This episode of Light Hearted featured an interview with the owners of one of the most rugged and remote lighthouses in New England. Congress authorized the building of a lighthouse on the east point of 30-acre Mistake Island, about five miles offshore from Jonesport, Maine, in March 1825. The station was established in October 1826.… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 47 – Jeremey Richardson and Miriam Davidson, owners of Moose Peak Lighthouse, Maine

(Use the player at the bottom of the page to hear the podcast) There are many creative ways to raise money for lighthouse preservation, and the two interview subjects in this episode of Light Hearted have found one of the most creative. Alison Richardson, a summer resident of Isle au Haut in Maine, and Molly… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 46 – Swimming for lighthouses: Alison Richardson, Gary Sredzienski

Lake Champlain, bordering New York, Vermont and Quebec, was once a bustling waterway. More than ten lighthouses were built on the lake in the nineteenth century, on the New York and Vermont sides. A light was established at Isle La Motte, at the northern end of the lake, about 1829 – actually a lantern placed… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 45 – Rob Clark, owner of Windmill Point & Isle La Motte lighthouses, Vermont

Joseph Smith has been a theatrical performer based in New York City since 1995. He decided to take his love of acting and his love of history and to bring them together as a performing artist of living history. His passion is to create excitement and curiosity about history by giving voice to stories that… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 44 – Living history performer Joseph Smith, portrayer of Augustin Fresnel

Frederick Mikkelsen was a Coast Guard light keeper at Conimicut Lighthouse in Rhode Island circa 1958 to 1961. The cast-iron “sparkplug” style lighthouse was built at the mouth of the Providence River in 1883. Conimicut was the one of the last lighthouses in the nation to be converted to electricity. The light was automated and… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 43 – Frederick Mikkelsen, former keeper of Conimicut Lighthouse, RI

East Point Lighthouse began service in September 1849. It’s a type of building known as a Cape Cod-style lighthouse, because a number of them were build on Cape Cod in the early 1800s. It consists of a lantern on the roof of a two-story keeper’s dwelling. The light was automated in 1911 with the use… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 42 – Nancy Patterson, East Point Lighthouse, New Jersey

This is a special edition of Light Hearted, featuring an extended interview with a former lighthouse keeper. Ernie DeRaps, a native Mainer, spent several years in the 1950s and ‘60s as a Coast Guard lighthouse keeper at four Maine lighthouses – Monhegan, Fort Point, Heron Neck, and Browns Head. After retirement he took up painting… Continue reading Light Hearted Special Edition – Former Maine lighthouse keeper Ernie DeRaps

St. Marks is a small city on Florida’s gulf coast that’s part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area. It was founded by the Spanish in the 1600s. St. Marks became an important port of entry for the prosperous planting region of Middle Florida and South Georgia. A light station at St, Marks, Florida’s second, began service… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 41 – Tom Baird, St. Marks Lighthouse, Florida

At the beginning of June, a new U.S. Lighthouse Society podcast was launched, entitled Light Hearted. The podcast features conversations about all things related to lighthouses, particularly their history and preservation. The idea behind the title–coined by my wife, Charlotte, after much discussion–is that it signifies people who have lighthouses in their hearts. Of course,… Continue reading Six months and 40 episodes of “Light Hearted” podcasts: A New Year’s message

Grosse Point Lighthouse, located at the southern end of Lake Michigan in Evanston, Illinois, was established in 1873 as the primary lighthouse marking the approach to Chicago. The lighthouse tower stands 113 feet tall and is constructed of Cream City brick encased in concrete. Still in use in the lantern is the original second-order Fresnel… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 40 – Don Terras, Grosse Point Light Station, IL