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The Offshore Pomham Rocks Lighthouse “Finds
its way Around” East Providence
By Bob Trapani, Jr.
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When it comes to preserving an offshore lighthouse, there
is nothing more important to the success of the endeavor than the
ability for an organization to ‘bridge’ the natural divide of land and
sea.
Public access and learning experiences at an offshore
lighthouse no doubt make some of the finest and lasting impressions on
visitors |
Photo by Ron Foster
"Bringing a lighthouse ashore" is vital
for the preservation of an offshore lighthouse like Pomham Rocks
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who journey to a
site surrounded by water, but such opportunities are often encumbered by
logistical and seasonal limitations.
If your group serves as the keeper for an offshore lighthouse, you know
better than most that occasional public access to the historic site is not
enough to keep the lighthouse ‘front & center’ in the consciousness of the
general public.
The ‘out of sight, out of mind’ challenge that faces offshore lighthouses
thus can adversely impact the efforts of preservationists when it comes to
public awareness in areas such as educational value, volunteerism, and
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FPRL Photo
FPRL has demonstrated their passion and
effectiveness with sharing an offshore lighthouse with the community
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ultimately,
fundraising, which support all the good things we are working for at our
lighthouse.
So, today’s
modern keepers who are adept at ‘bringing their lighthouse ashore’ and
sharing its rich heritage in the lives of others will strengthen the
group’s preservation efforts by cultivating a greater and consistent
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awareness,
understanding and appreciation as to the importance of such a one-of-a-kind
mission.
Few groups understand this more, or do it better, than the Friends of Pomham
Rocks Lighthouse, a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation. These
‘keepers of the light’ are constantly finding new and innovative ways to
share one of Rhode Island’s most iconic beacons with the general public, and
in the process, effectively ‘bringing the lighthouse ashore’ within the
local communities of East Providence.
The 1871 Pomham Rocks Lighthouse stands majestically on the east side of the
shipping channel of the Providence River, approximately 800 feet |
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offshore.
Though the beacon’s distance from shore is not as far as some other
water-locked lighthouses, its offshore and industrial surroundings
present similar challenges, and in various instances, challenges unique
to this rocky island site.
Undaunted by
such inherent complexities, the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse (FPRL)
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
FPRL invested nearly $300,000 in the 2005
exterior restoration of Pomham
Rocks Lighthouse
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have maintained a vigilant ‘watch’ through passionate efforts that have gone
well beyond facilitating a $300,000 exterior restoration in 2005 and the
inspirational relighting of the historic lighthouse in 2006.
FPRL’s ability to consistently make that person-to-person connection within
the communities of East Providence shines just as bright as the success of
the group’s valiant restoration efforts.
Through various programs, FPRL is positively impacting the lives of
individuals young and old, who were previously unaware of this lighthouse |
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Photo by David Kelleher
Young and old alike enjoy the
fun-learning outreach efforts of the Friends of Pomham
Rocks Lighthouse
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project, and in doing so, have cultivated a
priceless bond between the community and their lighthouse. This
ever-growing bond promises to fuel the torch of preservation in the
future for Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
So just how does the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse
bring the glow of their lighthouse into the lives of others time and
again? |
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The answer is found within a host of fun-learning activities and events that
run the gamut when it comes to the concept of human connectivity. From
community outreach and student education to East Providence Area Chamber of
Commerce-sponsored events and rewarding member activities, the Friends of
Pomham Rocks Lighthouse are connecting with people from all walks of life.
FPRL’s efforts have a positive impact on the community as well. For example,
on April 26, 2008, FPRL participated in Earth Day activities |
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sponsored by the City of East Providence. The group
focused their clean-up efforts along ‘Lighthouse Cove’ in Riverside, RI,
within sight of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
In all, FPRL volunteers removed 31 large paper leaf bags
of trash from the shoreline, which included a number of large plastic
items, seven automobile tires and a soda machine.
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Photo by Don Doucette
FPRL participated in 2008 Earth Day
activities sponsored by the City of
East Providence
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“It is our hope to adopt ‘Lighthouse Cove’ as the Friends of Pomham Rocks
Lighthouse’s yearly clean up project as good Narragansett Bay stewards, and
as a volunteer gift to the local community,” said Don Doucette, FPRL
Chairman.
The group’s newsletter – The Pomham Glow, noted, “Lighthouses and a
clean environment go hand-in-hand and helping the community preserve both is
a goal of the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse as committed ‘keepers of a
good light by land and sea.’”
The notion of ‘bringing the lighthouse ashore’ to the community took on a
more vivid and exciting meaning during May 2008 as FPRL participated in |
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Photo by Laura McNamara
(L to R) FPRL chairman Don Doucette, East
Providence Mayor Isadore Ramos, Ph.D.
