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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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Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse Shine’s Bright
as a Beacon for Education
By Bob Trapani, Jr.
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Keeper Henry
Cuskley would have been smiling on Sunday, May 29, 2005 had he been in
attendance for the first open house of the year at Portsmouth Harbor
Light. Keeper Cuskley, who served at the light station from 1915 to 1941
with his wife and two daughters, obviously found lighthouse life quite
agreeable at such a picturesque family station like Portsmouth Harbor to
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Portsmouth Harbor Light
New
Hampshire
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have tended
the light there for 26 years.
Though 64 years
have passed since Keeper Cuskley’s last watch, every so often in life,
history has a unique way of repeating itself. One such special occasion took
place on May 29th during an open house sponsored by the Friends
of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse, a chapter of the American Lighthouse
Foundation. Though keeper Cuskley’s hospitality and his wife’s renowned
Sunday dinners and raspberry custard tarts is now but a memory, the concept
of a family enjoying quality time together on a Sunday afternoon in 2005 at
Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse remains as special as it was six decades ago.
The 1878 cast-iron
tower stands only 48 feet tall, but its alluring beam of romance and
intrigue shines out far out beyond the sentinel’s location at the mouth of
the Piscataqua River in the town of Newcastle, New Hampshire. “I was very
pleasantly surprised that we had one of our biggest open house crowds ever,
probably close to 300 people,” said Jeremy
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Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
Jeremy D'Entremont, president of
the Friends of Portsmouth
Harbor Lighthouse
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D’Entremont,
president of the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse. “We always get a
cross-section of local people who have just found out about the open houses,
and tourists and visitors from other parts of the country. The people who
signed our guest book included visitors from Pennsylvania, New York,
Vermont, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New
Hampshire – and Ireland!”
Though visitors to
the lighthouse hailed from many areas, the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor
Light also take special pleasure in welcoming their neighbors who
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know and
understand the tremendous value the beacon has within the community. “It’s
great having visitors from all over,” says D’Entremont, “but I think I like
it best when people say they’re from just down the road and they had never
been in the lighthouse before.”
The desire to
climb Portsmouth Harbor Light was a powerful one for the individuals and
families that spent their Sunday afternoon seeking to learn more about the
historic site. Due to the overwhelming crowds, visitors spent 45 minutes to
an hour standing in line before they realized their
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goal of walking in the
steps of the keeper at the light station. Just as impressive was the fact
that the dedicated volunteers of the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Light (FPHL)
didn’t miss a beat when it came to greeting,
contenting and educating the visitors as they waited for their much
anticipated chance to see the light.
“I think the way the |
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Visitors assemble outside the Portsmouth
Light Station for the special chance to
"walk in the steps of the keeper"
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weather has been for the last seven weekends in New England, a lot of
people had cabin fever and needed to get outside,” said FPHL volunteer Ross
Tracy. Other volunteers like G.J. Hicks-Grogan echoed Tracy’s sentiments,
saying, “I was absolutely thrilled to see all those people yesterday. This
was certainly the largest turnout I have seen. As Ross suggested, perhaps
people were just so thrilled to have a nice day after such a long rainy
spell.” Hicks-Grogan went on to say, “I was particularly pleased to see so
many children since it was such a wonderful opportunity for them to learn
and hopefully become excited about lighthouses.”
When 300 people
converge on a lighthouse like Portsmouth Harbor, which can only accommodate
small numbers at any one given time inside the structure for safety reasons,
it takes a team of committed volunteers to ensure each visitor walks away
with an enjoyable and memorable experience. On this day, the volunteers of
Friends of Portsmouth Harbor
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
FPHL
Open House Volunteers
(L to R) Paul Conlin, Sharon Mills,
Jeremy D'Entremont, Ross Tracy & Jeff Fletcher
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Lighthouse not only put in a yeoman’s work for
the day, they also stayed open longer to accommodate as many people as
possible. “I was happy that people were willing to endure the long wait,” said FPHL
volunteer Jeff Fletcher. “I think this fact proves how eager they were to
see and climb the lighthouse.” Fellow FPHL volunteer Sharon Mills
added, “It was great to see
so many people. Since I've been volunteering, I don't |
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remember a day where the line stayed as long and steady for the whole
time during the open house.”
One positive
aspect that was derived from visitors waiting to access the lighthouse was
the ability of people to ask questions prior to their climb to the top of
Portsmouth Harbor’s lantern room. While the crowd waited at the entrance,
volunteer Ross Tracy became a human magnet for a variety of inquisitive
questions. “They asked me a wide range of questions that included the
number of steps inside the lighthouse and the age of the tower,” says Tracy.
“In addition, I answered questions about the other harbor landmarks such as
Wood Island Life-Saving Station and Whaleback Lighthouse. Somebody even
asked me if I got paid – really!”
The questions did
not stop once visitors got inside the lighthouse. After climbing up to the
beacon’s watchroom, visitors met FPHL volunteer Paul
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Conlin, who explained
to them some of the history of Portsmouth Harbor Light Station. Conlin’s
interpretive segment inside the lighthouse was enhanced by the opportunities
to expand on subjects about the lighthouse that were deemed important to
each visitor. “People wanted to know all about the tower, what it was made
of and how strong it was,” says Conlin. “They also wanted |
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Volunteer Paul Conlin (right) explains to
visitors inside the watchroom what
life was like at Portsmouth Harbor Light
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to know where the
keeper and his family lived and what the watchroom was used for, as well as
inquiring about whether the beacon flashed or rotated and why it wasn’t
working all the time.”
The best thing
about the open house at Portsmouth Harbor was the priceless opportunity for
the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse to not only share a wonderful
day with their community neighbors and visitors, but also the chance to
engage in meaningful education that comes from such firsthand experiences.
Lighthouse preservation cannot be effectively carried out in the present or
sustained in the future unless organizations commit to educating the public
on the value and importance of saving America’s coastal guardians like
Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse. In this respect, the open house was a huge
success. Hundreds of people – |
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Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
Interpretive panel display inside the oil
house shows visitors a pictorial
history
of the Portsmouth Harbor Light
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including many
families, not only climbed the lighthouse but they also walked away from
their visit having learned something about lighthouses and their
preservation that they can carry forth. Keeper Cuskley would no doubt have been beaming with pride at such a
day of family fun at his lighthouse! |
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Volunteers Keep
the Lights Shining…
Saving lighthouses
requires a team effort, something that the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor
Lighthouse understand and appreciate. Just what type of person chooses to
get involved with lighthouse preservation? The answer is people like you! No
one conveys this fact better than the FPHL volunteers themselves, who, in
their own words, describe the deep sense of satisfaction that is derived
from “giving back” to Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse.
Click Here to read what FPHL volunteers had to say!
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