By Sue Clark on Jun 21, 2007 in News | Comments Off 
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The US Post Office has released the fourth in a series of lighthouse stamps June 21.
Five Pacific lighthouses are honored for their historic role in guiding vessels safely through perilous waters. The five Pacific Lighthouses stamps commemorate Diamond Head Light, Hawaii, Five Finger Light in Alaska, Grays Harbor Light, Washington, Umpqua River Light, Oregon and St. George Reef Light, California.
The first series of lighthouse stamps was issued in 1990, with an issue of Great Lakes lights in 1995. In 2003 the Southeastern series of lights was issued. These stamps feature acrylic paintings by Howard Koslow based on recent photos of these lighthouses.
By Sue Clark on Jun 21, 2007 in Restoration | Comments Off Print This Post
Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse in Maryland is undergoing a facelift, according to this article in the Washington Post. The lighthouse, of screwpile design, was built in 1875 to warn sailors away from dangerously shallow water near Thomas Point. This was what was considered a “stag” lighthouse, where it was single men only, with no families allowed.
The light was automated in 1986, and passed into the hands of the city of Ananapolis through the NPS lighthouse program. It was leased to the U.S. Lighthouse Society in 2004.
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By Sue Clark on Jun 21, 2007 in Restoration | Comments Off Print This Post
Iceland’s last remaining lighthouse keeper, Óskar Jakob Sigurdsson, has been presented with the Environmental Hero Award by the US Ambassador in Iceland Carol van Voorst in a special ceremony at the US Embassy in ReykjavÃk. Since 1992 Sigurdsson has collected air samples for the GMD Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases group at the Stórhöfdi lighthouse on the Westmann Islands.
Sigurdsson has been lighthouse keeper at one of the oldest (100 years) lighthouses in Iceland since 1965. The position has been passed down from father to son for the past 96 years.
Read about it here.
By Sue Clark on Jun 20, 2007 in News | Comments Off Print This Post
From the Cape Cod Times comes the news that Sandy Neck Lighthouse, in Barnstable, Mass, has received a new tower and lantern room.
When the light was decommissioned in 1932, the Coast Guard removed the tower so sailors wouldn’t expect to see a light at night or in the dark. Rumor has it that the tower was dumped into the waters surrounding the light.
Finding a replacement has been difficult, but a mold was donated to the Sandy Neck Lighthouse Restoration Committee from the Great Lakes Lightkeepers Association, who’d made it to replace the tower at St. Helena Island Lighthouse in Lake Michigan.
By Sue Clark on Jun 20, 2007 in Volunteer | Comments Off Print This Post
From the Virginian Pilot comes news that the Park Service is looking for volunteer staff for the summer to guide tourists through the oil house and to look at the 214 stairs of the Bodie Island Lighthouse. Visitors still can’t climb to the tower due to ongoing reconstruction.
Read more from the site.
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