Festive-Looking Portland Head Light Makes History Through Community
Partnership with the Coast Guard
Portland Head Light has witnessed much in the way of
history over its 218 years of service to the mariner, but on December
11, 2009, the venerable sentinel made new lighthouse history at the site
thanks to a community partnership between the Town of Cape Elizabeth,
Maine, and the United States Coast Guard.
An anonymous donor provided The Museum at Portland Head
Light with a festive lighted wreath, which the Coast Guard graciously
agreed to install properly on the lighthouse for the season.
The wreath, which is outfitted with energy efficient LED
(light emitting diodes) lights, was officially unveiled
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Portland Head Light adorned
with a festive wreath
outfitted with LED lights
for the public to
enjoy during a ceremony at the lighthouse despite the presence of blustery
winds sweeping across the site.
According to a U.S. Coast Guard press release, the event “marks the first of
its kind for the famous Maine lighthouse and stems from a widespread
tradition in which many Coast Guard units around the country join their
local communities to decorate lighthouses for the holidays.”
Captain James B. McPherson, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector
Northern New England, was joined at the podium in front of the lighthouse
Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
Captain James B. McPherson addresses the
audience during the unveiling ceremony,
with (L to R) James Rowe, chairman, Cape
Elizabeth town council, Cheryl Leeman, regional representative for U.S.
Senator Olympia Snowe and Bob Trapani, Jr.,
executive director for the American
Lighthouse Foundation, looking on (not
visible...Jennifer Duddy, state office representive for U.S. Senator
Susan Collins)
during the
unveiling ceremony by Cheryl Leeman, regional representative for U.S.
Senator Olympia Snowe, Jennifer Duddy, state office representative for
U.S. Senator Susan Collins, James Rowe, chairman of the Cape Elizabeth
town council and Bob Trapani, Jr. executive director for the American
Lighthouse Foundation.
“I want to thank the Coast Guard and the Portland Head
Light Museum for the opportunity to display the wreath for the community
to enjoy during the holidays,” said James Rowe.
“We are happy to participate in this event with the Coast Guard,” Jeanne
Gross, the director of the Portland Head Light Museum, added. “For years, we
have thought a wreath would look wonderful on the tower at Portland Head and
this year we will actually see one. Thank you to our donor who has made this
project possible.”
More so than the other military services in our country, the Coast Guard is
an integral part of our nation’s coastal communities, and not just with its
mission-based
services. The men and women of the Coast Guard go out of their way to be
an integral part of local community’s fabric and help make where we
live, work and play a better place.
This type of
community partnership effort was on display at Portland Head Light
through the establishment of the wreath on the lighthouse, but the
effort also shed light on the importance of deep-rooted seafaring
traditions in Maine.
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Personnel from Sector Northern New
England take a moment to pose for a group
picture in front of the lighthouse as a
morale boosting gesture for an ill
comrade who could not be in attendance
“The wreath provided an opportunity to remind the local community and Coast
Guard personnel that we have a wonderful maritime heritage to celebrate,”
said Captain James B. McPherson. “Our predecessors, which includes proud
organizations like the U.S. Lighthouse Service and the U.S. Life-Saving
Service, have been on duty in Maine since 1791. That really is a marvelous
heritage.”
Captain McPherson touched on an aspect of this rich history during his
remarks by recounting a famous shipwreck and rescue at Portland Head
Lighthouse that occurred in 1886 on a night that lightkeeper Joshua Strout
described as so bad, “Even Santa Claus was afraid to be out.”
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
A close-up view of the wreath
atop the lighthouse
“The Christmas wreath has also provided the background to
remind everyone that on Christmas Eve in 1886, the lighthouse keeper and
his family saved 18 crewmembers from the frigid weather and high seas
when the British bark Annie C. Maguire ran aground at Portland
Head Light,” said Captain McPherson.
Just like the vigilant watch that enabled keeper Strout
and his family to notice and rescue the shipwreck victims of the
Annie C. Maguire one hundred and twenty three years ago, the United
States Coast Guard continues its vigilant watch in the
21st
century; something Captain McPherson conveyed to those in attendance at the
wreath unveiling ceremony.
“Coast Guard men and women, and our predecessors, have stood the watch
faithfully in Maine since 1791,” said Captain McPherson. “The Portland Head
lightkeeper and his family stood the watch on Christmas Eve in 1886 – and on
this holiday season in 2009, 87 Coast Guard personnel from Sector Northern
New England will be standing the watch at eight (8) search & rescue
stations, aboard eight (8) Coast Guard cutters, and in the rescue command
center.”
Bob Trapani,
Jr. of the American Lighthouse Foundation concluded the ceremony by
remarking, “May the Christmas wreath established today on Portland Head
Light symbolically close the circle in our hearts so that the
deep-rooted traditions of benevolence associated with Christmas and
lighthouses can connect us with our family, friends and neighbors in a
way that touches the lives of others for the better this Christmas, and
throughout the year.”
