Joel Bissell | [email protected]
The sun sets over Lake Michigan as visitors to the Grand Haven south pier watch in 1999. (Ken Stevens/MLive.com files)
ET-3 Steve Bemben takes a break from drilling at Grand Haven State Park, as TT3 Kevin Mitchum takes over the task. TT2 Scott Osburn is pictured in the background. The crew was putting metal plates down to protect the cable from ice this coming winter. The cable supplies electricity to the lighthouse. Photo taken in 2004.
Muskegon Chronicle archive photo
Pier Repairs
The Grand Haven South Pier has guided sailors and seduced sunset-goers for over a century. In the next week, portions of the pier will begin to close as they begin the $2.1 million repair project.
Muskegon Chronicle archive photo
Hold on tight
Hanging out at the beach was a precarious feat Tuesday, October 15, 1986, as Chris Anderson, 18, left, and Dan Coulier, 19, both of Spring Lake, playfully dangled from the pier at Grand Haven State Park. A small craft advisory was in effect, cautioning people to stay off the piers and breakwaters, where the waves were forecasted to be 4 to 8 feet. (Muskegon Chronicle archive photo)
MLive file photo
Lighting up the night
12-16 foot waves batter the inner lighthouse on the north pier in Grand Haven, Mich. at 5:40 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015.
Muskegon Chronicle archive photo
Icy voyage
With crew on the bow and midship, the Acaia heads out of the channel at Grand Haven towards an icy Lake Michigan on March 3, 1981.
MLive.com file photo
Freeze from above
Lake Michigan ice as pictured from a plane over Grand Haven's pier Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015.
Photo courtesy of Mark Lucas
Don't slip, doe
I was out near the Grand Haven pier this morning and noticed this deer standing out on an ice chunk. The animal actually fell in a few times but was able to get out on another block and (I believe) made it back to shore on the far side. (Photo courtesy of Mark Lucas)
MLive.com file photo
Deep freeze
Ice encases the lighthouse at Grand Haven's South Pier on Sunday, January 11, 2015.
Muskegon Chronicle archive photo
Foggy morning
Two people walk through the fog on Grand Haven's south pier Wednesday, June 7, 2016.
Muskegon Chronicle archive photo
Waiting for a bite
Jack Nackay of Grand Haven fishes along the south pier in Grand Haven at sunrise onJuly 18, 1988.
Muskegon Chronicle archive photo
South Pier in 1975
Over a dozen fishermen line the south pier in Grand Haven on April 1, 1975.
Photo Courtesy of Johnny Quirin
Lake Michigan's view
The two channel lighthouses in Grand Haven that the conservancy hopes to take possession of in the next year so that they can be preserved for ever. Photo taken 9-26-09. (Photo Courtesy of Johnny Quirin)
MLive.com file photo
Rip current awareness
Vicki Cech, the mother of Andy Fox, is pictured on Grand Haven's south pier Aug. 9, 2013. Fox, 17, died after being caught in a Lake Michigan rip current at Grand Haven State Park Sept. 3, 2003. In the last decade, rip current awareness among the public has reached an all-time high. Water safety education in some local schools has become standard, thanks to efforts of Cech and others.
Joel Bissell | MLive.com
August sunsets
People begin to pack up their belongings at Grand Haven State Park as the sun sets over Lake Michigan on Tuesday August 23, 2016 in Grand Haven, Mich.
Muskegon Chronicle archive photo
Memorial Day
A crowd of people flood the beach at Grand Haven State Park on Memorial Day 2007 in Grand Haven, Mich.
MLive.com file photo
The channel
An aerial view of the Grand Haven lakeshore along Lake Michigan on Sunday, August 16, 2015.
MLive.com file photo
Catching waves
A surfer waits to jump off the South pier in Grand Haven, Mich. on Monday, August 24, 2015. The National Weather Service issued a beach hazard statement for Muskegon, Mason, Oceana, Ottawa, Allegan and Van Buren counties. The statement remains in effect until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25. According to the statement, waves of 5 to 9 feet "will pose a life threatening situation to anyone entering the water."
Muskegon Chronicle archive photo
Where the fish at?
Dozens of fishermen line the south pier in Grand Haven on July 27, 1985.
MLive.com file photo
Summer cool down
A teenager jumps off the south pier at Grand Haven State Park in Grand Haven, Mich. on Tuesday, July 28, 2015. Temperatures reached the low 90's on Tuesday along the lake shore.
Muskegon Chronicle archive photos
Repairs over the years
(left) Work began on installing lights on the catwalk at Grand haven State Park this week. John Spaans of Grand Rapids tightens a piece of pipe that will house wires used to power the 121 lights in the November of 1988. (right) Coast Guardsmen Charles King (at top) and Noe Robledo (painting) are part of the team repairing the lighthouse that has guided sailors and seduced sunset-goers at Grand Haven on Lake Michigan for many years. June 15, 1990.
MLive.com file photo
"The bubble"
Jay Davis from Pro-Tech Environmental Inc. of Grand Rapids works to close holes in plastic using duct tape at the enclosed inner lighthouse on the Grand Haven pier on July 12, 2013. Crews have been working on lead abatement and repainting. Work is expected to be completed in time for the U.S. Coast Guard Festival at the end of the month.
MLive.com file photo
Monster waves
12-16 foot waves batter the outer lighthouse on the north pier in Grand Haven, Mich. at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015.
Joel Bissell | MLive.com
Evening walks
People enjoy a beautiful summer Tuesday evening, August 23, 2016 along the South Pier in Grand Haven, Mich. days before the pier will close for nearly an entire year.
Muskegon Chronicle archive photo
Hand in hand 1966
Penny Cento and Dick Echele both of St Louis, Mo. hold hands as the walk along the south pier in Grand Haven on May 30, 1966.
MLive.com file photo
Hammock hangout
Will VanEck, 14, sits in a hammock on Grand Haven's south pier as ships arrive into the Grand River channel as part of the U.S. Coast Guard Festival on Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. Will, who lives in Rockford, said he liked watching the ships. "I'm kind of interested in the Coast Guard," he said.
Joel Bissell file photo
Great Lakes Kite Festival
Kites of all shapes and sizes fill the shoreline sky during the Great Lakes Kite Festival at Grand Haven State Park in Grand Haven, Mich., Sunday, May 17, 2015.
Muskegon Chronicle archive photo
Lightning strikes
Lightning strike over Lake Michigan at Grand Haven South Pier, year unknown.
MLive.com file photo
Winter's beauty
Lake Michigan waves crash near Grand Haven's south pier Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015.
Cory Morse | MLive.com
Coast Guard Festival
A crowd watches from Grand Haven's south pier as the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Morro Bay and Canadian Coast Guard Ship Constable Carriere arrive into the Grand River channel as part of the U.S. Coast Guard Festival on Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. (Cory Morse | MLive.com)
MLive.com file photo
Good evening, Grand Haven
People are silhouetted on Grand Haven's south pier as the sun sets Tuesday, June 28, 2011.