The Museum of
Lighthouse History in Wells, Maine, has seen its collection grow this
past week thanks in part to a number of rare artifacts donated by a
couple from Pennsylvania.
Among the
items donated were a rare U. S. Lighthouse Establishment District
Inspector’s Stop Watch, a Lighthouse Service Depot Watchman’s Badge, a
collar insignia of a 3rd Assistant Lighthouse Keeper, a Chaplin’s
uniform medallion from the U. S. Life Saving Service, and a number of
rare lighthouse documents.
“This is not
the first time that Judi and Tom Kearney of Ambler, PA
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
U. S. Lighthouse Establishment District
Inspector’s Stop Watch
have donated to
the Museum of Lighthouse History,” said Tim Harrison, President of the
American Lighthouse Foundation, which owns and operates the Museum of
Lighthouse History. “They have been long-time volunteers and supporters of
our preservation efforts,” said Harrison.
According to Jim
Claflin of Kenrick A. Claflin and Son Nautical Antiques in Worcester, MA, a
Lighthouse Establishment Stop Watch sold a few years ago for $6,000, a value
that has surely increased since then. “The Stop Watch was only used by
District Inspectors so very few of them exist,” said Claflin. He went on to
say that the inspectors used the Stop Watch to time the flashes and rotation
of the light in the tower.
“We are not
descendants of lighthouse keepers,” said Judi Kearney when asked how and why
she acquires the artifacts. “Tom and I simply love lighthouse history and
want to see the artifacts preserved for the public’s enjoyment. My husband
and I met Harrison a number of years ago at a
Photo by Kathleen Finnegan
Judi & Tom Kearney are generous
contributors to the
Museum of Lighthouse History
lighthouse
event and wanted to help him with his vision of keeping lighthouse
artifacts out of the hands of private collectors. They need to be
displayed for the current generation as well as future generations to
learn from.”
Bob Trapani,
Jr., Executive Director of the American Lighthouse Foundation, said that
he
hopes more people
will follow the example of the Kearneys and come forward with donations of
lighthouse artifacts. He continued, “While many museums charge an admission
fee, our museum is open free to the public, which allows a greater number of
people to view the artifacts while learning about the history of the men and
women who dedicated their lives to saving others.”
The United
States Lighthouse Service went out of business in 1939 and was dissolved
and merged into the Coast Guard. “At that time,” Harrison said, “the
government ordered items with the Lighthouse Service or Lighthouse
Establishment name on them to be destroyed which makes these items
extremely rare, especially the stop watch.”
