Apostle Islands Folklore and “Fake”-lore

Is it true there was a ghost in that lighthouse? And what’s the deal with those pirates I’ve heard about? Didn’t someone bury a treasure on one of the islands? Was that the Hermit Island hermit, or was he just a legend? And what about that mansion that the rich guy built for his wife? And the lighthouse keeper who picked the pockets of the drowned sailors from some shipwreck?” There are all sorts of stories about Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands. Historian Bob Mackreth examines some of the best-known tales, in the Bayfield Heritage Association’s John Matthew Black Program Series, to see which ones are based on fact, and which are myths that need to be busted.