Manistee Harbor Lighthouse: Pages from the Past

March 19, 1888 -Today at 3:30 p.m. two ladies came to call on Mrs. Roberts and when getting into the boat one of them fell overboard and tipped the boat over and they both got nicely wet. Captain Finch of the station, with the help of his wife and Mrs. Roberts got them out safely. It was blowing a gale from the Southeast and Mrs. Johnson hung on to the boat for about 20 minutes and floated near the mouth of the harbor before we could catch her with another boat. Nothing but clear grit saved her life. There were large pieces of ice floating in the vicinity at the time and they came close to pushing her off. Many men would have given up or drowned. When we got her out  he could not stand.