Tid-bits from the Tower

Restoration and Preservation

Michigan's Harbor Beach Lighthouse will be getting $383,000 worth of renovations thanks to the United States Coast Guard. A sheet metal apron will be driven around the foundation and stones 200 to 400 pounds each will be placed around the sheet metal to protect the foundation of the lighthouse. The brick crib will be repaired, repointed and painted red.

For years, the Plum Beach Lighthouse, in Rhode Island, has been at the center of a lawsuit with no government agency wanting to claim ownership. Now that the lawsuit has been settled, and the establishment of the fact that the lighthouse is indeed owned by the State of Rhode Island, it hoped that restoration efforts can take place. The Friends of Plum Beach Lighthouse figure that it will take at least $250,000 to restore the rust covered "spark plug" style lighthouse that sits just north of the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge. If you would like to donate to their cause you can contact them at P.O. Box 451, Portsmouth, RI 02871.

The folks at the new National Lighthouse Museum have been busy since the site selection committee picked Staten Island as the site for the new museum. Since last July they have become incorporated in the State of New York, put together a board of trustees, organized a local volunteer group, opened an office, secured $100,000 in operations money, started a membership drive, and produced some promotional materials like T-shirts, mugs, and magnets. The ferry terminal itself is being redesigned to make it a more comfortable and visitor friendly space. The City has begun the process of re-zoning the site and some emergency repairs have already begun on the historic buildings at the site. Long-term stabilization and reconstruction on the structures should begin later this year.

The West Quoddy Lighthouse Keepers and the Lubec Maine Historical Society have approved a partnership to work toward restoring and maintaining the lighthouse. West Quoddy Light, the eastern most lighthouse in the continental United States will be celebrating its 200th birthday in 2008.

How do you keep a lighthouse clean in this day and age of automation. At St. Simons Lighthouse in Georgia it's done with volunteers. Every Thursday, five volunteers, all members of the U.S. Coast Guard's Auxiliary Flotilla 10-10 drive to the lighthouse and then climb the 129 steps to the top of the 104-foot tower to clean the lens and windows.

American Steeple Corp. a Salem, Mass firm has been awarded a contract to restore Massachusetts Fort Pickering Lighthouse. The work will include iron work repairs, painting and lantern-glass replacement. All this will be no easy task since the lighthouse is surrounded by water. The restoration of the lighthouse is being paid for by the City of Salem.

It has now been determined that the fire in the keepers house at Maine's Dyce's Head Lighthouse started in the chimney. The resident caretakers said they didn't see much smoke but could hear the flames roaring behind a closet door next to the chimney. The next thing they saw were flames shooting through the roof. An investigation states that the fire was related to a faulty ash clean-out door in the chimney. A decision will be made on whether to attempt to restore and rebuild from what is left or tear down the remains. The extent of the fire might have been prevented if the town's 100 year old fire hydrants had worked properly. The caretakers lost most of their personal possessions in the fire. Fortunately the fire did not damage the tower itself, which had just undergone major restorations.

The South Haven Lighthouse and Keepers Quarters is being nominated for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Research done by students from Western Michigan University will be incorporated into the project.

Maine's Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, located on one of the most picturesque spots on the New England coast, looks like new again, thanks to a repainting project by the United States Coast Guard. The keepers quarters at the lighthouse, located in Bristol, Maine, houses an interesting and informative museum.

The Spring Point Museum in South Portland, Maine, now has a new name. The museum, located a stones throw from the beautiful Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse, will now be called the Portland Harbor Museum. The name change was to draw more attention the museum, allowing more tourists to find the museum on the internet.

After the fiasco at Maine Cape Elizabeth Two Lights, the town of Cape Elizabeth is considering a new preservation law to protect historic properties from being altered or torn down. Hopefully they will, and even more importantly, more towns and communities around the country will follow. A historic lighthouse property should never ever again be allowed to be torn down.

