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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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The Spirit of Christmas Shines Bright at
Portsmouth Harbor Light
By Bob Trapani, Jr.
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The dedication of the bygone lightkeeper is a great
source of pride in American lighthouse annals. Regardless of the weather
or season, the lighthouse keeper was always on duty trimming the wicks
and sending out the light to protect the mariner at sea. Neither the
bone-chilling grip of “Old Man Winter” nor the awesome power of the
“Storm King” could prevent the keepers from attending to their light.
Today the keepers no longer tend the lights, but these heroes of the sea
would be happy to know that some things have survived the winds of
change.
Progress may have diminished the |
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Portsmouth Harbor Light on December 3,
2005
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utility of a lighthouse but the
modern day keepers of the lights still exhibit the same selfless dedication
as their “Wickie” predecessors. On December 3, 2005, the Friends of
Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse, a chapter of the American Lighthouse
Foundation, braved and endured the harsh elements riding the frigid wings of
winter in order to share Portsmouth Harbor Light with the general public
during the chapter’s annual Holiday Open House.
The sun-splashed cast-iron tower stood tall and proud against the sparkling
blue waters of the Piscataqua River on this particular day, but |
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Sharon Mills (right) staffs the FPHL gift
table as a visitor enjoys a cup of hot
cider
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appearances of a gorgeous day were quite misleading. The
sun’s warming powers were rendered useless in the face of a relentless
icy wind blowing 25 to 30 knots. The blustery conditions were their
worst at water’s edge where the wind raced wildly across an open sea and
created a wind-chill of 16 degrees.
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Despite the uncomfortable
conditions that forced both volunteers and visitors to seek refuge inside
the light tower, the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse (FPHL) were
undeterred. FPHL “keepers” Sharon Mills, William Marshall and GJ
Hicks-Grogan welcomed the public inside the festively decorated lighthouse
and offered visitors cookies, hot |
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cider and
cocoa to ward off weather’s chill. As people took advantage of the
opportunity to climb the lighthouse, Christmas music accompanied their
ascent up the brick-lined tower where FPHL president Jeremy D’Entremont
and board member Ross Tracy presented visitors with a brief history of
the light station in both the |
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Jeremy D'Entremont (left) explains the
history of the light station to visitors
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watchroom and
lantern.
D’Entremont enjoys
opening the lighthouse to the public at this time of year, saying, “Our
Holiday Open House is always a fun event. It's always quieter than our
summer open houses, when we get as many as 300 visitors in just four hours.
The cold weather, along with competing indoor events, tends to keep the
attendance down for our December open house. But this gives us an
opportunity to spend a little more time chatting with visitors about the
history of the lighthouse and what our group is doing. It's a nice, relaxed
atmosphere, and we're able to provide a very positive experience for our
visitors. I'm very grateful to the volunteers who stuck it out, despite the
cold temperatures and biting wind.”
Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
FPHL Volunteers
(Front...L to R) GJ Hicks-Grogan, Jeremy
D'Entremont and Bob Trapani
(Back...L to R) William Marshall, Ross
Tracy and Sharon Mills
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