When people think of lighthouse keepers, they think of the persons that light and maintain the beacons in the tall lighthouse along the coasts and rivers. They had only one light to maintain, and keep working. However, there where other lights that that the lighthouse keepers maintained. The channel lights of the St Mary"s River were numerous. The St. Mary"s River is 77 miles long from Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior, through the Sault Ste Marie Lock System, to its end at Detour Reef in Lake Huron. Most of the channels were mane made, with no designated traffic lanes to separate the ship traffic. The river channels are dredged to 28 feet deep, and are about 300 feet wide in most places. This is the story about those lighthouse keepers. The one"s that maintained the range and buoy lights in the Great Lakes. In particular, about the life of Chief Quartermaster Hugh Cook. About the life of living in a lighthouse, and the everyday chores, and raising a family at the same time.