time.

“So, when I came to Lorain, it reminded me of home, except we don’t have a lake and we don’t have a lighthouse,” she said. “And so when we moved to Lorain, and we were across from the lake, I would walk out to the pier every night, and I would look at the lighthouse and the sunsets are amazing.”

They met Frank and Carolyn Sipkovsky, who asked the couple to consider volunteering for the lighthouse. James Lumadue is part of the crew that works to maintain and restore the lighthouse; Linda Lumadue works the phone, taking reservations for the meals.

“The dinners have opened up a whole opportunity for us to do improvements to the lighthouse, add windows and lights to the roof and cleaning and painting,” she said.

There were two evening meals the first year and 13 the second year.

This year, every dinner was booked and the Lumadues had a waiting list for passengers.

A total of 219 people went out for the regular dinners.

Calls for reservations have come as early as January each year, Jim Lumadue said.

A few years ago, the trustees added a lighthouse night for July 4; that trip attracted 51 people this year.

The lighthouse will host private group dinners with wine; guests can bring other beverages. There were two weddings this year.

“Each year, we get a little bit better,” Jim Lumadue said.

The board looks for ways to improve the experience of visiting, he said.

He also credited Frank Sipkovsky for rounding up workers to do improvements that make for a nicer venue.

Various trips have attracted visitors of all ages, and there are elder Lorainites in their 80s and 90s who never visited the lighthouse, Linda Lumadue said

“It’s so rewarding when they come out there,” she said.

The lighthouse has attracted people from Lorain County, but also from around Ohio and other states, Linda Lumadue said.

Once the Broadway Building is restored to become a hotel, there will be a place for them to stay in Lorain, she said.

For the future, the trustees are considering trips such as cheaper lunchtime meal options.

General Electric donated two LED lights for the roof; those are mounted on the south side of the building.

A roofing company will replace the roof around the turret, or the top area around the light, starting next week.

The lighthouse has security cameras installed inside and out, Frank Sipkovsky said.

Along with continuing maintenance, the trustees would like to add a 500-gallon tank to the attic of the structure, he said.

That would allow a gravity fed water system, allowing overnight guests for bed-and-breakfast lodging, Frank Sipkovsky said.

Board members still must determine how to store used water and bring it back to shore for sanitary sewage treatment.

Trustees have raised money for a pump and filter system so the lighthouse has nonpotable water, Frank Sipkovsky said.

The lighthouse trustees have added a gift shop at the A Dock at Lakeside Landing.

“We did quite well,” he said.