Cape Hatteras (NC) 150th birthday celebrated on December 16
A celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first lighting of the current Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina was held on December 16, and a video has been released to commemorate the historic occasion. Watch it here:
Use this player to hear an interview with Bett Padgett and John Havel of the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society in the USLHS podcast “Light Hearted” –
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DOH issues health alert for red tide at Sanibel Island (FL) Lighthouse Beach Park
The Florida Department of Health in Lee County (DOH-Lee) has notified the public of a red tide bloom near Lighthouse Beach Park. Some people may have mild and short-lived respiratory symptoms such as eye, nose, and throat irritation similar to cold symptoms.
Some individuals with breathing problems such as asthma might experience more severe symptoms. Usually, symptoms go away when a person leaves the area or goes indoors.Health officials recommend that people experiencing these symptoms stay away from beach areas or go into an air-conditioned space.
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St. George Lighthouse Association (FL) gets grant for needed repairs
The St. George Lighthouse Association is pleased to have received a $24,000 grant from the Florida Lighthouse Association to assist in some much-needed repairs needed to the lighthouse. The lighthouse has several broken glass panes and significant rust on the bird cage of the lantern room and the masonry tower also requires some cleaning and painting.
The Association has contracted with Razorback, LLC, out of Tarpon Springs to handle the specialized repairs and the work is scheduled to begin in January.
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Lorain (OH) natives donate $25K toward lighthouse in honor of parents
The Lorain Lighthouse was bestowed some early Christmas presents this year in the form of a $25,000 donation for a new mechanical lift and an addition to the endowment fund.
Local natives Patrick and Susan Mahony, who now live in Carefree, Ariz., were the Kris Kringles for the Jewel of the Port this year. Growing up in Lorain, the Mahony family felt the Lorain Lighthouse was an iconic symbol of the city.
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Yaquina Head (OR) observation deck getting upgrade
Most outdoor sites at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area are open to pedestrian traffic — a barricade bars tourists’ vehicles from driving past the Interpretive Center parking lot — but the deck and grounds immediately surrounding the lighthouse are closed to the public as the Bureau of Land Management completes a near-million-dollar improvement project.
The wooden observation deck, three conjoined octagons on the northwest corner of the building, was built in 1994, and two and a half decades of exposure to the headland elements took its toll. Workers with Conway Construction, of Vancouver, Wash., removed it at the beginning of December to replace it with a larger concrete patio. Yaquina Head Site Manager Matt Betenson said, “The wood was becoming problematic. I don’t know if we could have put another screw in it. And the wood itself was failing in places where people really like to stand.” BLM hopes to complete the project by the end of February, but that timeline could be delayed by inhospitable winter weather.
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Edgartown Light (MA) Glows Again for the Holiday
The traditional lighting of the Edgartown Lighthouse on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts took place Friday evening on a windless, starry night, mild for mid-December. Singer Corinne de Langavant led Christmas caroling on Edgartown’s Dock Street. The tables outside the Wharf restaurant began to fill up, and the facade of Edgartown Books turned into the projection screen for a light-show snowfall. By 5:30, a steady column of families and other groups headed up North Water street toward the Harbor View Hotel and the lighthouse.
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Incredible footage shows first Royal Mail drone delivery to Isle of Mull Lighthouse (Scotland)
Click below to see the video:
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Original Crooked River Lighthouse (FL) Fresnel lens to go on display in museum
The original fourth-order Fresnel lens from Crooked River Lighthouse in Florida, dates back more than a century and for the last 45 years has been stored in New Orleans on the 11th floor of the US Coast Guard district office there. In February, the lens made its way back home to Carrabelle and was installed in the Keeper’s House museum. An exhibit is under design and construction to fully reveal its splendor. This lens will be formally unveiled to the public when the exhibit is complete.
Click here to read more
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$130,000 slated to help preserve Big Sable Point Lighthouse (MI) and surrounding dunes
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is spending $130,000 to recap the seawall and place new stone barriers at the base of Big Sable Point Lighthouse on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The hope is that the reinforcements will slow erosion, save the beach, protect the base of the lighthouse and preserve the low-lying dunes.
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 D’Entremont at Jeremy@uslhs.org
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