With all the hard work and sacrifice required to making
lighthouse preservation an ongoing success, it is always a wonderful
experience to be able to stop momentarily to celebrate the times when
the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) is the benefactor of a generous
gift to help support our efforts to save lighthouses.
One such occasion occurred on June 17,
Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
ALF vice-president Sylvia Paneris (left)
and
ALF treasurer Kathleen Finnegan (right)
accept a $500 check from Christopher
Glass,
vice-president of Maine Preservation for
Little River Light Station
2006 during the American
Lighthouse Foundation’s benefit dinner in Rockland, Maine – a fundraising
event that was designed to help raise money for the Maine Lighthouse Museum,
Friends of Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, as well as ALF.
Following dinner Christopher Glass, vice president for Maine Preservation, a
nonprofit organization whose mission it is to “promote
Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
Christopher
Glass, vice-president for Maine Preservation, talks
about the organization's core
beliefs in helping to support the
preservation of Maine's
historic treasures
the preservation, protection and vitality of Maine’s
historic places and encourage quality design that contributes to the
livability of our communities,” addressed the audience and explained why
it is important we work together in saving Maine’s historic treasures.
Mr. Glass concluded by presenting ALF officers Sylvia Paneris and
Kathleen Finnegan with a $500 check to assist with the plumbing
installation at Little River Light Station in 2006.
Maine Preservation’s financial support of the American
Lighthouse Foundation’s efforts to save the state’s lighthouse heritage
couldn’t have come at a better time as the organization works toward the
goal of completing the five-year restoration project at Little River
this year. In a letter dated June 17, 2006, executive director Roxanne Eflin
stated, “Maine Preservation is pleased to present a $500 grant from our
Preserve Maine Fund to the Little River Light Station restoration.”
Eflin went on to note, “The Little River Light Station was named to the list
of Maine’s ‘Most Endangered Historic Properties’ in 1999; however, through
the diligent efforts of the American Lighthouse Foundation, local citizens
and volunteers, this lighthouse and the keeper’s house are well on their way
out of endangered status. We congratulate everyone involved on this
impressive historic preservation project.”
Timothy Harrison, president of the American Lighthouse Foundation, touched
on the importance of Maine Preservation’s donation, saying, “We need the
help of Mainers statewide when it comes to saving our lighthouses. When a
well-respected preservation organization like Maine
Preservation steps up to assist a project
like Little River, it really makes a statement about the value of ALF’s
commitment and effort.” Harrison went on to note, “Many of Maine’s
lighthouses are in dire need of financial support from the community as
we speak. The American Lighthouse Foundation is doing its best to save
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Little River Light Station,
Cutler Harbor, Maine
and preserve the state’s historic
lights, but we cannot do it alone. This is why Maine Preservation’s donation
is so important – it demonstrates a commitment to that call to action, which
is so vital to helping an organization like ALF when we need it most.”
In light of Harrison’s comments, it becomes apparent why donations like the
$500 grant from Maine Preservation are so vital for a historic light
station
like Little River. The very thing that makes Little River so special – its
pristine and isolate location at the mouth of the river leading to the
picturesque fishing village of Cutler Harbor in Downeast Maine, is also what
poses the biggest challenge at the site. Though the American Lighthouse
Foundation has been successful to date in saving this historic treasure for
future generations, the challenges stemming from a scant population in the
Washington County region and a depressed local economy previously offered
very little hope for the beacon if not for the dedicated efforts of our
organization.
Five years of hard work has allowed ALF to pull Little River Light Station
back from the brink of being lost – and now there is light at the end of the
tunnel as we head into what is hoped to be the final phase of restoration in
2006. But we haven’t crossed that finish line just yet. When considering
even the most standard of activities for a restoration project, an offshore
location like Little River can turn the routine into quite a challenge.
When you r home needs services like a plumber, you can usually make a phone
call and expect to have someone show up within a few days. For a place like
Little River Light Station, the exact opposite is true. The combination of
the lack of tradesmen readily available in the surrounding Cutler area and
its remoteness does not make scheduling simple work like plumbing an easy
task at all.
Recently, a professional plumber agreed to work at Little River here in June
2006 – and it is an opportunity ALF can ill-afford to lose. As many know
from similar restoration projects, the installation of new plumbing fixtures
inside the keeper’s house will open up countless opportunities for
education, marine science research and of course, comfortable lighthouse
tours. Yet before we can enjoy such opportunities, ALF must meet the
challenge at hand in funding this critical project.
ALF discovered $3,500 was required within a two-week time period at the
beginning of June to pay for this all-important work or else risk losing
another year until we could complete the project. As you can imagine,
rescheduling the plumbing work was not an option, for it could very well
have been another year before a plumber would agree to perform the work
again. In light of this urgent situation, the American Lighthouse Foundation
made an appeal to its membership and friends. It was very inspirational to
see our fellow lighthouse preservationists – including Maine Preservation,
respond in such fine fashion.
“Lighthouse preservation is an endeavor that contains both seen and unseen
challenges, and is a journey that spawns a wide range of emotions along the
way,” said Bob Trapani, executive director for the American Lighthouse
Foundation. “When the recent funding challenge arose for the American
Lighthouse Foundation to pay for a critical plumbing installation at Little
River Light Station, the kindness of Maine Preservation and many other
members and friends of ALF came shining through to help transform a
financial concern into an inspiring success story of fellow preservationists
banding together in a time of urgent need.”
In addition to Maine Preservation’s donation, the Friends of Pemaquid Point
Lighthouse also made a check presentation of $500 during the American
Lighthouse Foundation’s benefit dinner in Rockland on June 17th. Please see
this story at:
FPPL Shows its Team Spirit by Helping Little River
