This is an edited version of an interview first heard in May 2020. The guest is Richard Skidmore, who was the modern day keeper of Gay Head Lighthouse on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts for 31 years. The light station at Gay Head was the first on Martha’s Vineyard, beginning service in 1799. The light station… Continue reading Light Hearted Lite #45 – Richard Skidmore, longtime keeper of Gay Head Light on Martha’s Vineyard, MA

This is the audio from a live stream on September 16, 2026. The guest is Lenore Skomal, author of an acclaimed book about the celebrated lighthouse heroine Ida Lewis. Ida Lewis began tending Lime Rock Light in Newport, Rhode Island, at the age of fifteen after her father, the keeper of the light, was disabled… Continue reading Light Hearted Live #13 audio edition – Author Lenore Skomal on lighthouse heroine Ida Lewis

This is the audio from the Light Hearted Live episode of September 9. The guest is the acclaimed maritime historian and author Eric Jay Dolin. Eric grew up near the beaches of New York and Connecticut, and from an early age he was fascinated by the ocean. He earned a masters degree in environmental management… Continue reading Light Hearted Live audio edition: Author & historian Eric Jay Dolin

Ed Metcalf is from Winthrop, Massachusetts, on the north side of Boston Harbor. He served as a police officer in Winthrop, and he then worked for the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. He became the game warden on Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 1974, and he still lives there today. Born in 1933, his memories reach back… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 352: Ed Metcalf’s memories of Boston Harbor and its lighthouses in the 1950s and ‘60s

This is an edited version of an interview with Jem Finer that was first heard in June 2020. In an area of London known as the Docklands is a part of the waterfront known as the Trinity Buoy Wharf. On the wharf is London’s only lighthouse. The lighthouse at the Trinity Buoy Wharf was never… Continue reading Light Hearted Lite #42 – Jem Finer: London’s Trinity Buoy Wharf Lighthouse and “Longplayer”

Shane Avenius, a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York, has long been interested in lighthouses and 3D printing. This summer he interned at Formlabs, one of the world’s largest 3D printer manufacturers. After visiting Highland Lighthouse on Cape Cod and seeing a fourth-order lens in the museum there, he got the Idea… Continue reading Light Hearted Live #11: Shane Avenius and his amazing Fresnel lenses

Lake Sunapee covers more than 4,000 acres in west-central New Hampshire, adjacent to Mount Sunapee State Park. The lake contains 11 islands and three lighthouses, which were built in the late 1800s during the steamboat era on the lake. A number of large resort hotels and private estates lined the lake’s shores in that era.… Continue reading Light Hearted 351 – Midge Eliassen and the Lighthouses of Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire

This episode features edited audio from our “Light Hearted Live” episode of August 19. Our guest, Anastasia Makarova, is from Russia and now lives in Slovenia. She is a lighthouse tour guide, club founder, writer, lecturer, and magazine editor – among other things! She’s also a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who has recorded four albums.… Continue reading Light Hearted Live #10 (audio edition) – Pharologist Anastasia Makarova

This is an edited version of an interview that was first heard in May 2021. The guest is Kirby Eldridge, a former Coast Guard lighthouse keeper. Kirby was one of the two last keepers of Boon Island Light Station, which is about seven miles off the coast of southern Maine. Kirby and the other keeper… Continue reading Light Hearted Lite #41 – Kirby Eldridge, keeper at Boon Island, Maine

Boston Light Station in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts, holds an honored place among America’s lighthouses. It was established in 1716 as the first light station on the continent. It’s also one of a small number of lighthouses to achieve designation as a National Historic Landmark. This past week, it was announced that the light station will… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 350: Boston Light special