Alaska Lighthouse Run moving forward, following guidelines for social distancing
A fundraising run for Alaska’s oldest original lighthouse will use technology to allow participants to raise money while social distancing during the coronavirus outbreak. The Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association, which organized the fundraiser for the historic landmark near Haines, said participants can run a 2-kilometer (1.24-mile) hill climb or 5-kilometer (3.11-mile) and 10-kilometer (6.21-mile) courses April 12-18.
“We want to work with the Coast Guard to save this lighthouse,” association Executive Director Sue York said.“Our goal is to help the Coast Guard and do something they can’t do fiscally.”
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Keeper’s house at Isle au Haut, Maine, is for sale
The lighthouse on the Maine island of Isle au Haut is owned by the town that occupies the island, but the keeper’s house, long operated as a bed and breakfast inn, is for sale at an asking price of $1,975,000. The listing agent describes it like this: “On a sunny, blue-skied day, the property is just magic. Dramatic granite ledges, blue ocean, and offshore islands as far as the eye can see. It’s so beautiful, it’s almost like a Hollywood set of a quintessential Maine lighthouse property.”
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Work at Nobska Point Lighthouse (MA) paused while Coast Guard finishes work
Construction at the Nobska Point Lighthouse in Woods Hole on Cape Cod in Massachusetts is being temporarily paused for the month of April to allow the U.S. Coast Guard to complete remediation of the soil, according to Friends of Nobska Light. Construction work at the lighthouse during the coronavirus pandemic was ongoing under a safety plan, which restricted access to limited personnel.
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John and Mary Cowan: A lighthouse family in Oregon and Washington
There was an interesting historical article by John McNutt in the Peninsula Daily News a few days ago about John Merrill Cowan and his wife, Mary. He was a keeper at light stations in Oregon and Washington starting in 1893, including Washington’s Cape Flattery Light on Tatoosh Island for 32 years. They had eight children. Their son Forest was third assistant at Cape Flattery for a while.
“Regular communication used Makah mail carrier canoes,” writes McNutt, “which made the 7-mile trip from Neah Bay twice a week. If the weather was bad, the deliveries were lobbed onto the shore. Even when the island got a piano it was delivered in a dugout canoe.”
Click here to read this fascinating article
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Daredevil cyclist was born in West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, Maine
Here’s a brief but interesting historical tidbit that appeared in the Machias Valley News Observer a couple of days ago, concerning the only person ever to be born inside West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine — not in the keeper’s house, but in the tower itself!
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St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum (FL) offering live streaming events on Facebook
Like other lighthouse organizations around the U.S., the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum in Florida has had to adapt to the new reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization has offered online programming, including a live sunset “watch party” every Tuesday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. “This is our way with giving something to our community, here in St. Augustine and beyond,” said Renee Unsworth, a spokeswoman for the museum. “We can offer a view of the sunset from a unique perspective: the top of the historic St. Augustine Lighthouse.” Since March 26, when the lighthouse launched its first live stream on Facebook, 52,785 people have been reached.
Click here for the Facebook page of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum
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Pink supermoon rises over Scituate Lighthouse (MA)
On the evening of April 7, a pink moon — the largest supermoon of 2020 — the largest moon of the year, rose over Scituate Lighthouse on Boston’s South Shore in Massachusetts. Photographers gathered to capture the scene.
Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is the president and historian for 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 podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org