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On Friday Oct 20, 2006, nine hearty volunteer members from New England Lighthouse Lovers (NELL), a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation, met up with Jim Walker, Chairman of the Cape Cod Chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation at the Race Point Ranger Station by Cape Cod’s small airport and were transported to the isolated, but now restored Race Point Lighthouse. Upon arrival at Race Point Lighthouse NELL members Lynne and Bob Kerber, Hilari Seery, Linda Speece, Ron Foster, Alan Ells, and I were treated to a delicious chili dinner with rice, cheese and a salad. For dessert we were served brownies and apple strudel. All this was prepared by NELL member and Chef Maureen Kitching, who was escorted to the light by another NELL member, and proud husband Reg Kitching.
These dedicated lighthouse lovers, along with Bob Trapani, Jr., Executive Director of ALF,
(to be picked up at the Ranger Station in the a.m.) had a mission to accomplish that weekend; to paint Long Point and Wood End Lighthouses.
Upon rising at 6 a.m. we were treated to a breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, real home fries (home made I’ll let you know), fruit, coffee, tea, milk, — the list goes on. Finally, the time we all were waiting for. We piled into the suburbans and after picking up Bob we all headed out to Long Point Light. The trip was more difficult than expected.
Putting the vehicles into low four-wheel drive and lowering the tire pressure (as recommended for driving over sand) we headed out and passed Wood End Light on our way to Long Point Lighthouse. That’s when we started sliding toward the ocean and sinking further and further into the sand. Stopping, we let more air out of the tires bringing the pressure down to about 11 pounds per tire. After Jim made sure all tires were at the same pressure we tried again and slowly but surely started making headway. Finally arriving at the windswept Long Point Lighthouse we all took the expected close-up photos and climbed the light.
After taking our “before” group picture we unloaded the “burbs” and started the daunting job of bringing the light back to life. With the over 40-mile an hour winds, we had to put the ladders up several times finally having to resort to
someone holding on to them as the wind kept blowing them over, causing one to strike a glancing blow to me and almost hitting Ron and Reg on the head. Lighthouse work can be dangerous. It was almost like the wind was saying “I’m not going to let you help this light to look good again.”
After several hours went by and the ladies having finished the trim on the oil house we took a break for a lunch of grilled hotdogs and hamburgers with cookies for dessert.
After lunch we continued our job with Hilari and Linda going topside to paint the exterior of the lantern room as Bob Trapani continued to lie down on the job. Actually, while lying on his stomach, he was painting the underside of the gallery, almost hanging upside down to complete the job. I asked him if I could help him and he said no…. I said a little prayer of thanks, because if he said yes I would have been in for it.
Alan, Bob & Lynn K and I continued on the light keeping a low profile painting the bottom half with Ron, Reg and Bob T taking the high road. They say timing is everything and we started running out of paint as the day was slowly coming to an end. We stopped work for the day to allow for clean up and our “after” group picture. We all piled into the “burbs” again and headed back driving over the sand bar, this time without incident.
We arrived back at Race Point Lighthouse just in time to see the sun disappear over the horizon, which did not allow us time to take any pictures of what was a beautiful sunset. That night, after climbing the beautiful Race Point Light, we feasted on roast pork loin, chicken teriyaki, roasted red potatoes, Julianne carrots, homemade apple sauce, gravy and a nice homemade “lighthouse cake.”
Some of us had to return home the next day but the rest of the volunteers finished up Long Point’s painting project. Unfortunately, time ran out and the lighthouse lovers couldn’t make it to Wood End Lighthouse, however, we are planning on returning next year to dress that one up.
Following are some personal observations. We all know that due to the remote location of most lighthouses some of the population, with little to do, like to see what they can damage or destroy. Long Point Lighthouse is not an exception. Try as they might, the Coast Guard cannot prevent this from happening, as we discovered when we arrived at Long Point. Vandals were able to break the protective covering of the solar panels, damaging several panels. We did find a nice size rock nearby that was more than likely used to cause that damage.
Vandals also used the lantern room for what looked like target practice. And this happened in a state with extremely restrictive gun laws.
Vandals aren’t the only problem these remote lights face. I never would have believed the amount of sand that is blown into and onto the lights in that type of environment, which now that I think about it, is most of them. Remember the wind was at a steady 40-mph that day. The sand was thick, even inside the base of the light and went up the exterior sides at least a foot in many areas, making it extremely difficult to remove for painting. Sand damage is something I never even gave a second thought to. But it happens and it adds to the “wear and tear” of our beacons.
Reflecting back, it is obvious that a small group of people can make a BIG difference. Just look at the before and after pictures if you need any proof. Yes, it was tough work and many aches and pains sprouted up, but they worked themselves out and were gone in a few days. It was a great weekend with a lot of fun, especially the camaraderie, plus something very worthwhile was accomplished.
It is important to remember, if we don’t do something to help our lighthouses they too, unfortunately, will disappear, just like those aches and pains we got trying to help preserve them.
This story appeared in the
December 2006 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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