Passing

Henry S. “Pete” Hoyt recently passed away. He was part owner of the Stage Harbor Lighthouse in Massachusetts. He was part of the “Greatest Generation” serving as a first lieutenant bomber pilot in WWII flying 35 missions over Germany. In his retirement he wrote a book called, “Looking Aft”, which portrayed the history of his great-grandfather Capt. Henry J. Sears of the American Clipper Ship era. Mr. Hoyt also assisted in the restoration of Race Point Lighthouse on Cape Cod.

St. Helena for sale

For those of you who saw on Ebay, (the on-line auction house), that St. Helena Island in Michigan was up for auction - don’t worry, the lighthouse is not part of the deal, even though the auction statement makes it appear that way. The lighthouse station is an island itself of about two acres on the very southeast tip of St. Helena and is owned by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association and is not included in the rest of the sale of the island. By the way, the reserve price on the island was $3 million.

Egmont Key CD released

Neil Hurley and Geoffrey Mohlman have just released Lighthouses of Egmont Key on CD-Rom. The CD-ROM has a broad appeal to anyone who has an interest in Florida lighthouses, as well as those interested in a local history of Egmont Key. The CD-ROM has an amazing 300 images, with nearly half of those in color. Each section of text is footnoted with the source of the information, making this by far the most informative and instructive publication about Egmont Key and its lighthouses in existence. It is available from Lighthouse Depot as Item #88413 for $16.95 plus shipping by calling 1-800-758-1444 or on the web at www.lighthousedepot.com

Trinity House Calendar

The Trinity House 2001 calendar featuring full color photographs of the work of Trinity House including lighthouses, ships and operations at sea is still available. For U. S. residents the calendar is $17.00 cash, or 11 pounds sterling money order, which includes postage and packing. Send your order to, The Corporation of Trinity House, Publications Officer, Trinity House, Tower Hill, London, EC3N 4DH, England.

Need Vintage photos

We are looking for vintage photographs, historical information, old newspaper stories, photographs of keepers and just about anything else on the St. Clair Ship Canal Lighthouses, Michigan; Squaw Point Light, Michigan; Kalamazoo Light, Michigan, Henderson Point Range Lights, NH, and Whitlock Mills Light, Maine. If any of our readers can help us please send information to Tim Harrison, Lighthouse Digest, P.O. Box 1690, Wells, Maine 04090.

Photo thanks

Thanks to James Carten of Quebec, Canada for sending us a number of vintage lighthouse photos. They will become part of our permanent archives.

Haunted Light released

Probably the lighthouse with the most ghost stories and hauntings in America is Maine’s Seguin Island Lighthouse. Finally, Harbour Lights has released a replica of this historic lighthouse built under orders from President George Washington. Limited to only 6500 pieces, this replica is sure to sell out fast. Another new replica just released by Harbour Lights is Maine’s popular Marshall Point Lighthouse, one of the prettiest spots on the Maine coast. If you saw and enjoyed the movie Forrest Gump you will vividly remember the lighthouse. Both replicas are available from Lighthouse Depot by calling 1-800-758-1444 or on the web site at www.LighthouseDepot.com

Memorial Service

On April 16th the Scituate Historical Society (MA) will be conducing a Memorial Wreath Laying at Minots Ledge Lighthouse in memory of the keepers who were killed there on the night of April 16-17 when the first Minots Ledge Lighthouse was destroyed. The boat, which will hold about 150 people, is being donated for the event. For more information you may contact Doug Bingham by email at dbingham@mediaone.net.

Where is Maine?

True purists gathered at West Quoddy Head Lighthouse State Park in Maine on New Year’s Day to watch the sun rise for the true beginning of the new millennium from the eastern most lighthouse on the mainland of the United States. Interestingly the Today Show showed the sunrise and the lighthouse on that morning’s broadcast. Host, Matt Lauer, said something to the effect of, “here’s the sun rise from the eastern most point on the continental United States, does anyone know where that is?” Co-host, Katie Curic said something about remembering vacationing there as a child so her guess was Maine. News-anchor said, “lighthouses? It’s gotta be Maine!” And then, Al Roker, one of the best known weathermen in the United States, who should really know what a map looks like, said something to the effect that they were all wrong, saying, “it’s definitely Florida.”

County gets Betsie

Benzie County, Michigan has been granted a one-year renewable license to take care of the picturesque and often photographed Point Betsie Lighthouse. The County has also applied for a $10,000 grant to be used for long range planning to decide what to do with the lighthouse. $10,000 just for a study?!!! Send me $10,000 and I’ll get $20,000 in restoration work done at a lighthouse.

New Ferry Service

Starting next year if you want a faster way to get to Nova Scotia Canada from Massachusetts to see Nova Scotia’s many lighthouses you’ll have any easy way to do it. A new high-speed ferry service will commence from Gloucester. MA to Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada, beginning May 1, 2002. The ferry, most likely to be built in Nova Scotia, will cost as much as $62 million and the ferry docks will only cost $400,000. The State of Massachusetts has agreed to cover any operating losses the ferry may incur during its first two years of operation. It could be a great asset to lighthouse tour groups.

Light Solarized

Maine’s Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse, which can easily be seen in the waters off Portland Head Light, is no longer powered by electricity. The conversation to solar power is part of the Coast Guards energy and cost saving program and will save $20,000 per year according to Coast Guard officials. The Coast Guard will also remove the 3-inch cable that powered the lighthouse from the ocean floor. With modern navigation equipment the lighthouse serves no real great purpose anymore, since most boaters now reply on buoys and the bigger lights closer to the main shipping channel.

Hatteras Move Poster Available

The Charlotte Observer Newspaper is again offering its popular poster of the move of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, titled A Monumental Rescue. This beautiful poster the depicts the move and shows how it was done is available for only $12.00 which includes postage. Mail payment to Observer Collectible Posters, P.O. Box 30294, Charlotte, NC 28230 or for credit card orders call 704-358-5912 or online at www.charlotte.com/classics.

This story appeared in the February 2001 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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