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Ken Black, Maine's own Mr. Lighthouse, was recently awarded the distinguished F. Ross Holland Award. The award was established by the American Lighthouse Coordinating Committee (ALCC) to recognize truly exceptional contributions by an individual or group for their efforts in lighthouse preservation. The presentation of the award took place on October 27, 2004 at the 7th National Maritime Heritage Conference in Norfolk, Virginia. However, Ken's demanding schedule precluded him from attending. Anne Webster, Vice President of the ALCC, President of the Friends of Seguin Island and a long-time friend of Ken's accepted the Holland award on his behalf.
The award was presented by Mike Vogel, President of the ALCC, who noted that Ken's collection efforts of historic lighthouse artifacts "was of critical importance to lighthouse preservation. It came at a time when the Coast Guard was launching its automation initiatives, and much of the traditional equipment in lighthouses was being scrapped during the conversion. Ken offered an alternative to the scrapping and saved some 570 artifacts, some of them critically important to the understanding of lighthouse history. The value of that simply cannot be overstated. The debt owed by lighthouse historians to Ken Black is enormous."
These artifacts became the basis of what was the Shore Village Museum, which was unofficially known as "America's Lighthouse Museum" and a prime Rockland attraction. This year, the museum begins its move to new and better quarters on Rockland's waterfront as the newly renamed Maine's Lighthouse Museum.
While developing his museum, Ken also supported the preservation movement at large through the writing and distribution of an early and informative newsletter. He also served on the steering committee for the National Lighthouse Museum, served as the technical advisor for the Selection Committee of the Maine Lights Program initiated by the Rockland-based Island Institute and is the honorary chairman of the American Lighthouse Foundation. Adding to his many other awards, Ken was recently honored with the U. S. Coast Guard Public Service Commendation for lifetime achievement.
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