The Delaware Bay Lighthouse Keepers Association is an organization interested in the preservation of Delaware Bay lighthouses and their history. Former keepers, their friends and families, former Coast Guardsmen and all lighthouse enthusiasts are welcome to join. Dies are $10 single and $20 family. Checks can be made payable to DBLHK, c/o Carole Reily, 279 Mayflower Dr., Buena, NJ 08310. They even have a Delaware Bay lighthouse T-shirt available for $12 plus $3.20 shipping. You can call Carole at 609-697-3260 or email at DBLHKeepers@aol.com

An investment group has purchased 10 acres of property on the Rockland, Maine waterfront to develop an upscale hotel, conference center, marina, shopping mall and museums. It is expected that one of the museums will be the Shore Village Museum which currently houses one of the largest collections of lighthouse lenses and artifacts in the world. We hope this comes about since the museum's collection is currently crammed into a small building. This wonderful priceless collection deserves a first class location with more space and would surely be a Maine tourist destination.

Birthday Greetings

A Big Happy Birthday to one of our favorite lighthouse people, Louis S. Bauchan of Cheboygan, Michigan. Louis, who turned 87, this past March is one of the last of the surviving Keepers of the old United States Lighthouse Service which was dissolved back in 1939. You may recall the story we did on him a couple of years back. If you attend this years Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival in Alpena, Michigan, you will most likely run into him. Or stop by the Lighthouse Depot/Digest booth and I'll find him and introduce you to him.

Volunteers

There are lots of them at lighthouses around the country. Send us a story and photograph of someone you think should receive an award in volunteerism associated with a lighthouse. If we pick them out for a new monthly volunteer feature in Lighthouse Digest, not only will there be a story about them, but they will get an award that they can proudly display for years to come.

In the News

The May 1999 issue of Our State magazine, a magazine devoted to North Carolina did a fantastic 15 page story on the lighthouses of North Carolina. One article was written by our good friend Cheryl Shelton Roberts of the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society. The feature story titled Guiding Lights is packed with beautiful color photos and lots of good stories. For a copy, send $5.00 to Our State, Down Home in North Carolina, P.O. Box 4552, Greensboro, NC 27404. Be sure to tell them you want the May 1999 issue.

The April 1999 issue of Down East Magazine did a nice story with color photos about Lighthouse Depot. We don't know what their policy is, but I'm sure for $5.00 they would be happy to send you a copy of the April issue. Send your request to Circulation Director, Down East Magazine, P.O. Box 679, Camden, Maine 04843.

Become a reporter for Lighthouse Digest! We need your help in keeping up with all the lighthouse happenings around the country. We are constantly looking for photographs of lighthouse meetings, gatherings, restorations, paintings, basically just about anything and everything about lighthouses. You don't even have to be an expert photographer or writer. Send us your photographs, and notes and we will make it into a story, (please print or type) and please do not write on the backs of photos, use a sticker or separate sheet of paper for photo captions. Many times all we need is a photo and a caption to go with it. We can't use everything sent to us, but we can use a large portion of it. Get your group, your favorite lighthouse, your meeting and your name in Lighthouse Digest. Write to us, we want to hear from you!

Michigan's Big Sable Lighthouse now has its own radio station. All the equipment for the station, which should be in full operation by late summer was donated. The station will broadcast information on the lighthouse as well as other local happenings around the local area.

Part of one of the episodes of the TV show Providence was filmed at Rhode Island's Goat Island Lighthouse. The scene involves the shows lead actress, Melina Kanakaredes in a dream segment on the catwalk of the lighthouse.

Shop Talk

Lost Lighthouses, Stories and Images of America's Vanished Lighthouses is the title of a new book due out this November from Globe Pequot Press. The book is co-authored by Tim Harrison of Lighthouse Digest, and Ray Jones who has co-authored 11 other popular lighthouses books. Advance orders of copies of Lost Lighthouses ordered from Lighthouse Depot will be autographed by both authors. The book is available as item #31853 for $15.95 plus $4.95 postage. Advance orders for the book are now being taken by calling 1-800-758-1444. Or mail to Lighthouse Depot, P.O. Box 427, Wells, Maine 04090.

