An extremely rare telescope once used by the United
States Life Saving Service to watch for shipwrecks off the downeast
coast of Maine will soon have a new home at the maritime exhibit at
Cutler’s Little River Lighthouse.
The rare brass telescope, presented to
Photo courtesy FLRL
Tim Harrison, co-chairman of the Friends of Little River
Lighthouse, has been in the possession of George Morrison of Oak Bay, New
Brunswick, Canada for many years. He inherited it from his father. When
presenting the telescope to Harrison, Morrison said, “I now know that the
telescope will have a good home and I entrust it to Harrison’s care for
future generations."
Exceptionally rare, the late 1800’s hand-held brass telescope
was manufactured by “Bardou & Son,” specifically for the United States Life
Saving Service, which in 1915, along with the United States Revenue Cutter
Service, were merged together to become the United States Coast Guard. The
all brass telescope is engraved with the Bardou and Son and U.S. Life Saving
Service trademarks and has a canvas cover on the main tube. It measures 23
inches when closed, telescoping to 39 inches when extended. It still has its
original eyepiece and object dust slide, the latter being incorporated into
a press-on cover, which may be fully removed.
Harrison said their research indicates very few of the
telescopes were commissioned of Bardou by the Life Saving Service, probably
because they were so expensive at the time.
Where, when, and how Morrison’s father acquired the telescope
is unclear, but it is speculated it probably came from the original Quoddy
Head Life Saving Station in Lubec or the Cross Island Life Saving Station in
Machiasport. Both structures no longer stand, although they were replaced by
other structures, which are no longer owned by the government.
Interestingly, both Morrison and his father were in the United States Coast
Guard. and at different times, both were stationed at some of the same
lighthouses as well as the same Coast Guard stations during their careers.
In fact, the Morrison family was the last lighthouse family to be stationed
at the no longer standing St. Croix River Lighthouse in Calais.
This is not the first time that Morrison has made important
donations of artifacts that will now be displayed at Little River
Lighthouse. Last year he donated a rare Seth Thomas brass clock for Little
River Lighthouse that once hung at Cross Island Life Saving Station, as well
as a 1911 Light List book.
Last year, Morrison and his wife, Wendy, also served as
volunteer caretakers at the nearly restored lighthouse. Morrison said he was
so impressed by what the many volunteers, under the leadership of people
like Tim Harrison, Hal Biering and Kathy Finnegan, and many others, had
accomplished that he was inspired to contribute to the cause as his way of
helping to preserve not only his family’s maritime history, but to also
teach others through the display of artifacts.
Little River Lighthouse, which sits on a 15-acre island, at
the entrance to the harbor in Cutler, Maine, was once listed by
Maine Preservation as one of
Maine’s Ten Most Endangered Historic Properties. Since early 2000, the
American Lighthouse Foundation, which now owns the lighthouse and the
island, has been restoring the lighthouse station to its original grandeur.
In October of 2001, after being dark for 26 years, the lighthouse was relit
as a “Beacon of Freedom to the World,” in memory of the 9-11 terrorist
attacks.
To learn more about ongoing restoration of Little River
Lighthouse or its overnight summer accommodations, you can visit their web
site at
or call them at 207-259-3833. You can also
write to them at Friends of Little River Lighthouse, a chapter of the
American Lighthouse Foundation, P.O. Box 671, East Machias, ME 04630.
