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Dedicated Volunteers Ensure Race Point Light
Remains a Model Project
By Bob Trapani, Jr.
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| The Cape Cod Chapter of the American
Lighthouse Foundation held its annual “Keeper Orientation” program on
April 8, 2006 at the Cape Codder Resort and Spa in Hyannis, MA. The
six-hour orientation was designed to educate and acquaint both
longstanding and prospective keepers on any new initiatives and
equipment at the light |
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Over 50 volunteers attended the 2006
Cape Cod Chapter "Keeper's Orientation"
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station, while
reviewing the operational and safety expectations associated with running a
first-class project at Race Point Light Station. The “keepers” of Race Point
Light are dedicated individuals who volunteer to responsibly manage the site
at various times in season for the Chapter’s overnight stay program, as well
as helping facilitate facets of the station’s educational program.
Following a
welcome and introductions by Cape Cod Chapter board member Bill Jenkins, Ed
O’Connell, Race Point’s Keeper Relations Liaison, |
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Ed O'Connell, Race Point's
Keeper Relations Liaison
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began the orientation program with a thorough review of
the many responsibilities that volunteer keepers carry out while
managing the light station throughout the summer. From daily duties at
the station to vehicle care as well as safety and emergency
preparedness, Ed covered a host of items that demonstrated just how
thorough and responsible the Cape Cod Chapter and their volunteers are
with caring and utilizing Race Point Light Station.
A very special moment occurred during the keeper
orientation when Bill Jenkins announced that Race Point Light was
celebrating its 10- |
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year anniversary
from the time the station’s restoration was first undertaken. In recognition
of this milestone and as a token of the Chapter’s appreciation for his
leadership and contributions over the past ten years, Bill Jenkins presented
Cape Cod Chapter president Jim Walker with a “Ten-Year Anniversary
Achievement Award” (1996-2006). Debbie Jenkins followed Bill’s presentation
by presenting Jim’s wife Sylvia Walker with a similar ten-year achievement
award.
As leaders of any lighthouse preservation project know all too well, one of
the most difficult things to ensure is maintaining the vital momentum |
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needed to
sustain a given effort at a high standard of excellence. It is fairly
common that over time human nature tends to relax a bit, which often
results in a project losing that all-important momentum, but that is not
the case with the Cape Cod Chapter at Race Point Light Station.
In all, over
50 people were in attendance at |
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
(L to R) Jim and Sylvia Walker are
presented with the Chapter's "Ten-Year Anniversary Achievement Award" by
Bill Jenkins
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the keeper
orientation this year to learn about the changes in 2006 and how they can
better assist this wonderful effort. This is a tribute to the dedication of
people like Jim & Sylvia Walker, Don & Pat Root, Bill and Debbie Jenkins, Ed
O’Connell, Dennis Sutton, Bill Fiske and so many others within the Chapter
who continually work hard to cultivate a sustained interest in the
preservation of Race Point Light Station.
A decade ago Race Point Light Station was a fading reminder of the rich
maritime heritage that is synonymous with Cape Cod, Massachusetts. On |
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Volunteers like Dennis Sutton help
keep
the Race Point project shining bright
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the verge of
being lost to time and the elements like the storm-tossed shipwrecks of
yesteryear that have disappeared beneath the sands of the Cape, the
light station was desperately in need of a helping hand before it was
too late.
There to
answer that call in 1996 was a small group of hardy volunteers from the
Cape Cod Chapter of |
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the American Lighthouse Foundation, led by Jim Walker, who also happened to
be the Coastguardsman in charge of automating the station and closing it up
in 1972. Armed with an indomitable spirit, Jim and his fellow volunteers
accomplished what few thought was possible – the complete restoration of
Race Point Light Station, which included the light tower, keeper’s dwelling,
whistle house and oil house.
The monumental effort to save Race Point Light Station was accomplished
within the 3-year time period that the American Lighthouse Foundation |
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promised the
United States Coast Guard when a lease of the property was granted in
1996. The restoration of this historic light station was nothing short
of amazing in hindsight. Volunteers had no utilities to work with and
were forced to drive two miles over sandy dunes in four-wheel drive
vehicles just to reach the site, which is located within
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ALF Photo
Cape Cod Chapter volunteers worked
extremely hard to restore the keeper's
dwelling and the rest of Race Point
Light Station in the late 1990s
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the Cape Cod
National Seashore. To make matters worse, even though the site is on land,
its location is often inaccessible because of storm tides that inundate the
dunes and beachfront. Only through a healthy dose of dedication and
perseverance – to coincide with the group’s many skills, was the restoration
project a reality.
As if saving Race
Point Light Station wasn’t challenging enough, maintaining the site moving
forward and utilizing it for its amazing public |
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Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
Race Point Light Station
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educational
value was – and remains, just as daunting of a challenge for the
volunteers of the Cape Cod Chapter. Though the light station has been
opened for overnight stays since 1998 and hundreds of people journey out
to tour this isolated station each year, all of these accomplishments
wouldn’t be possible without major |
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coordination and
the ongoing commitment of people who strongly believe that their volunteer
efforts are making a difference.
