By Sue Clark on May 23, 2008 in News | Comment on this? 
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Where the Farmland Meets the Sea
In an unusual alliance, the Table Cape Lighthouse, Wynyard, Tasmania, will be operated by a tulip growing company after renovations to better allow tourist access to the site. Van Diemen Quality Bulbs will take over operations as part of a combined lighthouse and farm tour. The Waratah-Wynyard Council has been working on the project for several years, and at their recent budget meeting, committed $185,000 AUD to help provide the site improvements.
By Sue Clark on May 22, 2008 in Lighthouse Keeper | Comment on this? Print This Post
Tawas Point Lighthouse Needs Keepers
Well, technically it’s not a job. It would be considered a working vacation, I guess. But for only $275 a week, you can stay in the renovated upstairs of the former lightkeeper’s house at Tawas Point, Michigan. The Tawas Point State Park is looking for people willing and able to work in the lighthouse, for one or two weeks at a time. Tawas Point is located in the Northeastern portion of the state, on Tawas Bay, which is off Lake Huron. This lighthouse beam used to be visible to your editor (that’s me) on a clear night from the opposite side of Saginaw Bay.
By Sue Clark on May 21, 2008 in News | Comment on this? Print This Post
Governor Signs License Plate Bill
Florida has become one of the growing list of states that support lighthouses through the sale of a specialty license plate honoring our beloved beacons. Governor Charlie Crist signed the measure into law on May 19, with the proceeds from the sale ($25 per plate per year) going to help restore and preserve 29 of Florida’s lighthouses. The Florida Lighthouse Association, created in 1996 as a consortium of the individual lighthouse organizations and interested individuals from across Florida and the nation, was the prime mover behind this plate. The project was created in honor of a recently deceased president of their association, Gene Oakes.
By Sue Clark on May 11, 2008 in Volunteer | Comments Off Print This Post
Volunteer Shortage Is the Reason
With all the lighthouses opening up around now in the northern hemisphere, it was a shock to read that one won’t be providing visitors with the chance to climb to the top. Cape Ray Lighthouse, in Newfoundland, is suffering from a lack of volunteers to man the lighthouse and museum, and is being forced to close. Dennis and Bernice Tavener managed to run the museum gift shop and lighthouse tours all by themselves last year, but can’t see themselves doing it all alone again this year, according to an article in the St. John’s Telegram. The two retirees say they can’t dedicate another summer to running things without any help.
By Sue Clark on May 10, 2008 in For Sale | Comments Off Print This Post
Happy Birthday Honey, Here’s Your Gift
Clare Island Lighthouse has been sold at auction to a German doctor, who bought it for his wife as a birthday present. So, just how do you wrap up such an item? And how do you explain you spent € 1.05 million for this lighthouse on a cliff in County Mayo, Ireland? And how do you deal with the islanders who are understandably upset that a piece of their history was so blithely sold without the chance for them as a community to purchase it themselves? According to a story in The Mayo News, Clare Island businesswoman Anna Wettergren has criticized the State’s failure to buy important heritage buildings such as the lighthouse.
By Sue Clark on May 9, 2008 in Featured | Comments Off Print This Post
An Act To Protect Heritage Lighthouses Finally Passes
After eight years and many incarnations of the bill, Canada’s Parliament has finally empowered their communities to protect their maritime assets, their many lighthouses. Every province except Alberta and Saskatchewan has lighthouses, and they have been without any federally mandated protection since they were automated. The bill, originally sponsored by British Columbia Pat Carney and the late Nova Scotia Senator Michael Forestall, passed Parliament May 7. MP Larry Miller, whose Ontario riding (Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound) has several historic lighthouses, carried the bill through the House of Commons. It will take effect in 2010.
