HISTORICAL LIGHT

Season opens for summer at lighthouse with tours, and visitors posing to mark memories

It’s lighthouse season in the port of Lorain.

The Lorain Lighthouse sold out its first day of four tours on July 3 and berths were going quickly for the next round of visits on July 11.

“I was pretty happy with the response we’re getting,” said Ron Mantini, president of the Lighthouse Foundation board.

“It’s been pretty heavy,” said

Ed Baker, a board member manning the dock with fellow board members Linda O’Connor and Tom Boyer.

The lighthouse opens annually for guest visits by boat, but this year’s tour schedule was canceled in May and June due to the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and policies requiring caution.

“I was pretty happy with the response we’re getting.”

— Ron Mantini, president of the Lighthouse Foundation board

The tours and weekly catered lighthouse dinners make for a pleasant attraction in Lorain. They also are a serious annual fundraiser for the Lorain Lighthouse Foundation, which combines money and continuing volunteer efforts to restore and maintain the building, Mantini said.

Although Mantini has visited the structure before, he booked the first tour at 11:30 a.m. for his grown sons and their families who were making their summer visits to Lorain. The troupe included Mantini’s wife, Gloria, with Ron Jr. and Anna Mantini and their children, Natalie, Bellamaria, Monica and Dean, and Ken and Jessica Mantini with their sons, Tyler and Grady.

Capt. Andrew Carden piloted the “Pride of Lorain” from A Dock at Oasis Marinas at Port Lorain, 301 Lakeside Ave.

The boat ride lasted a few minutes. At the lighthouse, they were greeted by foundation board members Frank Papay and Matt Dempsey, with volunteers Alan Pollock and Helga Papay.

The lighthouse served for years as a working U.S. Coast Guard station. Now the building stands as “The Jewel of the Port,” a symbol of Lorain and a labor of love for those dedicated to restoring it.

Although the building is 103 years old, much of the interior has been recreated with replica and period pieces. Once decommissioned, it became a birdhouse, with feathery residents moving in through broken windows until the restoration began, Helga Papay said.

Now it is a destination for residents and visitors alike, she said.

“It’s become really popular with people who have moved away,” Helga Papay said. “They come back and they’re, we were never able to come to the lighthouse, and now there are tours available.

“And then the people of course whose families are visiting, they’re only too thrilled to have some place to take their company, so it’s good,” she said.

Although no one lives there, the building has wear and tear from the weather. It also is a resting place for birds and bugs that sometimes leave a mess.

“And you can’t keep up with the windows, no matter how much we try. It’s just not going to be,” Helga Papay said.

The Mantini family experienced some of the bugs. At the topmost deck, tiny winged creatures found shelter from the breeze in the lee side of the lighthouse lantern, but did not disrupt family photos with Lorain and Lake Erie as the backdrop.

By the time the tour ended, the “Pride of Lorain” had ferried out another group of visitors. Back at the marina, the third group of the day awaited their turn to embark.

“So we’re happy to see that people want to come out,” Mantini said.

Sitting far from shore, the lighthouse might seem like an ideal place for social distancing.

The foundation board members are following safety precautions due to coronavirus, and they ask for consideration by guests.

Anyone planning a visit must buy tickets in advance online. O’Connor had at least one potential passenger ask about walk-up tickets, but those are not available this season.

The boats will be limited to 10 passengers; that can increase to 12 if a group is made up of family members who may have close contact with each other.

The lighthouse volunteers also will sanitize hightouch areas of the lighthouse between visits.

Masks are encouraged. On shore, O’Connor had for sale Lorain Lighthouse themed face coverings created by Lorain fashion designer Jevon Terance.

RICHARD PAYERCHIN — THE MORNING JOURNAL Dean Mantini uses his hand to shield his eyes from the sun as his mother, Anna, lines up a group photo July 3 at the Lorain Lighthouse. The Lorain Lighthouse Foundation resumed summer tours to the lighthouse with precautions against the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Volunteer Helga Papay gestures as she discusses features of the Lorain Lighthouse on a tour with the Mantini family.

Natalie Mantini points as her grandmother, Gloria Mantini, lines up a group photo.

PHOTOS BY RICHARD PAYERCHIN — THE MORNING JOURNAL Another group of visitors begins a tour July 3 at the Lorain Lighthouse. The Lorain Lighthouse Foundation has resumed summer tours to the lighthouse with precautions against the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Members of the Mantini family from left are Ron Mantini Jr., Ken Mantini, Natalie, Grady, Monica, Dean and Bellamaria. Tyler Mantini is among the group between Monica and Dean aboard the “Pride of Lorain.”