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American Lighthouse Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 565
Rockland,
Maine 04841
Phone: 207-594-4174
Fax: 207-596-1091
info@lighthousefoundation.org
The American Lighthouse Foundation is a
Non-Profit 501(c)(3) Organization dedicated to the
preservation of America's historic
lighthouses & lightships and
their heritage.
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Little River Volunteers Al & Pat Vachon
Recognized by American Lighthouse Foundation
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On November 3, 2007, the American Lighthouse Foundation
honored 17 special volunteers for their outstanding contributions to the
organization in 2007 during a dinner event held in Woburn,
Massachusetts.
The Friends of Little River Lighthouse, a chapter of the
American Lighthouse Foundation, selected Al & Pat Vachon as their
volunteer honorees. Though the Vachons were unable to attend the event,
their many contributions at Little River Light Station were acknowledged
nonetheless in front of the dinner attendees.
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Al & Pat Vachon at Little River
Lighthouse, Cutler, Maine
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Timothy Harrison, co-chairman of the Friends of Little River Lighthouse,
talks about the Vachons volunteerism, saying:
“The Friends of Little River Lighthouse were fortunate enough to have former
Little River Lighthouse keeper Al Vachon come forward four years ago; first
to share his memories and photographs of his life at the lighthouse, and
then to serve as volunteer.
Not knowing what to expect on the remote island light station that had been
abandoned for so many years, without bathroom facilities or fresh water,
that first year, Al came by himself to spend his summer vacation to camp on
the island and assist in its restoration. |
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Al Vachon helps repaint the cupola
of Little River Light
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By the end of his first summer as a volunteer he soon
realized that he needed to take his wife with him for the next season.
He not only wanted to share with the her, memories of his life at an
island lighthouse, while at the lighthouse, he knew that she would love
volunteering at what he says is one of the most peaceful and beautiful
settings in the world.
During that second season, and thereafter, Al’s wife,
Pat, pitched right in as a working volunteer, and like Al, she
immediately fell in love with the restoration work, |
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the uniqueness of the island and became fast friends with the other
volunteers who came and went during their stays on the island. In fact, each
time Pat returns, she doesn’t want to leave when their working vacation is
over, a sentiment that Al also firmly agrees with.
As well as sharing memories and photographs, which helped save the history
of the lighthouse; the Vachons have done everything from scraping old paint,
washing windows, painting, inside and out, ferrying guests back and forth to
the island, repairing the dock, working on the lawn, to down and outright
dirty work in the dingy basement.
Al has also generously shared his memories of his time as a keeper with
people who have visited the island when he and his wife were there as
volunteers. They have done all this on their vacation time.”
Photo by Kathleen Finnegan
Pat Vachon helps clean up fallen
branches during a Little River work day
Posted: 1/24/2008 |
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