Lighthouse News

No Money To Paint Iconic Lighthouse (Updated)

One of Nova Scotia’s most visited lighthouses will be left without a paint job, even though it’s in desperate need of one. The land based lighthouse, easily accessible to hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, was denied the $25,000 from the Department of Fisheries funds to scrape and repaint its tower. The DFO is in agreement that the lighthouse needs some cosmetic work, but the stimulus money isn’t going to be used on it, preferring to reserve funding those lighthouse that are structurally unsound, which Peggys Cove is not.

“Some people see things that are, and ask ‘Why.’ My brother Bobbie saw things that were not there, and asked, ‘Why not?’” - Eulogy by Ted Kennedy for his brother.

In a time when the Coast Guards in the U.S. and Canada are trying to shed their unmanned lighthouses to save money, there is at least one man who saw something that was not there, but should be. The Honorable Ray Stortini, a retired Justice of the Superior Court of Justice in Algoma, Canada, has sought for several years to build a lighthouse. And he has finally succeeded. A new lighthouse, replacing the small navigational light sitting atop a warehouse, will be dedicated and lit on May 30, 2009.

City Manager Wants to Renegotiate Terms With NPS

Michigan is my home state. While others revile Detroit and the state, I still am proud to refer to myself as a Michigander. On the one hand, the state supports and cherishes their lighthouses. Emmett County even went so far as to buy a private lighthouse and return it to its original state and relight it. But on the other hand, there are certain clueless city managers that refuse and obstruct the transfer of one of the most historic lighthouses in the state to their care. That manager is Bruce Brown, City manager of Port Huron, Michigan, pictured at left. An article in the Port Huron Times Herald appeared today that completely shocked me. If my calling Brown clueless sounds harsh, it’s because I’m privy to certain knowledge about what has been going on behind the scenes. And there is absolutely NO excuse for Brown wanting to send back the deed for “further negotiation.” Let me explain…

Ready For Relighting May 30

McGulpin Point Lighthouse, dimmed and lost for 106 years, is one of the better lighthouse recovery stories of the year. Built in 1869, after a ten year wait, it shone only for a few years. The Old Mackinac Point Light and Fog Signal Station came along in 1892, and it was determined that McGulpin Point Lighthouse was no longer needed. It stayed lit for a few more years, until November 12, 1906, when the Keeper, James Davenport, extinguished the light for the last time. The lantern was removed and the house was put up for auction, becoming the private home of several families until 2008, when it was put on the market by its latest owners, the Pepplers.

By Dawn Alexander with Linda Hudson

When my cell phone rang in July of 2008 while I was working in my home office, I was suddenly reconnected with an island. The island was called Patos and this phone call would change my life in a most profound way. You see, when I was a small child I lived on Patos Island with my dad, who was a Coast Guard lighthouse keeper, my mother and my new baby brother. The call came from a friend who told me that he had found out about a new non-profit group, Keepers of the Patos Light, which had recently formed with the goal of preserving both the lighthouse and Patos Island. Memories came flooding back of idyllic childhood years spent on Patos Island, which is located in the far north of the San Juan Islands, off the northwest coast of Washington State.

Lighthouse Preservation Funded in 2009 Budget

What a week of controversy leading up to the passage of the 2009 Spending Bill, aka the 2009 Budget. Particularly when it came to Maine Lighthouses. Some Republicans, led by John McCain, made a big fuss about the so-called pork programs in the Spending Bill, that was up for a vote in both Houses last week. While President Obama has promised to eliminate “pork” from future spending bills, this one was crafted under the auspices of the old administration. It was ultimately passed, but not after McCain’s staff laid into one of them especially, the $380,000 promised to the American Lighthouse Foundation for renovations to three Maine lighthouses. these lighthouses are still owned by the Federal Government and haven’t been transferred. But the ALF has a lease for maintaining them.

Shipwreck Blamed on GPS Reliance

A report recently released by the Gibraltar Maritime Authority has once again proven to the world that navigation by Global Positioning Satellite alone can ruin your day. In mid-August, 2007, the lighthouse at Europa Point, in the Straits of Gibraltar, witnessed what could have been a tragedy when the Danish tanker Torm Gertrude, carrying 37,000 tons of gasoline, collided with the Panamanian flagged cargo ship New Flame, a bulker hauling scrap steel. The New Flame sustained major hull damage, leaving it half sunk in the straits. Her crew of 23 had to be removed from the vessel, and fortunately no one was injured. The photo at left shows the lighthouse and the New Flame as she lay with her bow submerged and resting on a reef.

Harsh Conditions No Deterrent to Group

The Persian Gulf is home to hundreds of lighthouses, most of which have been modernized. But what happened to those classic lenses and other Aids to Navigation (ATON)? Were they dumped over the side of the lighthouses, like so many US Fresnel lenses were tossed when the US Coast Guard took over? We’ll find out in this featured article from Steve Gronow of the Maritime Exchange Museum, as we go along with his group on a rescue mission to Bahrain. The Maritime Excahange Museum is located in Howell, Michigan, and is actively looking for large Lighthouse Fresnel Lenses and any related machinery including old fog signal equipment. See info at end of article.

Beacon Preservation Unable To Take Possession

Penfield Reef Lighthouse near Fairfield, Connecticut, is well known for being haunted by a past lighthouse keeper. But the haunting problem that is taking place right now is not being caused by “Ernie,” but by the State of Connecticut and the Town of Fairfield. Despite having been transferred to the non-profit Beacon Preservation in July, 2008, the directors of the organization have revealed the hindrances thrown in their way by the state, the town, and state Representative Thomas Drew, D-Fairfield. And with no response from the General Services Administration (GSA), there exists a very real possibility of Beacon Preservation spending time and money better meant for restoration and instead have this decided at the federal judicial level.

You Can’t Get There From Here

That’s a Maine saying, indicating that the road to somewhere is non-existent. And it applies to the offshore lighthouses, too. You’ve bought your lighthouse from the government, the money’s been paid, deeds have been issued, etc. You’re ready to start the restoration and make it into your summer home. Except your lighthouse is five miles offshore. Okay no problem, we’ve got a beautiful boat we can use to transport materials. Or we can hire that offshore construction company and their barge to transport materials. Well, maybe. There are a few more issues to deal with that you haven’t actually foreseen. Not the least of which is The Wait.