For more information:
May Klisch, Operations Manager 414.332.6754/915.0322 (mobile)
Julie Henszey, nextstepgoals.com 414.305.3113 (mobile)
Dauntless Female Lighthouse Keeper Inspires
Timely Women’s Workshops
Milwaukee, January 2014 – At a new workshop series, women leading “compressed” or overcommitted lives can find inspiration in the struggles and tenacity of Georgia Stebbins,
Milwaukee’s only female lighthouse keeper, of North Point Lighthouse. Stebbins overcame all
manner of odds to keep the lighthouse going for more than 33 years from the 1870’s through 1907.
Under the auspices of The Georgia Circle, the 2014 “Light Your Path” workshop series carves
out time for women to explore strategies to surmount challenges and chart a more vital and
fulfilling life course. Local entrepreneur Nan Gardetto, a supporter of North Point Lighthouse,
sponsored the inaugural 2013 “Strong Woman’s Retreat,” marking the launch of both the Georgia
Circle and women’s programming at the lighthouse.
This year’s workshops are held from March through October and include:
(1) March 1 -- Stir the Pot: Fulfilling Relationships. Strategies to renew and infuse
relationships with new ingredients to keep them fresh and rewarding.
(2) May 3 – Plant the Seeds: Goals & Gumption. Ideas and motivation to get going and
growing again, instead of settling for status quo.
(3) July 12 – Stop Flexing Your Strengths. How to avoid overusing certain strengths and
identify under-utilized strengths to refuel one’s life.
(4) Oct 4 -- Let Your Thoughts Become Great Things. Letting the power of thought and
imagination propel ideas into motion.
“Seats” are also available at two virtual community tables to connect with women unable to
attend the workshops or who seek sustained support. Community members gather together in
short weekly conference calls to explore powerful strategies to take the wheel and steer more
actively in their lives.
Leading these workshops is Julie Henszey, ACC, (www.nextstepgoals.com) a life coach for
women navigating change. She is Harvard-trained in leadership and certified through the
International Coach Federation. One of her own accomplishments is going to Africa alone to climb
its highest mountain, Mt Kilimanjaro.
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2650 N. Wahl Avenue ▪ Milwaukee, WI 53211 ▪ (414) 332-6754 ▪ keeper@northpointlighthouse.org ▪ www.northpointlighthouse.org
“Preserving Milwaukee’s Light For Future Generations ”
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“Light Your Path” Lighthouse Workshops
Each workshop is held on a Saturday from 10 am to noon at the North Point Lighthouse, 2650 N.
Wahl Avenue in the midst of historic Lake Park on Milwaukee’s East Side. The fee for each
workshop is $30, except for July 12th, at $40. Incentives for early registration (by February 14) for
all four workshops are a discounted fee of $110 and a signed copy of Henszey’s book. Attendance
is limited to 25 participants per workshop.
A three-month virtual community membership is available for $90 and includes six discussions.
Three series will run in 2014, starting in March, June, and September. Seating is limited to 10
participants per series.
Georgia’s Story
Georgia Stebbins was a young woman dying of consumption (tuberculosis) in New York in the
1870’s. Following her physician’s advice to live out the “rest of her days” in a place with fresh air,
she journeyed to Milwaukee to where her father was appointed keeper of the original North Point
Lighthouse on the shores of Lake Michigan. Finding her parents both ill, she tended the light in
their stead, and when her health improved from fresh lake air and exercise, she returned to New
York to fetch her husband, Lemuel Stebbins. Upon returning to the lighthouse, she would over
time become its keeper while her husband was a jeweler who spent most of his weekdays and
weeknights in Milwaukee. Though told by her physician she could not have children, she bore a
son who went on to become an accomplished attorney in Milwaukee. In the 1880’s the bluff of the
lighthouse began falling away, prompting the building of the current lighthouse and keeper’s
quarters at 2650 N. Wahl Avenue. Georgia was left to tend the lighthouse and tend to the building
crew who had to be boarded at the lighthouse during construction. She also had to be tour guide
during the day for visitors. In her tenure, she rescued several men from the treacherous lake. In
her 33 years of service, she never left the lighthouse overnight; climbed the tower 63,800 times
and never once slept through from dusk to dawn. When she died in July 1921, she was two weeks
shy of when women were allowed to vote.
Lighthouse Information
The North Point Lighthouse built in 1888 at its location at 2650 N. Wahl Avenue within Lake Park is
a historic, maritime "treasure." It was restored to its early 20th century charm as a museum and
gallery by the North Point Lighthouse Friends, Inc. and rededicated in 2007. The North Point Light
Station consists of a 74-foot lighthouse tower and two and a half story wood-frame Keeper's
Quarters. It is an integral part of Lake Park and is located on a two-acre semi-wooded parcel in the
heart of the park. This iconic structure played an important role in the region's maritime trade and
economic growth for more than 120 years, where it remained in use until being decommissioned in
1994. Visitors are invited to enjoy the museum and climb the tower during public hours on
Saturdays and Sundays from 1-4 p.m. Admission fees are $5 per person over 12 years of age,
and $3 for those 5-11 years old, and free under 5 years. Children must be 5 years old and over 38
inches tall to climb the tower. The lighthouse is also available for private events on a case-by-case
basis. Tel: 414.332.6754 www.northpointlighthouse.org
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