Episode 96 –Dianne Wolfer is an award-winning children’s author who lives on the south coast of Western Australia. Her 2009 book Lighthouse Girl tells the poignant true story of Fay Catherine Howe, who was the daughter of the lighthouse keeper at Breaksea Island in Western Australia. Around 30,000 soldiers left Australian shores to fight in World War I, and in late 1914 a fleet of 36 troop ships left Albany bound for Egypt and Gallipoli. Fifteen-year-old Fay was adept at signal communications, and as the men waited on their ships to leave Albany, she communicated with many of them using semaphore flags or Morse code. She relayed their messages to Albany, and from there they were routed to the men’s families. This is part one of two.
Episode 97 –This is part 2 of a two part interview with Dianne Wolfer, author of the award-winning children’s book Lighthouse Girl. The book tells the true story of Fay Catherine Howe, daughter of the lighthouse keeper at Breaksea Island in Western Australia, during World War I. Part 2 also features an interview with Fay Howe’s son, Don Watson, along with his wife, Peg, and their daughter Denise.
Episode 98 –Pemaquid Point Lighthouse is one of the most frequently visited attractions on the Maine coast, receiving about 100,000 visitors each year. The surrounding property is the Town of Bristol’s Lighthouse Park, and the keeper’s house was converted into the Fishermen’s Museum. In May 2000, the lighthouse tower was licensed by the Coast Guard to the American Lighthouse Foundation. In Trudy Irene Scee’s new book, Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, she uncovers the fascinating story of this iconic Maine location, as well as the light keepers and their families, from the construction of the first lighthouse through the present day.
Episode 99 –Like his father before him, young Joseph Hindley went to work in the textile mills of New Bedford, Massachusetts. He spent more than a decade as an assistant light keeper, first at Whale Rock Light in Rhode Island and then at Butler Flats Light in New Bedford. He became the head keeper at Sakonnet Point Light in Rhode Island from 1947 to 1950, and at Gay Head Light Station at the western end of the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, until 1956. After 16 years at Nobska Point Light, he retired from in 1972 as the very last civilian keeper in the New England region. This episode features reminiscences of life at the lights in an interview with Betty Hindley Hatzikon, Joseph Hindley’s daughter.
Episode 100 –Elizabeth Spires has published seven collections of poetry for adults, most recently A Memory of the Future, which was a New York Times Best Poetry Book of the Year. Elizabeth has also written seven children’s books and her work has won many awards. Her new children’s book, Kate’s Light, tells the true story of Kate Walker, the renowned keeper of Robbins Reef Lighthouse in New York Harbor. Walker lived at Robbins Reef for 33 years (1886-1919) and was known for her many rescues. The book Kate’s Light is illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully, a Caldecott Medal winner.
Special Edition, January 27, 2021 – This podcast was launched in June 2019. The podcast’s name refers to people who have lighthouses in their hearts. It’s the only podcast that’s devoted to the subject of lighthouses. Since it was launched, 100 episodes have featured interviews with lighthouse keepers, authors, historians, and preservationists — and much more. This retrospective includes clips of interview highlights from the first 20 months of “Light Hearted,” along with never-heard-before outtakes.
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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