Pater Noster is a small archipelago off the west coast of Sweden. The island group’s name, which means “The Lord’s Prayer,” is said to come from the tradition that mariners would recite the Lord’s Prayer as they negotiated their way around the dangerous reefs in the vicinity. The 105-foot-tall, red, cast-iron lighthouse was constructed in… Continue reading Light Hearted Lite 37 – Erik Nissen Johansen, Pater Noster, Sweden

Fairport Harbor, on the south side of Lake Erie at the mouth of the Grand River, is considered part of the Cleveland, Ohio, metropolitan area. The first lighthouse in the harbor was a 56-foot brick tower built in 1825. The lighthouse that stands today is a 60-foot stone tower that began service in 1871. After… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 334 – Marty O’Gara and John Ollila, Fairport Harbor, OH

Today we look back at an interview that was first heard in October 2020. Our guest is Bob Mannino, founder and president of the United States Lightship Museum. The USLM is the steward of the Nantucket Lightship LV-112, the largest lightship ever built in the United States. The Nantucket South Shoals were a great hazard… Continue reading Light Hearted Lite 36 – Bob Mannino, Nantucket Lightship LV-112

Ile Vierge is a 15-acre island off the northwest coast of Brittany in northwest France. The first lighthouse on the island was a 108-foot-tall square tower that began service in 1845. It was considered too short, and a new tower was built between 1896 and 1902. The new lighthouse tower is built of granite blocks… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 333 – Valeria Araúz Molina, Île Vierge, France

In this episode we revisit a conversation from June 2022 with Mike Vogel, who at that time was the president of the U.S. Lighthouse Society. Mike Vogel retired as editorial page editor of The Buffalo News in 2011, after a 43-year journalism career. He was the organizer and founding president of the Buffalo Lighthouse Association,… Continue reading Light Hearted Lite #35: Lighthouse preservationist Mike Vogel

Jim Lammers, who lives in Minnesota, was educated as an architect back when freehand sketching was an integral part of the curriculum. His writing and sketching has been published in a number of professional journals and on websites. His most recent book is “Lighthouses of the Great Lakes: An Architect’s Sketchbook.” The illustrations in Jim’s… Continue reading Light Hearted ep. 332 – Sketch artist Jim Lammers

Split Rock Lighthouse, on a 127-foot-high cliff on the northwest shore of Lake Superior, began service in 1910. The light station is now the centerpiece of 2200-acre Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. Lee Radzak became the lighthouse site manager in November 1982. Over the next 36 years, he and his wife Jane raised a son… Continue reading Light Hearted Lite #34: Lee Radzak, Split Rock, Minnesota

Ashtabula, Ohio, is a community of about 18,000 people at the mouth of the Ashtabula River on Lake Erie. In the late 1800s the city was a major port for the shipping of coal and iron ore. The first lighthouse in Ashtabula Harbor was a small wooden tower built in 1836. When the channel into… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 331 – Joe Santiana, Ashtabula, OH

This is an edited version of an interview from September 2020. The guest is Annamaria Mariotti, an author and lighthouse historian in Italy. Lilla, as she’s known to friends, is the author of many books, articles, and stories related to the sea. Many of her articles have appeared in The Keeper’s Log, Lighthouse Digest, Coast… Continue reading Light Hearted Lite #33: Italian historian/author Annamaria Mariotti