Episode 51 – Peter Gellatly, interviewed in this episode, is a lecturer in accounting and administration at the Coatbridge campus of New College Lanarkshire in Scotland. About 25 years ago he saw a lighthouse on his way to the Isle of Man, and he was mesmerized. He has photographed many lighthouses on his travels over the years, and more recently he has built up a lighthouse memorabilia collection. He has been loaning his collection of artifacts and photos to lighthouses around the U.K. for display. He has also published a book called Following the Lights.
Episode 52 – Lighthouse tenders were ships that were specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses by providing supplies, fuel, mail, and transportation. The tender Lilac was launched in 1933. Today, Lilac is a museum ship at Pier 25 in the Tribeca section of Hudson River Park in New York City. The ship is now open to the public on a regular basis. Mary Habstritt is the museum director and president for the Lilac Preservation Project. She also works as a freelance historical consultant, interpreting and telling the stories of America’s manufacturing and engineering past.
Episode 53 –Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse is the last screwpile cottage-style light station in its original location in Chesapeake Bay. This episode features an interview with Bob Stevenson, one of the key coordinators of the public tour program at the lighthouse. Also featured is an interview with Gary Riemenschneider, who has developed much of the helpful and interesting educational material on the U.S. Lighthouse Society website. Gary has added historical light list data to the USLHS website, and it’s available to researchers. USLHS Executive Director Jeff Gales also took part in this interview.
Special Edition – Starting in 2016, the U.S. Lighthouse Society began researching ways of making the Society’s archive more easily accessible to the public. The work culminated in the J. Candace Clifford Lighthouse Research Catalog.Among the major components of the lighthouse research catalog is the lighthouse-related collection of the National Archives. The interview for this special edition is Jack Del Nunzio. He’s a researcher & cataloger for the U.S. Lighthouse Society.
Episode 54 – Tawas Point Lighthouse, located in Tawas Point State Park in Baldwin Township in Northern Michigan, is an attraction for maritime buffs and also a destination for birdwatchers, with spectacular views over Lake Huron and Tawas Bay. The lighthouse is one of twelve sites that comprise the Michigan History Center. Laurie Perkins is the Southern Lower Peninsula Historian for the Michigan History Center, which means she is the historian for Tawas Point Lighthouse. She also coordinates the keeper program at Tawas Point Lighthouse.
Episode 55 – Oak Island Lighthouse went into service in 1958 near the mouth of the Cape Fear River in southeastern North Carolina. It’s been owned by the Town of Caswell Beach since 2004, and it’s managed by the nonprofit Friends of Oak Island Lighthouse. In 2014, E. Gifford Stack was honored by the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society with a Fresnel Prism Award for his contributions to lighthouses and their history. He has been a longtime tour guide at the lighthouse and serves as the tour coordinator.
Back to Light Hearted Index front page
U.S. Lighthouse Society Historian Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of 24 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is a past president of the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s weekly podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org