The United States Lighthouse Society (USLHS), a national,
nonprofit historical and educational organization incorporated to
educate, inform, and entertain those who are interested in lighthouses,
past and present, made its annual trek to Maine during the week of
October 1 through the 6th.
Photo by Jeff Gales
The U.S. Lighthouse Society toured
Rockland Breakwater Light on 10/4/07
The organization’s
executive director, Jeff Gales, and Toni Rosatti, tour coordinator for the
Society, led over 50 USLHS members on a combination of site visits and
cruises that enabled the group to see 34 lighthouses during their stay in
Maine.
The American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) was happy to welcome the United
States Lighthouse Society members at three lights under the care of ALF,
which included Cape Elizabeth (east tower), Pemaquid Point and Rockland
Breakwater.
On Wednesday October 3rd the USLHS was treated to a rare group
tour of
Photo by Bob Trapani
USLHS members enjoyed a rare
tour of Cape Elizabeth on 10/3/07
the Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse. The east light at Cape Elizabeth is one of
Maine’s most recognizable and elegant sentinels.
In referencing Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse, historian Jeremy D’Entremont,
notes on his website New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide that,
“Cape Elizabeth Light was immortalized in a few of Edward Hopper's paintings
in the 1920s, one of which was reproduced on a 1970 postage stamp
commemorating the 150th anniversary of Maine's statehood.”
On Thursday, October 4th the Friends of Pemaquid Point
Lighthouse, a
chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation, proudly welcomed the United
States Lighthouse Society to the historic 1835 light tower in New Harbor.
During the site visit, tour patrons had an opportunity to climb the 38-foot
beacon and see firsthand the shining results of the light tower’s 2007
exterior restoration.
Later that day the USLHS journeyed to Rockland where two-thirds of the group
decided to make the 7/8-mile walk out to Rockland Breakwater
Lighthouse. Dot Black, chairperson for the Friends of Rockland Breakwater
Lighthouse, made arrangements so that the Society members could tour the
interior of the 1902 sentinel and enjoy a spectacular view of the harbor and
Penobscot Bay from atop the tower.
On Saturday, October 6th the USLHS made a stop at the Maine
Lighthouse Museum to view the amazing lighthouse / maritime artifact
collection founded by the late Ken Black, fondly known to countless people
in the lighthouse community as “Mr. Lighthouse.” The American Lighthouse
Photo by Bob Trapani
Society members toured Pemaquid Point
Lighthouse on 10/4/07
Foundation serves as the managing partner of the Maine Lighthouse Museum,
and the organization’s home office is also located within the Museum at One
Park Drive in Rockland.
To learn more about the United States Lighthouse Society, visit:
Photo by Bob Trapani
(L to R) Norm Bosse (yellow shirt), USLHS
executive director Jeff Gales, USLHS tour coordinator Toni Rosatti , Dot
Black & Cyn Bosse talk lighthouses inside the Maine Lighthouse Museum
The United States Lighthouse Society
chose the Maine Lighthouse Museum
as the site for their 2007 group photo
Photo by Ann-MarieTrapani
Photo courtesy of ALF
(L to R) ALF associate director Ann-Marie
Trapani, ALF & MLM director Bob Trapani, Jr., ALF & MLM board member Dot
Black, Mary-Ellen Dilger,
MLM chairman Paul Dilger and USLHS
executive director Jeff Gales inside the Maine Lighthouse Museum
