Slide Presentations - Crestwood Creek Images
By Ken & Barb Wardius

Authors Ken and Barb Wardius offer several lighthouse lectures that highlight many of Wisconsin's historical beacons. Normal length runs about 45 minutes. Many stunning images, in a combination of lecture, story telling and music are the highlights of our programs. We narrate these original shows live and welcome questions and comments following the presentation. Programs can also be specifically tailored to your individual group if desired.

 The “Wisconsin Lighthouses” show covers nearly 1/3 of the lighthouses in the state, including Wisconsin Point Light in Superior , the Apostle Island’s Sand Island and Michigan Island Lights, Cana Island Lighthouse in Door County , Rockwell Lighthouse on Lake Winnebago, Rawley Point near Two Rivers , Old Port Washington , Wind Point in Racine and several more. This is our most popular program.

 “Cana Island Lighthouse” features Door County, Wisconsin’s most picturesque lighthouse. The Cana Island lighthouse has illuminated the Lake Michigan shoreline of Door County for over a century. The program emphasizes the keepers that called this lighthouse home, as well as aspects of daily life at the light station that changed over the years including the introduction of electricity, automobiles and the telephone to Cana Island.

“Wind Point Lighthouse”. This program spotlights Racine, Wisconsin’s most familiar maritime attraction. One of Wisconsin’s tallest and oldest lighthouses, the Wind Point presentation highlights the many dedicated people who faithfully tended this beacon and booming foghorn. Day to day activities included cleaning the Fresnel lens, hauling coal, as well as being vigilant for storms and shipwrecks. Today, the Friends of Wind Point educate the public about the lighthouse’s history and the necessity to preserve it for the future.

All of our lighthouse programs are perfect for anyone interested in lighthouses, maritime history or simply breathtaking and historic photography.

We also offer an interactive elementary/middle school program which is geared to children of ages 6 to 12. Subject matter relates to geography, history, writing and composition. The program is 30 minutes in length. Time is allowed for questions and answers at the end of the program. The presentation involves the young people with frequent participation from the students as they answer such questions as: Why were lighthouses built? What are the different parts of a lighthouse? What was life like for parents and children who lived at lighthouses?

Color images are interspersed throughout the program to illustrate each point. We discuss transportation of goods on the Great Lakes, different kinds and styles of lighthouses and the steps involved in writing our books. We also have fun with lighthouse trivia: the shortest, tallest, oldest, newest lights in Wisconsin. We remind the pupils that the modern comforts of today didn't exist over a century ago. Students are also shown examples of how to take good photographs.

Please contact us for our very reasonable fees and further details about our presentations.