Whale Rock Light, a typical cast-iron “spark plug” type lighthouse, was constructed at the entrance to the west passage of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay in 1882 to help mariners past a treacherous reef. Isolated Whale Rock was not a desirable location for keepers, and 16 different men served as head keeper between 1882 and 1909.… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 265 – Whale Rock, RI, and the Hurricane of 1938

The area in Southern California known as San Pedro saw Spanish use dating back to the 1540s. Once a separate township, it’s now part of Los Angeles. After the Mexican-American War, San Pedro’s harbor was expanded and improved. Congress appropriated funds for a lighthouse at Point Fermin, San Pedro’s southernmost point, in 1854. The light… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 264 – Kristen Heather and Jeanette Rodriquez, Point Fermin, California

On the east side of Washington’s Puget Sound, Mukilteo grew as a port in the late 1800s, with salmon canning and lumber as leading industries. Funds were appropriated by Congress for a lighthouse at Mukilteo in 1903, and construction began in 1905. A 30-foot tower was built, attached to a fog signal building, with two… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 263 – Joanne Mulloy and Jerry Arnold, Mukilteo, Washington

Congress authorized lighthouses at several California locations in 1850, including San Diego. Construction began in 1854 on a lighthouse on a high bluff at the end of Point Loma, more than 400 feet above the sea. The lighthouse began service in November 1855. Its active life was fairly short, as it turned out. The great… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 262 – Old Point Loma, California

Maine’s Baker Island is about four miles southeast of the much larger Mount Desert Island. A lighthouse was established on the highest point of the island in 1828. The early history of the light station is very much tied into the history of the family of William and Hannah Gilley. The Gilleys had taken possession… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 261 – Cornelia Cesari, Baker island, Maine

California’s iconic Pigeon Point Lighthouse, located on the central coast between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, has been guiding mariners since 1872.  Today, the historic light station is managed by California State Parks, and the former keepers’ housing serves as a youth hostel. The lighthouse has been closed to climbing since December 2001, after the… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 260 – Julie Barrow, Pigeon Point, CA

Harry Duvall enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in the 1960s and trained as an electronics technician. After graduating from college, he returned to the Coast Guard as a civilian employee based at the district engineering office in Boston. For well over 30 years, he coordinated all the lighthouse automation and modernization projects for the… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 259 – A look back at the career of lighthouse technician Harry Duvall

A day beacon (or daybeacon) is defined simply as an unlighted nautical sea mark, serving to aid navigation during the day. The U.S. Coast Guard maintains many modern day beacons around the country, but the subject of this episode is the historic day beacons of New England. Some of them date back more than 200… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 258 – Bob Trapani Jr.: New England’s fascinating day beacons

Little Mark Island—about one acre in size—is in Maine’s Casco Bay, near the town of Harpswell. On the island is a 50-foot tall, stone, pyramidal tower that was built in 1827. It’s known as the Little Mark Island Monument.  It wasn’t built as a lighthouse—it was originally intended to serve as a day beacon or… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 257 – Ford Reiche, Little Mark Island, Maine

At the end of this year, Sally Snowman will retire after 20 years as keeper of Boston Light in Massachusetts, America’s oldest light station. As a civilian employee of the Coast Guard, she oversaw tours and managed the Boston Light Augmentation Program, under which members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary perform various functions at Boston… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 256 – Boston Light Keeper Sally Snowman and the end of an era, part 2 of 2