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Born on June 29, 1923, Black was a Coast Guard veteran of World War II and
he saw action at the invasion of Okinawa. After the war served throughout
New England and the Great Lakes in various capacities including, being OIC
at the Point Allerton, Massachusetts Life Boat Station; Commanding Officer
of a lightship; Group Commander of the Quoddy Head Coast Guard Station in
Lubec, Maine; Commander of the Coast Guard Cutter OJIBWA and he finished his
over 32-year Coast Guard career as Commanding Officer of the Rockland,
Maine, Coast Guard Station.
His interest is saving lighthouse artifacts began when he realized that many
items were being discarded as automation changed the way lighthouses had
been operating since the late 1700’s. He first created an exhibit at the
base of Boston Lighthouse in the 1960’s, an exhibit that is still there to
this day. As well as being the first Coast Guardsman to decorate a
lighthouse at Christmastime, he stared the First Marine Exhibit at the
Rockland Coast Guard Station, which evolved into the largest collection of
lighthouse lenses and equipment in America. By the time he had retired from
the Coast Guard in 1973 he was the official curator of the First Coast Guard
District.
When the collection at the Rockland Coast Guard base outgrew its quarters,
it moved to the Shore Village Museum building on Limerock |
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or fog bells and
foghorns weighing thousands of pounds were more difficult.
Two years ago the gigantic collection, through the help of civic-minded
community leaders, moved to its new headquarters on the Rockland waterfront
in a recently renovated building where it was renamed the Maine Lighthouse
Museum. Although Ken slowed down a bit in recent months, he was still active
in many community events and the ongoing development of the new Maine
Lighthouse Museum. He was present just a few weeks ago for the press
conference announcing the consolidation of the collection of the American
Lighthouse Foundation’s Museum of Lighthouse History. That merger will now
create the largest lighthouse museum in the United States as well as being a
Mecca for lighthouse buffs and an important Maine tourist attraction.
Black made famous the phrase that he coined, “Lighthouses are like people,
they come in many different sizes, shapes and colors,” which was also the
title of his popular slide presentation that he proudly presented an
estimated thousand times, while always promoting the importance of
lighthouse preservation.
Although retired for many years, Ken spent many long hours every week in the
last thirty-five years volunteering his services to the lighthouse community
and other worthwhile causes such as the Salvation Army, Rotary, Shriners and
the American Lighthouse Foundation. He received countless awards such as
the Coast Guard ‘Public Service Commendation,’ the Harbour Lights ‘Lifetime
Achievement’ award, the Lighthouse Digest, ‘Beacon of Light’ award, and the
American Lighthouse Foundation’s ‘Keeper of the Light’ Award, to name a few.
Even a book about life after retirement included a full chapter about Ken
Black.
When the United States Coast Guard wanted to honor him at the dedication
last year of the CWO Kenneth Black Exhibition Hall at the Maine Lighthouse
Museum, they couldn’t find an award to honor him with because he had already
been honored over the years with every award or honor the Coast Guard has to
offer. But not to let that stop them, the Guard arranged for a special honor
to be given to him by the Foundation for Coast Guard History for his saving
of hundreds of artifacts that might otherwise have been lost forever. At
that time he was also honored with special commendations from The Maine
State Legislature, the Maine State Senate, the Governor of Maine, The City
of Rockland, Lighthouse Digest Magazine, various Coast Guard units, the
United States Congress and the one that he loved the best was the special
personal recognition from the President of the United States, George W.
Bush.
Black was also proud of the fact that his wife Dot serves as President of
the Friends of Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, a chapter of the American
Lighthouse Foundation and he loved it when friends would call his wife,
“Mrs. Lighthouse.”
During retirement, Black and his wife lived happily in Union, Maine, away
from the ocean. Black said, that other than the in-ground swimming pool in
his backyard, he tried to stay away from the water as much as possible
because he spent so many years on the water that he preferred the land life
of the green rolling hills where he loved the wild birds that he kept well
supplied with food. In later years he would only go on the water for fund
raising cruises for lighthouse preservation or to visit a lighthouse.
Tim Harrison, president of the American Lighthouse Foundation, said that
Black knew more about the mechanics of vintage lighthouse equipment than
anyone, anywhere. Fortunately, for the sake of future generations, Black
recorded on film a number of tapes where he explained what each artifact in
the collection was used for and why it was used.
Harrison went on to say, “Ken Black never did any of this for personal
recognition or gain, he did it because it was the right thing to do. He felt
it was vital to save lighthouse artifacts to help future generations learn
why lighthouses and the people who kept them played such an important role
in the development of our nation into being a world leader. He was proud of
what he accomplished, yet he was very humble about it, in fact he used to be
almost embarrassed when he was honored.”
But more importantly said Harrison, “We have all lost a man who served his
nation well, served his community well, served his family well, and was a
friend to so many people whose lives he touched in many different ways. He
will be greatly missed, but we will never let his legacy be forgotten, a
legacy that will live forever at the Maine Lighthouse Museum.”
Black leaves behind a wife Dorothy (Dot), son Joe and his wife Wanda,
son Jim, and his wife Franny, and his grandsons Keegan, Travis and
Christopher.
A wake will be held on Wednesday, January 31 from 2 PM to 4 PM and form 6 PM
to 8 PM at the Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock
Street, in Rockland, Maine. The funeral home is directly next door to what
was once the Shore Village Museum where Ken Black’s lighthouse collection
was housed for 30 some years before it moved to the new Maine Lighthouse
Museum on the city’s waterfront.
The funeral service will held at the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland on
Thursday, February 1 at 11 AM.
In lieu of flowers the family has asked that donations be made to the One
Hundred Million Dollar Club of the Shriners or to the Maine Lighthouse
Museum, P.O. Box F, Rockland, ME 04841.
Posted: 1/29/07
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