Warning - Buyer Beware - Recently there have been a number of items up for auction on the ever popular Internet auction house EBay. Many of these items were authentic historic memorabilia from the old United States Lighthouse Service and drew a hefty price. We really wanted all of them for display at Lighthouse Depot's "coming soon" museum room. For the most part, we did not win the bidding war. However, if you're bidding, be careful that the item you are bidding for is authentic. We recently saw a badge that was touted as being an authentic USLHS badge, when in fact we knew it was a replica.

If you want to learn more about the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse there is a great video out about the history of America's tallest beacon. Produced by Kevin Duffus, it is available from Lighthouse Depot as item #96567 for $24.95 plus shipping, by calling 1-800-758-1444.

Tours

Ohio's Marblehead Lighthouse is now open for tours (weather permitting) from June 1 through September 3rd from 1pm to 5pm daily. If you're going to be in Ohio this summer, a stop at this lighthouse is well worth it.

Speaking of Maine, an excellent museum is housed in the Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde. The museum is open daily, from 1pm to 5pm , throughout the summer. A visit is well worth it, one you will cherish for years.

Don't forget the annual meeting of the Friends of Maine's Seguin Island Lighthouse to be held Saturday, July 31 at the Popham Chapel in Popham, Maine. This is an ever popular event that grows bigger and bigger each year. Starting at 4pm will be the annual meeting followed at 5:30 by the barbecue. Cost is $5.00 per person. Contributions of salads and desserts are welcome. Tickets may be purchased through the Friends of Seguin Island Lighthouse at P.O. Box 866, Bath, Maine 04530 or by calling Anne Webster Wallace at 207-371-2508.

A German tour boat will make a stop this year at Marquette, Michigan. City officials will welcome the visitors with open arms and give them a walking tour of the city which will include a stop at the Maritime Museum and of course the Marquette Lighthouse.

Potpourri

It looks like the State of Michigan is on its way to getting a lighthouse license plate. State Rep. Scott Shackleton has requested a new speciality plate featuring a lighthouse. Funds from the plate would go to help and preserve the state's 116 historic lighthouses. If Michigan should get a lighthouse license plate it would join such other states as North Carolina, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia, New York, and Connecticut.

Speaking of lighthouse license plates, we would love to have some to display at the Lighthouse Depot store in Wells, Maine. If you have an expired lighthouse license plate from any state, or can get us a sample one, please let's hear from you. We will be happy to display as many of the plates as possible. Wouldn't it be neat to see your lighthouse license plate on display at the World's Largest Lighthouse Gift Store?

We are looking for a copy of the book, "Where the Land Finishing Begins the Sea - A History of Portuguse Lighthouses." We have literally been looking everywhere for this book. If any of our readers can help us, please write to Editor, "Lighthouse Digest, P.O. Box 1690, Wells, Maine 04090 or email -Timh@lhdigest.com

Another state has missed the light. North Carolina has picked the Wright Brothers to adorn the reverse of the new States Quarter in which each state will be allowed to pick what it wants on the reverse of its 25 cent piece. The quarters will be released in the order in which each state joined the union. North Carolina's Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was seriously considered but lost out to the Wright Brothers who made the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, NC. The 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers historic flight will be in December of 2003 and the coin will be released in 2001. Will at least one state have a lighthouse 25 cent piece? At this point it looks doubtful.

We are in need of lighthouse patches for display. If your police, fire, rescue, Coast Guard or any other unit has a lighthouse patch, send it to us and we will make sure its gets on display at the Lighthouse Depot store in Wells, Maine. Think about it, people from all over the country will see the lighthouse patch from your area on display here!

Internet Information

Keeping up with the move of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is easy if you have access to the Internet. The National Park Service has a special section on the move by going to www.nps.gov/caha and then go to the main page and follow the links. From there you can also connect to the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society's page and their detailed information on the move. Obviously, you can also visit the Lighthouse Digest site at LighthouseDigest.com or LHDigest.com.

This story appeared in the June 1999 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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