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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 Lighthouse Gets Fresh Water For
First Time In Decades
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Thanks to the dedicated efforts of volunteers, the remote
Little River Lighthouse that rests on a small island off the harbor of
Cutler, Maine now has fresh water for the first time in over thirty
years.
“We’re doing it the old fashioned
way,” said volunteer Hal Biering who has been coming to the island from
his home in Alabama for the past five |
Photo by Tim Harrison
Volunteers Hal Biering and Lee Leighton
installing the pump for the cistern in the basement of the keeper's
house at
Little River Lighthouse.
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years to work on the restoration
of the lighthouse. He went on to explain, “We are now collecting rain water
from the roof into the cistern in the basement of the old lighthouse
keeper’s home.”
“It’s been a long time coming, to get this project done,” said Lee Leighton,
a volunteer from southern Maine who spends several weeks on the island each
summer to help in the restoration.
Back in the 1970’s the fresh water well that the Coast Guard had drilled
became contaminated from a fuel oil spill in the basement of the keeper’s
house.
Last year, Boy Scouts from two different troops in southern Maine spent a
week on the island and one of their projects |
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Photo by Tim Harrison
Volunteer Lee Leighton makes the final
adjustments to the pump at Little River Lighthouse that now pumps fresh
water into
the plumbing system at the remote island
station for the first time in over 30
years.
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was to help rebuild one of the cistern
walls that had collapsed many years ago. Then, over the winter months
Biering, or “Mr. Hal,” as he is known locally, had a custom-made liner
constructed in Alabama, which he brought up to Maine. Wooden downspouts
were then fabricated, (exact replicas of the originals that were once at
the lighthouse,) and installed. Finally, an |
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approved
Department of Environmental Protection, pump was installed to pump the water
up into the plumbing system.
“It was amazing,” said Tim Harrison, another volunteer with the group, “We
turned the faucet on and out came clear pure water, which was a lot
different that the brown water mixed with fuel oil we had seen before.”
The volunteers said this is one of the major steps in the restoration, which
will now hopefully allow for overnight stays at the lighthouse. Biering
said, “Nobody would want to spend the night out here for any length of time
without the ability to take a fresh shower, something that can now be done
again for the first time in over 30 years.
Recently an official group, the Friends of Little River Lighthouse was
formed to help with the ongoing restoration and care of the lighthouse that
is owned by the nonprofit American Lighthouse Foundation.
To learn more about the lighthouse you can visit the American Lighthouse
Foundation web site at
www.LighthouseFoundation.org.
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Posted: 8/29/2007 |
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