Rob Gilpin, who has long spearheaded the restoration of Rhode Island’s Block Island North Lighthouse as the chair of the North Light Commission, was the recipient of the Antoinette Downing Volunteer Service Award from the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission on Sunday, Oct. 21.
Architect Walter Sedovic stated that Gilpin is, essentially, “the keeper of the North Light. He can do so many things: energy systems, lighting, color, building maintenance and management, efficiencies, historical attributes of the building, the relationship of the building to the immediate environment, and then presenting all of this to people in a way that touches them. He puts a human face on this lighthouse and on so many things that he touches. He makes them human.”
You can read more about this story on the Block Island Times website by clicking here.
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Candace was the US Lighthouse Society historian from 2016 until she passed away in August 2018. For 30 years, her work involved lighthouse history. She worked with the National Park Service and the Council of American Maritime Museums. She was a noted author and was considered the most knowledgable person on lighthouse information at the National Archives. Books by Candace Clifford include: Women who Kept the Lights: a History of Thirty-eight Female Lighthouse Keepers , Mind the Light Katie, and Maine Lighthouses, Documentation of their Past.