& Pawtucket Red Sox mascot "Paws" at the
2nd Annual "Touch-A-Truck" event
sponsored by the East Providence Area
Chamber of Commerce
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two high profile public events with delightful likenesses
of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
On May 3rd FPRL was a sponsor for the East
Providence Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2nd Annual
‘Touch-A-Truck event, which provides local businesses the opportunity to
position their company vehicles into a circle and show them off. The
event is fun for the entire family, especially kids who climb aboard the
vehicles, blow horns and pretend to drive them. |
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As a proud sponsor of the “Touch-A-Truck event, FPRL exhibited their boat
that is used by volunteers to transit back and forth from the island
lighthouse, but that’s not all. The group also made a big hit with families
in attendance by displaying a wooden cutout of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse that
offered a great photo opportunity as participants took turns peering out the
makeshift windows.
Another community highlight took place on May 26th when the
Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse debuted a gorgeous, scale-model of the
1871 lighthouse in a local Memorial Day parade.
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The scale-model, which was designed and fabricated by
Chris Allen, with help from a number of other FPRL volunteers, delighted
parade onlookers that lined the streets during the 2008 Riverside
Decoration Day Parade. The sight of the colorful lighthouse adorning a
float was an unforgettable moment for both community residents and FPRL
volunteers.
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Photo by Don Doucette
FPRL volunteers Chris Allen and Rob
Charbonneau helped construct the Pomham Rocks parade float
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“For the first time, we were
able to gaze into the heart of the community and feel a vital part of the
local pulse,” said Don Doucette. “We looked into the eyes of proud veterans
and present Service members, seniors, children, families, disabled persons,
visitors, local officials and the gathering as a whole and were able to
genially say to each, ‘good morning, how are you?’”
Doucette went on to note, “All said, it was time and treasure well spent,
and well invested. Our faithful volunteers from the Friends of Pomham |
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Photo by Don Doucette
The Riverside, RI community enjoyed the
Pomham Rocks float during a
Memorial Day parade
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Rocks
Lighthouse came home this morning with the Riverside community greeting
us with open arms amid many ‘well done’ comments and appreciative
applause. We were so pleased and warmed deeply to the soul.”
Reaching the
community by land is a vital component to preserving an offshore
lighthouse like Pomham Rocks, but |
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such an effort
also presents the opportunity for volunteers to ‘take to the sea’ when
seeking to provide the community with a fun-learning event.
FPRL has collaborated with another East Providence nonprofit, Save the Bay,
in sponsoring popular lighthouse cruises on the Narragansett Bay during the
summer months, which blends Rhode Island lighthouse history and aspects of
our precious coastal environment together quite nicely.
Over the past couple of years in the month of October FPRL has also
sponsored a lighthouse cruise that places its focus on providing tour
patrons with an up-close and personal view of the group’s beloved Pomham
Rocks Light at sunset.
In addition to seeing the lighthouse from the water in its entire splendor,
people are engaged by FPRL volunteers in the history of the lighthouse, as
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well as
present day efforts to restore and preserve the stately beacon. Best of
all, the up-close view of the lighthouse sparks a fascinating interest
in Pomham Rocks; at once revealing its alluring appeal that speaks
straight to a person’s heart.
In referring
to the lighthouse sunset cruise, Doucette notes, “It is a perfect
setting for a great |
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Lighthouse sunset cruise patrons relish
the opportunity to have a close-up view of
Pomham Rocks Lighthouse
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deal of fun and
the ability to converse and network with people who can potentially help
this lighthouse restoration project move forward.”
Other engaging events such as potluck suppers, family picnics and membership
meetings, as well as civic outreach opportunities at venues such as the
Annual Girl Scout Fair and East Providence Heritage Festival round out a
passionate effort to connect Pomham Rocks Lighthouse with the community.
When it comes to FPRL’s outreach efforts, one might ask, ‘what about the
keepers of tomorrow?’ Well, its safe to say that when it comes to connecting
the history of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse and the rest of |
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
A group of FPRL volunteers...
(L to R) David Kelleher, Nancy Doucette,
Laura McNamara, Nate Chace, Don Doucette
and Rob Charbonneau
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Rhode Island’s lights with students, FPRL earns some of
its finest marks.
David Kelleher, Education Coordinator for the Friends of
Pomham Rocks and a retired educator, leads the way in shining a bright
light on lighthouse history for school-age children of various ages.
Mr. Kelleher has worked tirelessly, with help from
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others on the FPRL
Education Committee like teacher Nancy Moore, to create a unit on
lighthouses that has been integrated into the student curriculum at East
Providence area schools like Oldham Elementary, Kent Heights Elementary,
Hennessey School and Francis School.
