Lighthouse News

South Haven Lighthouse Covered With Graffiti

Following on yesterday’s story about the malicious destruction of property at Michigan’s Holland Harbor Lighthouse (Big Red), comes some more disturbing news about destructive acts towards our beacons. South Haven (Michigan) Pier Lighthouse, which is one of the most photogenic lighthouses on Lake Michigan for storm photos, is covered with graffiti. And not the beautiful artwork that can be oftentimes seen, but your common, garden variety swear words and other vulgarities. And of course the Soandso was here type of nonsense.

Outer Banks Lighthouses Out of Service

The National Park Service says the Bodie Island Lighthouse, North Carolina, will shut down for at least 18 months. Repairs include removing 344 glass prisms for cleaning, restoring the panels that hold the prisms and the pedestal that supports the lens, strengthening the lighthouses spiral staircases, and installing a fire detection and suppression system.

Ocracoke Lighthouse is also down, with the work expected to take about four months. The repairs will include renovation of metal work on the interior and exterior, correcting the lightning protection measures and painting both the inside and outside of the lighthouse.

Thousands of Dollars In Damage

Western Michigan’s iconic lighthouse, Holland Harbor, also known familiarly as “Big Red,” was vandalized over October 7 and 8. Using a construction ladder to climb in and break out a window, the perpetrators discovered red and white paint and dumped it starting in the basement boiler room, tracking it up the stairs and splattering it everywhere, all the way to the lantern room.

Besides the paint damage, a light at the top was broken, and a $20,000 display on loan to the Holland Harbor Lighthouse Commission from the Holland Museum was demolished. The vandals also tore off flag holders, and left scratch marks. Damage is estimated at thousands of dollars, without even figuring in the man hours needed to take care of the mess.

Four  or Five To Be De-Staffed Immediately

From both coasts, comes the news that the Canadian Coast Guard is de-staffing their automated lighthouses with a vengeance. Five are on tap to lose their keepers in the very near future, in a so-called cost saving effort. The others will (as of this writing) be de-staffed through attrition, that is, retirements, different assignments, etc. Canada is the only Western country that still has Coast Guard personnel at some (but not all) automated lighthouses, in a lighthouse keeper capacity.

Closed For Two Days

The National Park Service is closing Point Cabrillo Lighhtouse in California for two days next week to fumigate for termites. Also closed will be the adjacent assistant lighthouse keeper’s quarters.  A routine building inspection in June turned up evidence of the infestation. At least termites are a bit easier to deal with and control than marine shipworms, which have plagued a few lighthouses, including Cockspur Island and Morris Island Lighthouses.

The lighthouse and assistant keeper’s quarters,  built in 2004 to house the “Lighthouses of Point Loma” exhibit, will be covered in large tents for the fumigation planned for September 8 and 9. The buildings will have to be inspected again afterward to be sure the termites have been eradicated.

Ghostly Statue to Be Built

If you have a haunted lighthouse, you might want to follow the lead of the owners of the lighthouse at Talacre, in Wales, and honor the ghost by building a statue to him. That’s exactly what the Talacre Beach Leisure Group, who owns the lighthouse and beach surrounding it plan to do. Their ghost, a former lighthouse keeper, will be honored with a stainless steel statue statue to be placed on the lighthouse.

Is This the End For Long Running Popular Challenge?

Lighthouse News and many others certainly hope it isn’t. But running such a popular challenge has taken its toll on the two long-standing co-chairs.

Word on the street (well, in the forums) is that the New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge will not be held next year. And maybe not in 2011, either. From Dennis Wheland of the New Jersey Lighthouse Society comes this sad information, which he posted at Lighthousing.Net: