This episode features a wide-ranging conversation between Light Hearted host Jeremy D’Entremont and Jeff Gales, executive director of the U.S. Lighthouse Society (USLHS). Topics include the early history of the USLHS, the Society’s move from San Francisco to Point No Point Light Station in Seattle, the passport program, overnight stays at the Society’s properties and… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 237 – U.S. Lighthouse Society Executive Director Jeff Gales

This episode features two re-edited interviews from past years, Karen Zacharuk and Chris Mills. For more than 15 years, Karen has been the keeper at Cape Beale in British Columbia. Cape Beale is one of 27 lightstations that remain staffed on the coast of British Columbia. As keeper, Karen maintains the navigation equipment and buildings,… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 236 – Canadian light keepers Karen Zacharuk and Chris Mills

Seal Point Lighthouse is on Cape St. Francis in South Africa, close to the southeasternmost point on the continent. At 91 feet tall, it’s the tallest masonry building on the South African coast. Construction began in 1874, and materials had to be hauled by oxcart to the remote location. The light station began service on… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 235 – Paul Duval & Wesley Randles, Seal Point Lighthouse, South Africa

The waterfront of Belfast, Northern Ireland, is home to one of the world’s biggest tourist attractions: Titanic Belfast, also known as the Titanic Museum. The museum opened in 2012 and attracted more than six million people in its first seven years of operation. In 2018, two important new attractions – the Great Light and Titanic… Continue reading Light Hearted 234 – Sally Montgomery and Northern Ireland’s “Great Light”; special lighthouse month at a York, Maine, gallery

Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City, New Jersey, has the distinction of being New Jersey’s tallest lighthouse and the nation’s third tallest masonry lighthouse at 171 feet. The tower was designed by George Meade, who later commanded the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. The light went into service in early 1857. After… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 233 – Jean Muchanic and Buddy Grover, Absecon, NJ

The first lighthouse in the Pacific Northwest was established in 1856 on the north side of the entrance to the Columbia River at Cape Disappointment, in the state of Washington. High land blocked the view of the light from the north, so Congress appropriated funds for a second lighthouse at North Head, just two miles… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 232 – North Head Lighthouse, Washington

The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, or NHLPA, was created to aid the preservation of federally owned historic light stations. The NHLPA program is a partnership that includes the Coast Guard, the National Park Service, and the General Services Administration, or GSA. The NHLPA allows lighthouse properties to be transferred at no cost… Continue reading Light Hearted 231 – National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act and the GSA; National Lighthouse Day Dance Contest

There are three lighthouses on the Lake Erie shore within the state of Pennsylvania. The first of the three, Erie Land Lighthouse, was erected to mark the entrance to Presque Isle Bay. It has the distinction of being the earliest commissioned light station on the American side of the Great Lakes. The present 49-foot tower… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 230 – Lake Erie Lighthouses of Pennsylvania; Chicago Harbor Lighthouse, Illinois

Constance Scovill Small was born into a Maine family that included sea captains and lighthouse keepers. Connie had dreams of being an artist or writer, but when light keeper Elson Small asked her, “Do you love me enough to go with me on a lighthouse?” she knew she had to say yes. They were soon… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 229 – Connie Small, “The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife”

Dianne Wolfer’s 2009 book Lighthouse Girl won the West Australian Young Readers’ Book Award for Picture Books. Lighthouse Girl tells the poignant story of Fay Howe, who was the daughter of the lighthouse keeper at Breaksea Island, near Albany in Western Australia, during World War I. In late 1914 a fleet of 36 troop ships… Continue reading Light Hearted ep 228 – USLHS tours, and “Lighthouse Girl” revisited