The unit gains the
interest of the students in lighthouses by taking them on a visual tour of
all 21 Rhode Island lighthouses with pictures and in |
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some cases, models. The children also learn about
lighthouse history, the structures themselves and a few of the most
fascinating human-interest stories associated with the lights.
FPRL also provides schools a library kit about
lighthouses, which includes a teacher’s guide containing many activities
relating to lighthouses, a music |
FPRL Photo
David Kelleher and Carlene Joiner
(behind the table) volunteer for Pomham
Rocks at a Girl Scout Craft Fair
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folder with numerous nautical themes, books with lighthouse titles and a
calendar with lighthouse photos displayed for each month. Nancy Moore lends
a helpful hand to this project by obtaining and assembling the materials for
these kits.
“Rhode Island’s twenty one existing lighthouses, along with its six vanished
lights, including their rich history, present a vital model for educational
opportunities within the Ocean State” said David Kelleher. |
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Photo by David Kelleher
A wooden cut-out of Pomham Rocks
Lighthouse serves as part of FPRL's
fun-learning educational programs
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“The majority
of Rhode Island’s population is situated within thirty-five minutes from
the state’s coastline, and as example, this educational model relates
directly to the teaching of social studies, math, language, arts / music
and architecture.”
Kelleher goes
on to note, “This lighthouse unit, which has been presented to various
grade levels in |
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the elementary middle schools of
East Providence, consists of a discussion defining the purposes of a
lighthouse, daymark distinctions, along with the signal variations of lights
and foghorn apparatus.”
“I devote added time and detail to the more recent restoration of Pomham
Rocks Lighthouse, located in East Providence, which presents students with
data directly related to an actual historic, working lighthouse located in
their own community.”
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“I then
conclude the program with a map exercise, including various map skills
and a review of different corresponding sections of Rhode Island. The
students are arranged in small groups of four or five, given a map of
Rhode Island and as each lighthouse name is called, each student plots
the correct result.”
What makes the
Friends of Pomham Rocks |
Photo by David Kelleher
School children are shown taking part in
an interactive map exercise to locate
Rhode Island lighthouses
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Lighthouse’s student education
program so effective is that it’s not just a random occurrence. Thanks to
David Kelleher’s dedication when it comes to sharing Rhode Island’s
lighthouse history with the ‘keepers of tomorrow,’ FPRL’s program is
consistently being presented to school students, as well as civic groups
throughout the East Providence community.
A sign of how much the community appreciates the efforts of the Friends of
Pomham Rocks Lighthouse occurred on August 19, 2008 when the East Providence
City Council publicly recognized the volunteer group by presenting them with
a Citation honoring their important work.
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FPRL Photo
FPRL's Pomham Rocks' Lighthouse Santa has
been taking to the water two years running to raise awareness for the
offshore lighthouse while celebrating Christmas
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In the end, the FPRL’s efforts to ‘bring the lighthouse
ashore’ into the lives of countless people gifts Pomham Rocks Lighthouse
itself with a bright future that otherwise may have grown dim if not for
the rock-solid commitment of its present day keepers – and the State of
Rhode Island and our nation at large are the benefactors of this
unconditional dedication that deserves our highest admiration.
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David Kelleher
presents an FPRL lighthouse program to an AARP group in Riverside, RI
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FPRL Photo
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Photo by David Kelleher
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Grade 4 students
from Waddington School are one of number of schools that have enjoyed
FPRL's educational program
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A close-up view of
lighthouse crafts that students have an opportunity to construct during
FPRL's educational program
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Photo by David Kelleher
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FPRL Photo
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Pomham Rocks'
Lighthouse Santa receives plenty of help from FPRL volunteers and
'elves'...(L to R) David Kelleher, Don Doucette, aka 'Lighthouse Santa,'
Nancy Doucette & Rob Charbonneau
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(L to R) FPRL
volunteers like Chris Allen and Rob Charbonneau bring energy and
enthusiasm to FPRL's community outreach efforts
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Photo by Don Doucette
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Photo by David Kelleher
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FPRL participated in
The Gordon School's Musical about lighthouses, which was directed by
Nancy Moore, music teacher at The Gordon School & FPRL volunteer
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(L to R) David
Kelleher, Nancy Doucette & Mary Chace pass out lighthouse info to
passer-bys along the East Bay Bike Path, which is in view of Pomham
Rocks Lighthouse
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FPRL Photo
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
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Keith Lescarbeau
of Abcore Construction, and FPRL volunteers David Kelleher & Don
Doucette talk about Pomham Rocks Light's restoration at an FPRL event
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Posted: 12/17/2008 |
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