|
SEARCH ALF WEB
Help ALF
Today!
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.
|
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
| |
Ken Black – Still Red, Right, Returning to
Our Hearts
|
|
| |
|
By Bob
Trapani, Jr.
For many
people along the mid-coast of Maine, as well as countless others within
the national lighthouse community and throughout the United States Coast
Guard, the late CWO4 Kenneth N. Black (USCG Ret) was considered a dear
friend, respected leader and a rare legend in his own time.
Therefore it’s hard to believe that exactly one year ago
today on January 28, 2007, Ken Black took leave of all of us, “crossing
the bar” peacefully following 83 amazing years of life.
|
Photo by Peter Ralston
Ken Black "Mr. Lighthouse"
1923-2007
|
|
|
| |
Known
affectionately as “Mr. Lighthouse,” Ken was the founder of the Maine
Lighthouse Museum and its world-class collection of lighthouse and maritime
artifacts. And just like the breathtaking Fresnel lenses that shine bright
inside the Museum today, he remains a true luminary for America’s lighthouse
heritage and the time-honored service of his beloved Coast Guard.
Earlier this month
I found myself walking down the hallway inside the Maine Lighthouse Museum,
seeking to peer out one of the windows |
|
| |
|
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
USCGC cutter ABBIE BURGESS
(WLM 553),
a 175-foot coastal buoy tender stationed
in Rockland, Maine
|
overlooking historic Rockland Harbor. My goal was to bask
in a brief distraction from the workday at the Museum.
In the process of enjoying the delightful glimpse of the
seascape, I was also reminded of Ken Black, which is not an uncommon
occurrence at the Museum; such was his profound impact on the
organization.
|
|
|
| |
At that very moment, I was thankful that despite his physical passing, the
passage of time has been unable to dull the spirit and memory of “Mr.
Lighthouse” for all those who fondly recall his friendship or happen to
visit the Maine Lighthouse Museum today.
Still peering out the Museum’s window, I then noticed a large commercial
ship transiting north past Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse and up West |
|
| |
|
Penobscot Bay to Searsport, Maine. This scene,
though silently playing out on the seascape before me, seemed to “speak”
in some manner of Ken Black’s legacy, so I focused my gaze more intently
on the harbor’s surroundings.
The reflective experience was revealing in a vivid way.
As time and the tides march on, constantly |
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse guides
mariners into Rockland Harbor, with Ken's
wife Dot leading the project to preserve
the iconic beacon
|
|
|
| |
altering
everything in their wake, it was amazing to notice how much of Ken’s world
has remained unchanged over the past year, a fact best epitomized by the
rich maritime heritage that continues to thrive in and around Rockland
Harbor.
Ken knew this
heritage better than most – including the great pride that exists for the
four United States Coast Guard units that call the City of Rockland home
port, the harbor’s two iconic lighthouses and numerous |
|
| |
|
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Owls Head Lighthouse, overlooking
Rockland Harbor and West
Penobscot Bay, Maine
|
aids to navigation that help guide mariners on their way
each day, as well as the working waterfront, consisting of fishermen,
lobstermen, recreational boaters and various commercial interests.
Yet as stunning as the harbor is during the day,
revealing the many vibrant colors and details of Ken’s maritime loves in
Rockland Harbor, I recalled a statement Ken was fond of saying when
talking about his lighthouse museum. “Every thing that can work, does
work,” he would say, referencing specifically the plethora of lenses and
lights he had on exhibit.
Ken’s sentiments about lights that operate at the Museum
coincide |
|
|
| |
nicely with the functioning aids
to navigation in Rockland Harbor during the realm of nightfall, for that is
when the harbor’s sea of lights come alive, “winking & blinking” their
message of safety to all mariners within sight of their guiding beams of
white and red.
A nightly glance over a darkened seascape will reveal Rockland Breakwater
Lighthouse faithfully flashing its rhythmic gleam seaward every 5 seconds |
|
| |
|
to safeguard mariners seeking the protective harbor of
refuge inside Rockland Breakwater.
