Preservation News

The folks at Crisp Point Historical Society have done a wonderful job of saving Crisp Point Lighthouse. Without their involvement, I can assure you that this lighthouse would have toppled over into Lake Superior. They had some major help from Mr. Spencer Murfey Jr., with a donation of $16,000, and lots of financial help from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe and the Bay Bills Indian Community, but they still have lots of bills to pay and desperately need cash. They have some really neat T-Shirts available for $15.00 in sizes S-XL and for size XXL-$17.50 and size XXXL for $19.50. Specify gray, white, navy or red. Please add $3.00 for shipping. Your purchase of these shirts will help save the lighthouse. Membership in their organization is $20, individual; or $30, family. Send to Crisp Point Light Historical Society, P.O. Box 229, Paradise, MI 49768. Crisp Point is still on our endangered list of lighthouses.

It seems like the public officials in St. Joseph, Michigan have lost sight of what an important landmark they have in their lighthouses. At nearly the same time, state officials have announced Michigan's new lighthouse campaign, the officials in St. Joseph have decided to build a 30 foot weather tower by the lighthouse. Although the tower itself is a worthwhile project, we don't think the city fathers have realized that they are destroying the visual and photographic aspect of their lighthouses, which only a short time back were chosen to be on a United States postage stamp. We hope they come to their senses and build the tower elsewhere. Write to the Mayor of St. Joseph Michigan and let him know your feelings.

The restored Race Point Light in Provincetown, Massachusetts is now open for over-night stays until Sept. 30th. If you would like to spend the night at a remote lighthouse contact Leo Bedard at 25 Shaker House Rd, Sandwich, MA 02563 or call him at 508-888-9784.

Patricia Blakeslee & Mark Eisel from Jacksonville, FL are the summer caretakers for Seguin Island Light in Maine. Mark has taught at the Outward Bound School, is an EMT, and a cabinetmaker. Pat is a Family Therapist at the Mayport Naval Air Station. They were married on Resurrection Bay in Alaska and have canoed the Everglades of Florida. Wow! If you are interested in being a caretaker for the 1999 summer season write with your qualifications to Friends of Seguin Island, P.O. Box 866, Bath, Maine 04530.

Don't forget, we are still compiling our list of lighthouses no longer standing. But we haven't heard from very many of you. If you know of the names and locations of lighthouses that no longer exist, please write to us at: Editor, Lighthouse Digest, P.O. Box 1690, Wells, Maine 04090.

Maine Preservation, a private Maine nonprofit organization, has listed Maine's Little River Light Station on its endangered list of historic Maine properties. They listed the 1876 lighthouse because it was recently decommissioned by the United States Coast Guard and no one offered to take it over under the Maine Lights Program which found owners for 28 Maine lighthouses.

The Mt. Airy News of Mt Airy, NC wrote an editorial a few weeks ago that seems to sum up the Cape Hatteras issue. In the editorial they said, "While politicians preach about the need to save history and enhance tourism, they seem willing to sit back and let a priceless piece of American history be taken over by the sea while they argue over details." They went on to say referring to the money needed to move the lighthouse, " To most of us $10 million is a lot of money, but to big government this is a relative drop in the bucket when taking into account those ridiculous and sometimes corrupt, expenses that officials approve. Plus in appraising what stands to be lost, there are some elements that can't be measured in terms of dollars." They ended the editorial with, "Along with doing what's necessary to preserve irreplaceable facets of history, there is the moral obligation today's people owe to those of years to come who shouldn't be deprived of this beautiful, majestic lighthouse." We couldn't agree more and urge our readers to write their Congressional delegation in Washington to save this historic lighthouse.

Boy Scout Troop 323 from Freeland, Michigan has been honored for their efforts to restore the historic Round Island Light in the Straits of Mackinaw. They were awarded from the National Forestry Service the Volunteers Program National Award, the most prestigious award given by the service.

After much negotiating and diligent effort on behalf of a strong group of volunteers, the light at Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse on Lake Ontario is on again. The 1875 lighthouse, which was featured on a United States postage stamp, had been dark for the past forty years. To join the group responsible for this lighthouse or to learn more about it, contact The Friends of Thirty Mile Point, P.O. Box 20, Town of Somerset, New York 14012.

George Morgan, The Flying Santa of the Lighthouses, recently suffered a financial setback when one of his biggest fund raising cruises was cancelled at the last minute. Unfortunately, people had travelled from all over the U.S. to attend this cruise. We hope you will find it in your heart to send a check to George to help him keep alive the tradition of flying Christmas gifts to lighthouses throughout New England. Donations can be sent to: The Friends of the Flying Santa, P.O. Box 791, Hull, MA 02045-1634. You can also visit the Flying Santa's Web site at http://www.gis.net/~Santa

A special thanks to Sandy Adrion who continues to send us tons of newspaper clippings about lighthouse stories from around the United States. We encourage our readers to let us know what's going on and where. You are our eyes and ears around the world. Without your help, we might miss an interesting lighthouse story.

