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Lighthouse News of the Week – July 31, 2020

Group of teens, young adults break into Cape Lookout Lighthouse (NC)

The National Park Service has issued citations and fines again five people who broke into the Cape Lookout Lighthouse on Sunday night. Citations and fines were issued to those who went inside the lighthouse.

From news reports, it appears that no damage was done inside the lighthouse. “Seems they were looking to break in for the view,” Cape Lookout Public Information Officer B.G. Horvat told McClatchy News. “Yes, they did make it to the top.” The lighthouse is currently closed for the season, with only park staff and the U.S. Coast Guard allowed inside.

The video below includes scenes of Cape Lookout Lighthouse during a Moonrise climb, courtesy of the Carteret County Tourism Development Authority. BY THE CRYSTAL COAST

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Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse’s (MI) Second Floor Now Open to the Public

Mackinac State Historic Parks (M.S.H.P.) has now opened the second floor of the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City, Michigan, to the public.

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, Michigan. USLHS photo.

Craig Wilson, the Curator of History at M.S.H.P. says, “We’ve spent a lot of time, over the last year getting this space ready creating the new exhibit that you see here as well as some period settings to recreate what this would have looked like just over 100 years ago.”

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Elderly couple’s lighthouse is dark no more thanks to Graham firefighters (WA)

We don’t usually report on faux lighthouses, but this is a wonderful story. For 18 years, a 25-foot-tall lighthouse has sat on the Graham, Washington, property of Arnie and Velta Andrews. Arnie, 87, built the lighthouse in 2002 while he was recovering from a stroke that paralyzed the right side of his body. He needed a project that would exercise his limbs.

Arnie had more medical setbacks in recent years. Going up a ladder to change the light bulb is no longer a possibility. Using a ladder from the firetruck, local firefighters changed the bulb for him. It also was a way to honor a former firefighter. Arnie was part of Graham’s volunteer firefighting crew in the 1960s.

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Oswego West Pierhead Lighthouse (NY) open for tours

The Oswego West Pierhead Lighthouse, located a half-mile off the waterfront of Oswego, New York, is accessible to the public via tours offered by the H. Lee White Museum. The museum holds tours every weekend during the summer with a boat ride to the lighthouse and a chance to climb to the top. Tours run Fridays and Saturdays, July to August from 12:30 – 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays in September. The museum has also reopened as part of New York State’s Phase Four Reopening Plan.

Oswego West Pierhead Lighthouse in 2009. USLHS photo by Tom Tag.

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Peaks Island (ME) lighthouse keepers honored

The Peaks Island Historical Society honored five local lighthouse keepers buried at the island’s Pond Grove Cemetery, including the final civilian keeper of Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth. The ceremony, held July 25, revealed new grave markers for each of the five men: Capt. Robert Thayer Sterling, Capt. John T. Sterling, Capt. James W. Sterling, James B. Jones, and William A. Lane. All but Lane are known to have been born on Peaks Island.

Robert Thayer Sterling, courtesy of the American Lighthouse Foundation. Sterling was the last civilian keeper of Portland Head Light Station in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. In 1935, he published the book “Lighthouses of the Maine Coast and the Men Who Keep Them.”

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Only CT residents welcome at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven

The city will limit visitors to Lighthouse Point Park to Connecticut residents as a result of concern about the coronavirus, according to the mayor.

Five Mile Point Lighthouse in Lighthouse Point Park. Photo by Jeremy D’Entremont.

Starting Friday, no out-of-state visitors will be able to use the park as a health precaution, Mayor Justin Elicker said. William Carone, acting director of the city Department of Parks, Recreation and Trees, said the attendant or police officer at the entrance to the park will ask for a license and/or car registration to determine whether the person is from out of state.

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Vandals Hang Trump Sign From Huntington Harbor Lighthouse (NY)

Vandals hung a Trump flag from the historic Huntington Harbor Lighthouse (aka Lloyd Harbor Lighthouse) and jammed a door in an attempt to prevent the flag’s removal, the Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society said Saturday. Police were eventually able to get through the damaged door and the Trump flag was removed.

Huntington Harbor Lighthouse, New York. USLHS photo

In a statement posted to its Facebook page, the society said, “Please be advised that a person or persons broke into the Huntington Lighthouse broke into the lighthouse and accessed the cupola and have flown a political flag from the tower and jammed the door so we can’t get in to remove the flag. The Huntington Lighthouse is a 501c3. We do not allow political events, fundraisers regardless of party and would never permit any political flags to hang from our landmark which is enjoyed by everyone.”

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Point Loma Lighthouse (CA) restoration earns prestigious award

Every spring, San Diego’s Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) accepts nominations for its annual People in Preservation Awards. The recipient of the coveted Preservation Project of the Year 2020 was awarded to contractor Neil Gardis of ‘Ohana Industries, Ltd., and his team for the restoration of the New Point Loma Lighthouse. Point Loma’s operational lighthouse stood nearly derelict with a three-degree tilt, rust jacking, and deterioration for the past 20 or more years.

Point Loma Light Station, photo by Jeremy D’Entremont

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U.S. Lighthouse Society News is produced by the U.S. Lighthouse Society to support lighthouse preservation, history, education and research.

If you have items of interest to the lighthouse community and its supporters, please email them to Jeremy at Jeremy@uslhs.org


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