Ken would no doubt have said, “Of course.”
The steady white beam of nearby Owls Head Lighthouse also
shines forth from its 100-foot perch overlooking West Penobscot Bay and
Rockland Harbor, while its powerful fog horn |
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Main channel lighted buoy # 2 inside
Rockland Harbor that marks 14-foot shoal and flashes a red light every
four seconds
|
|
|
| |
continues to sound
a doleful audible warning when low visibility threatens the region’s waters.
If asked about the reliability of Owls Head Light thanks to the watchfulness
of the U.S. Coast Guard, Ken may very well have quipped, “No question about
it.”
Even the two lighted buoys in Rockland Harbor – numbers 2 and 4, which join
their lighthouse brethren each night in an unmistakable silent |
|
| |
|
U.S. Coast Guard Photo
USCGC cutter TACKLE
(WYTL 65604), a 65-foot harbor tug
stationed in Rockland, Maine
|
language of the sea, still flash their red guiding lights
to mark the safe channel for vessels returning to port.
“As they should,” is what Ken might very well have
chimed in.
One year after Ken’s passing, the lights in Rockland
Harbor still |
|
|
| |
shine on as bright
as ever, reminding us of their benevolent mission that “Mr. Lighthouse”
cared deeply about, a mission and its history that he spent the last
quarter-century of his life working to preserve.
Moving thought-wise back to Rockland Harbor, as nightfall gives way to
daylight at the dawn of each new day, keen observations upon the harbor’s
waters will reveal the United States Coast Guard consistently coming and
going as they work to perform their multi-missions with unsurpassed skill
and dedication.
“Just like they did when I was commander of Station Rockland,” Ken might
have proudly noted. “Semper Paratus” – Always Ready!”
Speaking of the U.S. Coast Guard and the four Rockland units, which include
Station Rockland and the three black-hulled cutters, ABBIE |
|
| |
|
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Ken and Dot Black...Dot continues to
carry
on Ken's dream with her passionate
lighthouse preservation work
|
BURGESS, THUDER BAY and TACKLE, Ken’s great pride for the
USCG stems from his own 32 years of decorated service in the Coast
Guard, retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer and commander of USCG Station
Rockland in 1973.
Finally, I thought about how proud Ken would be that his
loving wife Dot Black has persevered through this difficult time period,
and yet during this time, has been non- |
|
|
| |
stop in her
determined efforts to carry on with his dream at the Maine Lighthouse Museum
and with the American Lighthouse Foundation.
Dot serves on the Maine Lighthouse Museum’s board of directors and is
president of the American Lighthouse Foundation, which is responsible for
the preservation of twenty historic lighthouses throughout New England,
including Rockland Breakwater and Owls Head lights in Ken’s “backyard”
within the harbor.
I think we all know what Ken would say about Dot’s lighthouse preservation
work. He most certainly would have summed his admiration up for her with one
word – “Wow!”
|
|
| |
|
One year later on January 28, 2008, the spirit of “Mr.
Lighthouse” lives on and the lights he loved – the functioning
lighthouses and lighted buoys, as well as the historical lenses at his
Museum, are “watching properly.”
The tears of sadness we once shed over Ken Black’s
passing have |
Photo by Leanne Robicheau
Ken Black...Still Red, Right, Returning
to our hearts
|
|
|
| |
given way to tears of joy for
having had the opportunity to share in the blessings of his friendship and
his passionate connections for the sea that continue to shine on inside the
Maine Lighthouse Museum.
I’ll borrow a navigational mantra in closing and say that Ken Black is still
very much “red, right, returning” to our hearts – now and forever.
Photo Courtesy of Lt. Thomas Crane
USCGC cutter THUNDER BAY
(WTGB 108),
a 140-foot domestic icebreaker
stationed in Rockland, Maine
Posted: 1/28/2008 |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