Shop Talk

Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs is the story of a dangerous mystery and a boy determined to solve it. After a sailing ship breaks up on the rocks off Washington's storm-tossed Cape Flattery, Nathan McAllister, the fourteen year old son of the lighthouse keeper, refuses to believe authorities, who say there were no survivors. Unexplained footprints in the sand, a theft at the trading post, and glimpses of a "hairy" man convince Nathan that someone is hiding in the remote caves along the coast. Alone in the forest, Nathan discovers a ghostly canoe and a skeleton that may unlock this mystery of ancient treasure, betrayal-and murder. Rated as "the best" by Barbara Rodden. For young adults, this soft coverbook is 195 pages. Available from Lighthouse Depot as item #91853 for $4.50 plus shipping by calling 1-800-758-1444.

To Safely Light Their Way by Kenneth Sutton Jones. This is a fascinating small book about Lighthouses and Maritime Aids of the World. Packed full of valuable information on lenses and lighting. The book was compiled with the assistance of Martin Boyle, Hans-Gunter Spitzer and Karl R. Spitzer. Available as item #91856 for $7.95 plus shipping from Lighthouse Depot by calling 1-800-758-1444.

Another new book is A Light In the Field by H.M. Scott Smith. This book has three separate sections, one on lighthouses, one on fishery buildings, and the third on barns and mills; all of Prince Edward Island. The lighthouse section, which is our main focus is worth the book. It includes numerous color photos as well as black and white along with historical information. The book is a heavy duty soft cover and is available as item #91857 for $16.95 from Lighthouse Depot by calling 1-800-758-1444.

No Port in a Storm by Bob MacAlindin is also now available. The book is a chain of true stories about the crews of lightships who spent their lives,sometimes literally, in some of the most treacherous waters of the world. Highly recommened by Lighthouse Digest. It is available from Lighthouse Depot as item #91855 for $22.50 by calling 1-800-758-1444.

Potpourri

The panel that is considering the design for New Jersey's new U.S. Mint-States Quarter has come up with its final choice, and the winner appears to be the famous scene of George Washington crossing the Delaware River. The two alternative choices are: a scene showing Washington on horseback, the state outline and Barnegat Lighthouse and the other design showing the lighthouse and the state motto, "Liberty and Prosperity." The coin will be issued next year as part of the series of 50 states coins to be issued over the next 10 years.

The July issue of Soundings Magazine's Waterfront Real Estate section has a beautiful color picture on the cover of Rhode Island's Nayatt Point Lighthouse which is still for sale. It is quite the place as is described in the inside story and as we mentioned a number of months back. The asking price of $1,275,000 is probably well worth it. If you are interested, call Hollie Delaney of Gustave J.S. White Realty in Newport, RI at 401-849-3000. If you do buy it, be sure you tell them you read about it in Lighthouse Digest and you expect them to make a donation to the American Lighthouse Foundation.

A recent article in the Salem Evening News of Salem, MA tells of how Tim Lacroix, a Marblehead native, proposed to Debi Somers of Syracuse, NY at the foot of the Marblehead Lighthouse. "It turned out to be the most romantic evening of my life," said Somers.

There is a new passenger ferry service leaving from Onset Harbor in Wareham, MA to Martha's Vineyard. This ferry passes the Cleveland Ledge Light, (within 400 yards or so). Also there is a distant but good view of Wing's Neck Lighthouse. For ferry schedule and advance reservations, which are recommended, you can call Sea Comm Transport at 1-888-335-1444. If you just want a picture and do not want to spend the day on Martha's Vineyard, we would recommend that you take the 6am ferry that returns at 7:40am.

Passages

Richard Velloza of Inverness, CA has passed away at the age of 97. Many years ago he was one of the men who built the road from Inverness to the Point Reyes Lighthouse.

Frank Fitch has passed away at the age of 84 in Arlington Acres, CT. Mr. Fitch joined the United States Lighthouse Service in Staten Island, NY serving as a seaman and quartermaster on the Lighthouse Tender Spruce and as second officer on the U.S. Lighthouse Service Tender Oak. When the U.S. Lighthouse Service was dissolved in 1939, he became a chief boatswain's mate, serving aboard the cutter Oak and later the Hickory. He was later a Lt. Junior Grade and finally an instructor at the Coast Guard Academy.

web-news.com

Samantha Paglioli of Italy is working on a CD-ROM about a photographic journey through Italian Lighthouses. A web page is being built as an introduction to the CD-Rom and the address is http://www.caraba.com/fari.htm. The text is both in English and Italian. We would encourage our readers to check it out.

There is a great new site on the Internet called The Science & Mathematics of Lighthouses, an educational resource honoring the design, history, and spirit or our nation's guiding beacons. I just had the opportunity to visit the site and was extremely impressed. If you have access to the World Wide Web, I would highly suggest a visit. The address is http://www.mccanntech.org/teachers/jeuchler/lighthouse/lighthouse.html

This story appeared in the August 1998 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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