Neil Hurley’s interest in Florida lighthouses goes back to the mid-1980s. He was serving as a staff officer for the Seventh Coast Guard s District Aids to Navigation Branch, and he often had to answer questions about lighthouses in Florida. Neil decided to make Florida lighthouse history his off-duty hobby. That led to countless hours of research, and he’s been the historian for the Florida Lighthouse Association since it was founded.
His books include Florida’s Lighthouses in the Civil War, An Illustrated History of Cape Florida Lighthouse, and Lighthouses of the Dry Tortugas: An Illustrated History, and he was co-author of the first edition of The Florida Lighthouse Trail. The articles he’s written include several for the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s quarterly journal, the Keeper’s Log. Neil retired as a commander from the Coast Guard, and today he continues to work in the defense industry. This is episode is co-hosted by Ralph Krugler, historian for Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse and historical archivist for the U.S. Lighthouse Society.
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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