Century-old Log Book Presented to Rockland
Breakwater Lighthouse
A 104-year-old light station logbook
“speaks” again to the keepers of Maine’s Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse
through timeless words that were long thought to have disappeared into
pages of history. On June 17, 2006, renowned lighthouse and lifesaving
service expert Richard Boonisar presented this truly amazing artifact
from 1902 to the Friends of
Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
Richard Boonisar presents Dot Black,
president of the Friends of Rockland
Breakwater Lighthouse, with a 1902
logbook from the light station
Rockland
Breakwater and their president Dot Black.
Boonisar, who maintains an impressive collection of maritime artifacts, many
of which are generously placed on loan to lighthouse and lifesaving museums
throughout New England for educational purposes, felt strongly that the 1902
Rockland Breakwater light station log book he came across belonged back in
Rockland and in the hands of the station’s new keepers.
Making a special trip from his home on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Boonisar
surprised Dot Black when he presented her with the donation inside the CWO
Ken Black Exhibition Hall at the Maine Lighthouse Museum, following the
exhibit hall’s dedication earlier that morning.
“I was truly excited to receive such a great piece of history for the
Breakwater Lighthouse,” said Dot Black. “It is in great shape and even has
leaves pressed in between the pages. I can’t even imagine that we would have
ever found such a treasure.”
One of the most exciting historical aspects of the station logbook is the
fact that it is from 1902, the first year the Rockland Breakwater
Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
(L to R) Richard Boonisar, Tim Harrison,
president of the American Lighthouse Foundation, and Dot Black
admiringly
page through the historic logbook
Lighthouse was placed into operation.
This unprecedented find will contribute greatly to the ongoing
historical research efforts of the Friends of Rockland Breakwater
Lighthouse. Over a century later the once-lost words of the keepers
themselves will now come alive again to shed light on daily life, storms
and other interesting tidbits about bygone lighthouse life at
Rockland
Breakwater for its new keepers and their many visitors.
To learn more
about the efforts of the Friends of Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, a
chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation, visit
or write: Friends of Rockland Breakwater
Lighthouse, P.O. Box 741, Rockland, ME 04841
