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FPHL Volunteers
“Spring” into Action
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The Friends of
Portsmouth Harbor Light (FPHL) volunteers know that spring is upon them
when chapter president Jeremy D’Entremont and lighthouse committee
member Ross Tracy alert the “troops” that it is time to spruce up
Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse after another long, |
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Thick fog envelopes Portsmouth Harbor
Lighthouse on April 15, 2006
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hard winter. With
the first open house at the lighthouse for 2006 just six weeks away, FPHL
volunteers donned their work clothes and packed lunches in preparation for a
full day of work renewing the appearance of the light tower and oil house.
As volunteers gathered at the lighthouse on the morning of April 15, 2006, a
persistent fog enveloped the mouth of the Piscataqua River, reducing
visibility to zero at various times throughout the day. The work itinerary
included prepping and repainting the interior of the light tower’s watchroom,
as well as exterior prepping and repainting of the tower’s entrance door and
wood trim on the nearby oil house.
Despite a weather forecast that promised glimpses of the sun, the thickness
of the fog had other ideas. The gray murkiness not only |
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
(L to R) Pat Heffernan, Paul Kohl
and
William Marshall repainted the watchroom
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blotted out any trace of the sun’s golden rays, it also
deposited its signature mark of moisture droplets on the exterior of the
tower and oil house. This minor setback to the outside work agenda was
only temporary though. While waiting for the fog to sufficiently lift
before applying primer to the prepped wood |
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surfaces, the group of eight volunteers split up to attend to other work
items.
Pat Heffernan, Paul Kohl and William Marshall headed up the spiral staircase
to the watchroom where they unfolded their tarps and began prepping and
repainting its circular walls. Before long a fresh and shiny new coat of
paint adorned the entire room in the wake of their rollers and brushes. Ross
Tracy – when not coordinating each group’s activities, was busy retightening
the handrails and supports to the site’s wooden walkway and sweeping out the
lighthouse.
In the meantime, Jeremy D’Entremont climbed around the rocky ledge cleaning
up trash left behind by the tides, while Kaye Heffernan, |
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Joanne Yeaton and Bob Trapani tackled the job of scraping
the loose paint from the wood trim of the oil house. By lunch time the
sun had overpowered the stubborn fog enough to enable the volunteers to
begin the job of applying primer to the cleaned surfaces of the wood
trim and the entrance door to the lighthouse.
The ambitious group’s handiwork was quite evident around
3 o’clock in the afternoon as the facets of the lighthouse and oil house
that received attention showed a “like new” appearance once again. FPHL
president Jeremy D’Entremont was quite pleased with the effort of the
volunteers, stating, “Anything |
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
(L to R) Joanne Yeaton and Kaye Heffernan
work on prepping the wood trim of the oil house
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becomes easier
when people work as a team, and lighthouse maintenance is no different.”
D’Entremont went on to say, “The work was done much more quickly because we
had a group of people who were truly willing to apply themselves to
accomplish a goal. But maybe even more importantly, work days like this
foster a sense of camaraderie and give volunteers a chance to contribute in
a very tangible way. Donating money is very important, but doing physical
work on the site helps volunteers feel a closer connection to the lighthouse
that can't be gained in any other way.”
For Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Light volunteers like Paul Kohl and Pat &
Kaye Heffernan, this was their first opportunity to participate in a |
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Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont
Ross Tracy retightens the support posts
and handrails to the site's wooden walkway
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workday at the lighthouse. The trio
contributed mightily to the day’s work and enjoyed themselves in the
process as they met new friends and derived satisfaction from seeing
their efforts make a marked difference at the lighthouse at the end of
the day. “I'm always excited to see new |
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volunteers come
for these work days,” said D’Entremont. “You can never have too many hard
workers on your team!”
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(L to R) Joanne Yeaton, Kaye Heffernan
and Pat Heffernan apply
a primer coat to the wood trim of the
oil house
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Ross Tracy sweeps out the
interior of the lighthouse
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Jeremy D'Entremont collected
trash and debris left behind by
tides from the site's rocky ledge
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Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont
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Bob Trapani applies
a coat of primer to
the wood trim on
the oil house
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Paul Kohl applies
a primer coat to
the wood trim on
the oil house
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Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Ross Tracy removes hardware from the
entrance door in preparation of it receiving a
fresh coat of paint
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
William Marshall (back) and Jeremy
D'Entremont work to
repaint the light tower's
entrance door
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Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont
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Bob Trapani works
to scrape paint from the wood trim
on
the oil house
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Posted 5/1/06 |
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