City Accepts Lighthouse Painting
By Eric Fish

City Clerk Karen Lennard displays the painting of Round Island Lighthouse that was given to Mackinac Island from the city of Eustis, Florida. The painting was completed by Pearl McLain in 1974, although mystery surrounds how it wound up in the Eustis City Hall. City officials plan to hang the painting somewhere in the Stuart House museum.

At a Wednesday, June 20, meeting, the Mackinac Island City Council accepted from the city of Eustis, Florida. a painting of Round Island Lighthouse and a photo album of Islandrelated images dating to the 1970s.

Eustis, in the central part of Florida, north of Orlando, covers 11.4 square miles and has a population of 16,884. Executive assistant to the city manager and public affairs officer Richard Hoon discovered the items during recent renovations to the City Hall.

"We sincerely hope they will provide valuable insight into your City's history," Mr. Hoon wrote in a letter to Mackinac Island.

The city plans to hang the painting somewhere in the Stuart House museum, but there is an aura of mystery surrounding the objects.

Eustis officials don't know how the items came into their possession, or the artist, Pearl McLain. The lighthouse painting was signed in 1974 and was found with a newspaper clipping from The Rocky Mountain News of Colorado about preserving the Round Island Lighthouse.

"I tried my darndest to do some investigating, but a lot of time has passed since 1974," Mr. Hoon said. "It's got to come somewhere from somebody."

He could not find any information about the artist.

"What we assume is it might have belonged to a snowbird," he said, referring to winter residents from the north. "It might have belonged to a snowbird who may have passed away and this stuff was given to the city to return to somewhere."

So Eustis offered it to Mackinac Island.

"I just knew that I couldn't have it sitting here," Mr. Hoon said.

Round Island Lighthouse was placed into service in 1896. It was abandoned in 1947 and is currently owned and maintained by the Hiawatha National Forest. Asevere storm in 1972 washed away some it its foundation, but citizens worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to have the structure listed as a National Historic Landmark, paving the way for restoration.

City Clerk Karen Lennard sent a thank you letter to the city of Eustis and plans to personally send some Mackinac Island fudge.