Part of this
coordination includes the Chapter’s diverse educational program, which is
led by Don Root. Thanks to Don’s efforts, youth groups such as the Boy
Scouts and Brownie troops, along with many seniors and families, have
learned about the history of the light station at Race Point |
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| and the precious environment in which it
stands sentinel. Protecting the environment is just as important to the
Cape Cod Chapter as the preservation of the light station, which is why
the keepers orientation invests a lot of time reviewing the policies of
the Cape Cod National Seashore and all the procedures necessary to
ensuring wildlife like the |
Photo courtesy of Don Root
Thanks to Don Root's educational
programs, young people like Brownie
Troop 221 from West Barnstable, MA can
enjoy visits and overnight stays at Race
Point
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Piping Plover and
the native flora receive the maximum protection while visitors are on site
at the lighthouse.
During the keeper
orientation Cape Cod Chapter president Jim Walker announced to the audience
a couple of new changes that have occurred at Race Point Light Station thus
far in 2006. The Chapter installed a 910-square foot septic leaching field
adjacent to the station’s whistle house to accommodate a new bath and
kitchen that were installed over the winter in the 1876 whistle house
building. The purpose of these improvements is to make better use of the
structure as it relates to the station’s educational and overnight stay
programs.
In addition Walker
informed the audience that a 2.5-kilowatt wind turbine would be installed at
the light station in May 2006 to supplement the |
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Jim Walker and Tom Wineman
of Clean Energy Design talk
about the upcoming wind turbine
installation at Race Point
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energy
production of the 2003 Photovoltaic Solar System. The combination of the
solar array and the wind turbine will ensure the light station is
capable of producing “green” or reusable energy 24-hours a day, seven
days a week – even during sustained periods of cloudy weather, for all
of its electrical needs.
Tom Wineman of
Clean Energy Design joined Walker at the podium during the presentation
of the wind turbine initiative at Race Point Light Station and further
explained its benefits. Wineman noted that, “Solar has its limitations,
especially during cloudy months. We have a good reusable energy out
there (Race Point) with the wind – it’s so abundant. In cloudy weather
the solar electric system did |
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not accommodate
the refrigerator load.” He went on to state, “The wind will be blowing when
the sun is not shining, making the solar array and wind turbine quite
complimentary. The addition of the wind turbine will supplement the extra
load and help to not have to worry about the sun not shining.”
During the afternoon session of the orientation Jim Walker and ALF executive
director Bob Trapani took the opportunity to formally present Cape Cod
Chapter volunteers Bill & Debbie Jenkins each with an ALF Len
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| Hadley Volunteerism Award. Jim had
previously accepted the awards on behalf of Bill & Debbie at ALF’s 2006
Volunteer Recognition Dinner held in Ogunquit, Maine, a week earlier on
April 1st. “Bill and Debbie Jenkins manage our gift shop at
the lighthouse, maintain our web site, graphically design our training
materials – you name, they do it,” said |
Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
ALF executive director Bob Trapani
(right) presents the organization's "Len Hadley Volunteerism Award" to
Debbie and Bill Jenkins
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Walker. “They are
very deserving of this award.”
Cape Cod National
Seashore park ranger Karen Frasier, who served as a presenter for the
National Park Service to explain the regulations protecting the Piping
Plover and the Tern Management Program to the orientation attendees,
commented at one point that when it comes to the lighthouse, “Race Point
Light Station is one of the best kept lights in the |
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Cape Cod National Seashore park ranger
Karen Frasier talks about
the protection of the Piping Plover
within the national park
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entire
National Park Service.” Ms. Frasier’s high praise for the Cape Cod
Chapter was quite a tribute to the efforts and contributions of
volunteers. ALF president Timothy Harrison later concurred with Ms.
Frasier’s comments, saying, “I can’t think of a finer lighthouse
preservation project in the country when you factor in the site’s remote
location, the volunteer’s commitment to education and the innovative
environmental initiatives the Chapter has implemented when it comes to
reusable energy.”
Thanks to the
dedication, ingenuity and unwavering commitment to preservation and the
environment, |
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the Cape Cod Chapter
of the American Lighthouse Foundation continues to demonstrate impeccable
stewardship and management of a one-of-a-kind historic treasure. Their
volunteer efforts have not only saved Race Point Light Station for the
future, but also established a standard of excellence by which other similar
projects will be measured by in years to come. As Bill Jenkins so aptly
stated during the orientation, “Needless to say, we make memories.”
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
(L to R) Nancy and Carl Beless with Jim
Walker.
Nancy and Carl were very instrumental
recently
in restoring new beach grass in the area
where
the septic system installation for the
whistle
house took place
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Posted 5/1/2006 |
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