Former Split Rock Lighthouse (MN) manager Lee Radzak releases new book on his career
Lee Radzak began working as the resident historic site manager at Split Rock Lighthouse in 1982. He worked there for more than 30 years, and is sharing the stories of his experience. The View from Split Rock Lighthouse: A Lighthouse Keeper’s Life is written by Radzak and author Curt Brown.
Here is a virtual book launch recorded yesterday:
The book is available for purchase on the Historical Society’s website.
Listen to a podcast interview with Lee Radzak and the current site manager, Hayes Scriven:
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Historic doorknob taken from Tybee Island Lighthouse (GA) found in Indiana
The 155-year-old doorknob of the historic Tybee Island Lighthouse was found in Indiana. Charges are pending for a man after the stolen doorknob was found in his home in Greene County, Indiana. Surveillance video from the lighthouse allegedly caught the man in the act: confiscating the doorknob and hiding it in the pocket of his cargo shorts.
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Ocracoke Island (NC) needs a summer lighthouse keeper
The National Park Service has a last-minute opening for a volunteer lighthouse keeper. Duties including helping Cape Hatteras National Seashore maintain and share stories of North Carolina’s oldest functioning lighthouse.
Housing is provided, and the park service is recruiting for individuals to volunteer from July 1 to Oct. 1.
Click here for more information and an application
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As welcoming beacon, Muskegon’s (MI) rusty lighthouse sending wrong signal, residents say
A graffiti-ridden, rusting lighthouse is not the best first image for a city to give to those entering its port. But that’s what Muskegon has in its outermost lighthouse. The 90-year-old south breakwater lighthouse is in dire need of costly repairs, and some are starting to call for a quick spruce up of the city’s welcoming beacon.
U.S. Lighthouse Society photo by Mike and Carol McKinney.
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Cockspur Island Lighthouse (GA) preservation work underway
The Fort Pulaski Preservation Team has begun work on the interior and exterior of the Cockspur Island Lighthouse. This work focuses on the stabilization of the masonry of the lighthouse and the replacement of the door and windows. “These efforts will help stabilize the structure and mitigate damage caused by rising damp, moisture infiltration, tidal conditions and past incompatible mortar application,” says Emily Forlenza, the exhibits specialist and facility operations specialist at Fort Pulaski.
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Door County (WI) and Cana Island site ready for weekend Lighthouse Festival
A celebration of Door County’s maritime history is happening this weekend. The 28th Annual Spring Lighthouse Festival kicks off today. “Lighthouses are very popular. It’s the history. It’s the anchor. It’s been here for 150 years,” said Hal Wilson, Cana Island Lighthouse Site Manager. The festival runs June 11-13, and visits to nine of Door County’s 11 lighthouses are on the schedule.
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Cape Otway Lighthouse (Australia) attraction to shut due to ‘red tape’ and lack of tourism
The manager of mainland Australia’s oldest surviving lighthouse is shutting down operations at the end of the month. The Cape Otway Lighthouse in southwest Victoria, near Apollo Bay, has stood strong as a beacon along the Great Ocean Road since 1848, although it is no longer used for navigational purposes.
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State of Rhode Island submits Beavertail proposal
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has submitted its proposal to acquire the Beavertail Lighthouse. Pursuant to the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, surplus properties are made available at no cost to eligible entities, defined as federal, state and local agencies, nonprofit corporations, educational agencies or community development organizations, for educational, park, recreational, cultural or historic preservation purposes.
If approved, ownership would be transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard to the state. The Beavertail Museum Lighthouse Association would remain in charge of management. The complex consists of six buildings, including the 64-foot lighthouse. The Town of Jamestown is included as a supporting party in the memorandum of understanding between the state and lighthouse association.
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Two Harbors Light Station (MN) shines again
Two Harbors Light Station is shining once again thanks to a loaner beacon from the U.S. Coast Guard. It was officially lit for the first time at noon Tuesday, June 2. The lighthouse’s beacon experienced a mechanical failure Nov. 25, 2019. Volunteers Leon Jacobson, Tom Koehler, and Todd and Brad Ronning found the latest problem beyond repair. The Lake County Historical Society has been working to find another solution to relight the beacon ever since.
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New book chronicles the lives of Scotland’s heroic lighthouse keepers
Written by Donald S. Murray, who was brought up on the Isle of Lewis and under the glare of the Butt of Lewis lighthouse, and published as part of Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 2021, For the Safety of All includes previously unpublished drawings and photographs of Scotland’s lighthouses along with fascinating insight into the dramas that unfolded around them and the impact they had on the communities that lived within sight of their brilliant beams.
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Richmond’s East Brother Light Station (CA) finds temporary power source but seeks long-term solution
The historic East Brother Light Station, Richmond’s oldest structure, has found a temporary solution to restore power to the bed and breakfast that operates within the light station after its 30-year-old submarine cable broke in April. An electrical contractor came and spliced what’s left of the broken cable to restore power, but it’s not a permanent solution.
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GSA Announces Notice of Availability for Hooper Island Lighthouse (MD)
On May 19, a Notice of Availability for the Hooper Island Lighthouse, located off the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, announced that the federal government is searching for a possible new steward to assume ownership. Pursuant to the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, this property may be available at no cost to eligible entities for educational, recreational, cultural or historic preservation purposes.
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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 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