Burnt Island (ME) celebrates lighthouse’s 200th birthday
Elaine Jones carefully, and briefly, removed the red cloth, revealing a bronze plaque attached to the wall of the Burnt Island lighthouse. It celebrates the bicentennial of the lighthouse tower, and the distinction it now holds. Jones is the unofficial lightkeeper of Burnt Island, a job she inherited when the Maine Department of Marine Resources took ownership of the island 23 years ago. Since then, a part of her job for DMR, Jones has led the renovation of the buildings, the creation of a museum and overall sprucing up of the island, located a mile or so offshore from Boothbay Harbor.
Governor Mills, artist Jamie Wyeth, and the Coast Guard district commander all travelled to the island in Boothbay Harbor Thursday for the bicentennial ceremony. More significantly, perhaps, they were joined by several former lightkeepers and their families.
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Restoration of Palmer Park’s (MI) iconic lighthouse to restore original charm
An iconic lighthouse in northwest Detroit will shine again. The ornamental structure from the late-1800s stands next to Lake Frances in Detroit’s Palmer Park and is undergoing a $55,000 restoration.
The People for Palmer Park have been overseeing improvements at the site, donated to the city by former U.S. Senator Thomas Palmer in 1893, since 2011. The lighthouse project is the latest for the 296-acre park.
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Iconic Delaware lighthouse becomes a postage stamp
The lighthouse has stood in the Delaware Bay since the 1920’s, guiding ships through the Atlantic waters to this day. A new stamp, illustrated by famous stamp artist Howard Koslow, is meant to represent the lighthouse’s turbulent history, and it’s continued use as a valuable navigation aid.
The lighthouse has been automated since 1973, but still requires routine, twice-annual maintenance by the U.S. Coast Guard. Both the light and the fog horn are now powered by solar panels on the side. The Delaware River and Bay Lighthouse Foundation now owns and maintains the lighthouse.
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Show Goes on for Montauk Lighthouse (NY) Fundraiser
The annual Montauk Music Festival concerts held at the Montauk Lighthouse are just one of the many ways that the Montauk Historical Society (MHS) raises funds for the iconic landmark’s much-needed renovations.
Due to COVID-19, some of the concerts had to be canceled or postponed, but The Marshall Tucker Band’s concert on August 21 will put the fundraising efforts back on track.
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Meet New England Mariner Sue Reynolds (NH)
This seasoned New England mariner whose handsomely etched face bears testament to a lifetime spent on open waters is Captain Sue Reynolds, sailor and educator. She has been navigating our gray Atlantic since childhood. New Hampshire’s White Island Lighthouse was established 200 years ago and has been guiding mariners around the Isles of Shoals ever since. Some 20 years ago, the Lighthouse Kids arose from one of Capt. Reynold’s classes to help save it. Now, she and these children raise the funds necessary to keep this important New Hampshire landmark beaming.
Official keepers lived on White Island until 1986, when the lighthouse was automated. The Coast Guard continues to maintain the light as an aid to navigation, but the Coast Guard is not responsible for maintaining the historic buildings. The Lighthouse Kids quickly grew into a community project with reach beyond North Hampton.
Click here for the Lighthouse Kids website
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Stratford Point Lighthouse (CT) tours tomorrow
Tomorrow (Saturday, August 21), there will be a rare opportunity to tour Connecticut’s Stratford Point Lighthouse. The tours are limited to 15 people each and will be at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.
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International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend – ILLW
The International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend, ILLW, is one of the most popular international amateur radio events in existence. It usually takes place on the third full weekend in August each year and attracts over 500 lighthouse entries in over 40 countries. It is free and there are no prizes for contacting large numbers of other stations.
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Owners begin tours of historic North Manitou Shoal Light (MI)
Standing tall and monumental in the fabled Manitou Passage 8 miles off shore Leelanau County is a ghostly structure, a silent sentinel. North Manitou Shoal Light, affectionately called “The Crib,” remains a mariner’s best friend — a beacon for guidance and safe passage through the shallow waters of that unpredictable Lake Michigan area.
Thanks to the North Manitou Light Keepers, visitors can now take a 2 to 3-hour tour from Leland to the deck of the light to explore. Learn more about the tour plans and how you can explore the North Manitou Shoal Light for yourself this summer.
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Huron Lightship in Port Huron (MI) to reopen to the public after repairs
It will take another $62,400 to get the Huron Lightship, moored off the seawall in Pine Grove Park in Port Huron, ready to reopen to the public.
The lightship, one of the city’s historical landmarks managed by the Port Huron Museum, was damaged by a meteotsunami on July 19, 2020. When the job is completed, the vessel will open again to the public.
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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