Digest>Archives> Sep/Oct 2016

Keeper's Korner

Tidbits and Editorial Comments From The Tower

By Timothy Harrison

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Painter Honored

The Board of Trustees of New Jersey’s Hereford Inlet Lighthouse recently honored Ed Peace of Painting by Peace with a plaque for his work in painting the entire lighthouse for free, as a donation. Ed Peace provided all the labor for free, and paint was donated by Pittsburg Paint through a local store, Soltz Paint and Decorating Center.

Fundraiser for Huntington

A fund raiser held this past June that was hosted by the John W. Engeman Theatre in North Port, New York raised $45,000 for the 1912 Huntington Harbor Lighthouse in Huntington Harbor, Long Island Sound, New York. The check was presented to Pamela Setchell and Valerie Whyte of the Huntington Harbor Lighthouse Preservation Society.

Stonington Expansion Rejected

After three nights of public hearings this past June, the Borough of Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission rejected for a third time the proposed expansion of the museum at the 1840 Stonington Harbor Lighthouse in Stonington, Connecticut. There were a number of continued concerns, including neighbors who were concerned about the possibility of increased traffic. The lighthouse has been operated by the Stonington Historical Society since 1925 when the lighthouse was discontinued and was replaced by a lighthouse built at the end of a nearby breakwater. (1975 photo by Dick Clayton.)

Artifacts at Sandy Hook

Items believed to be from the time of the Revolutionary War were recently found near the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey, which is the oldest standing tower in the United States. Archaeologists have found musket balls, tobacco pipes, uniform buttons, and even the foundation walls for a former light keeper’s house.

Exhibits at Fond du Lac

For the first time in its history, the Fond du Lac Lighthouse on Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin now has exhibit displays that provide a history of the lighthouse. The new displays are on the interior decks of the 1933 structure.

Added to the Endangered List

It took the Canadian government long enough, but Canada’s National Trust has finally listed the 1858 Nottawasaga Lighthouse in Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay as one of Top Ten Endangered Places in Canada. Coincendently and about the same time, Elaine Turnbul, now a resident of Collingwood, Ontario, Canada, made a $10,000 donation in her and her late husband Chuck’s name to the Nottawasaga Lighthouse Preservation Society toward its fund raising goal of $1.25 million to restore the historic lighthouse.

Straitsmouth More Accessible

The members of the Thacher Island Association are working hard to make the Straitsmouth Island Lighthouse more accessible. They recently moved a Kubota out to the island to help with that project. The group has already saved the dilapidated old keeper’s house just before it was about to be lost forever.

F. Ross Hollard Award Recipients

The American Lighthouse Council (ALC) has announced that Lee Radzak, site manager for Minnesota’s Split Rock Lighthouse, and Donald Terras, the cultural resources manager for the Grosse Point Lighthouse in Illinois, have been awarded the prestigious Francis Ross Holland Jr. Award for 2016. The distinguished service award was established by the ALC to recognize truly exceptional contributions by an individual or group in the lighthouse preservation community. The award was named for the late lighthouse historian F. Ross Holland who was the first recipient of the award.

Lou Kellenberger

We are saddened to report on the passing of our good friend Lou Kellenberger, 78, who was a long-time contributor and supporter of Lighthouse Digest.

Lou Kellenberger was an avid preservationist whose nature and outdoor photographs have appeared in countless magazines, brochures, and reports. As well as being a member of the Florida Lighthouse Association, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Wildlife Federation, and had also served on the board of Friends of Florida State Parks, the Friends of Maclay Gardens, the Friends of Wakulla Springs, and the St. Marks Refuge Association.

We will always have fond memories of he and his wife Betsy’s visits with us here in Maine and for his sharing of so many of his great photographs with us as well as with others. Lou Kellenberger was genuinely liked by all who met him, and he devoted much of his time trying to preserve through his photographs the scenes of the wildlife and the backroads of areas that many people otherwise would not have seen.

Twillingate Vandalized

Several windows were shot out at Newfoundland Canada’s picturesque Twillingate Lighthouse. The lighthouse, located on Newfoundland’s northeast coast, is also known as Long Point Lighthouse.

Janet Head Closed

The Canadian government closed the Janet Head Lighthouse to the public this past summer because of safety concerns such as outdate electrical wiring. Also known by many as the Gore Bay Lighthouse, the 1879 structure has been leased to a local family for many years who have operated a gift shop in the lighthouse. Over the years many people thought that the lighthouse was owned by the local municipality, but as they found out, such was not the case.

Lightning Strikes Lighthouse

New Jersey’s Cape May Lighthouse was struck by lightning this past June 21st. The strike burned out the motor that turns the two beacons in the lantern. The Coast Guard installed a temporary light until new parts could be delivered.

Money for Stepping Stones

The Stepping Stones Lighthouse near Kings Point, New York will be receiving $100,000 in state funds through the Great Neck Point Park District toward the rehabilitation of the 1877 lighthouses that sits in western Long Island Sound. The money will be used primarily to construct a dock to allow easy access to the lighthouse for restoration. The lighthouse is now accessible only at high tide.

Relics Found at Halfway Rock

While restoring Maine’s Halfway Rock Lighthouse, the work crew of Ford Reiche, the new owner of the lighthouse, found the signatures of lighthouse keepers William Clark and Arthur Strout written on a wall behind where a refrigerator was installed in 1937. Also found was an empty Cobbs Creek whisky bottle that had been signed by both of the keepers and had apparently been used to bring in the New Year in 1938.

Fire

A fire started by lightning caused 26-acres of forest to be burned on the uninhabited 200-acre Poverty Island in northern Lake Michigan, which is home to the abandoned and highly endangered Poverty Island Lighthouse. The Bureau of Indian Affairs said fire fighters were dispatched to the island to protect the lighthouse. Sadly, there is not much left of the light station to protect.

This story appeared in the Sep/Oct 2016 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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