Light Hearted

California’s iconic Pigeon Point Lighthouse, located on the central coast between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, has been guiding mariners since 1872.  Today, the historic light station is managed by California State Parks, and the former keepers’ housing serves as a youth hostel. The lighthouse has been closed to climbing since December 2001, after the collapse of some of the brickwork from near the top of the tower.

California State Parks recently announced an upcoming $16 million restoration of the lighthouse, which will begin early this year. During the rehabilitation, contractors will refurbish or replace all the ironwork throughout the tower, and masonry elements will also be repaired or replaced as needed. Today’s guest, Julie Barrow, is the special projects coordinator at Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park.

Also included in this episode is one of our occasional “Be a Lighthouse” segments. This past Christmas Day, a very special dinner was served by the fire department in Ogunquit, Maine. Many of the guests were people who would otherwise be alone for Christmas. The Ogunquit Fire Department has also been helping firefighters in Ukraine. Light Hearted host Jeremy D’Entremont spoke with Ogunquit Fire Chief Russell Osgood about these initiatives.

Please note: Near the end of the episode, there is a promotion for an upcoming USLHS virtual Zoom event featuring Ford Reiche, owner of Halfway Rock Lighthouse in Maine. In the podcast, it’s said that the event is at 7 p.m EST on January 20, but the correct time is 4 p.m. EST. Click here for more details and to register to attend the event.

Harry Duvall enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in the 1960s and trained as an electronics technician. After graduating from college, he returned to the Coast Guard as a civilian employee based at the district engineering office in Boston. For well over 30 years, he coordinated all the lighthouse automation and modernization projects for the First Coast Guard District.

This interview looks back at Harry’s fascinating career, with lots of “stories behind the stories” for his many lighthouse projects. Harry’s expertise, resilience, and good humor shine through. Joining in the discussion is retired Coast Guard Rear Admiral Dan May. As an ocean engineer for the Coast Guard, Dan worked with Harry on many lighthouse projects in the Northeast. The interview was recorded at Harry Duvall’s home in Falmouth, Maine, in December 2023.

A day beacon (or daybeacon) is defined simply as an unlighted nautical sea mark, serving to aid navigation during the day. The U.S. Coast Guard maintains many modern day beacons around the country, but the subject of this episode is the historic day beacons of New England. Some of them date back more than 200 years, and they have fascinating stories to tell — tales of shipwrecks, pirates, and more. Joining host Jeremy D’Entremont is Bob Trapani Jr., who is the executive director of the American Lighthouse Foundation and a lighthouse technician, as well as an aficionado of all kinds of aids to navigation.

Among the Maine daybeacons discussed are the stone marker at Fiddlers Ledge near North Haven; the tripod marker at Shag Rock near Owls Head (destroyed in a recent storm); and the Stage Island Monument near Biddeford Pool. Several Massachusetts beacons are also discussed, including the well known conical marker at Nix’s Mate in Boston Harbor; the familiar pyramidal marker known as Ben Butler’s Toothpick in Salisbury; and the (recently collapsed) Bowditch Ledge Beacon near Salem.

Little Mark Island—about one acre in size—is in Maine’s Casco Bay, near the town of Harpswell. On the island is a 50-foot tall, stone, pyramidal tower that was built in 1827. It’s known as the Little Mark Island Monument.  It wasn’t built as a lighthouse—it was originally intended to serve as a day beacon or day marker to aid local navigation. In 1927, a navigational light was added to the top of the tower.

This past May, it was announced that the unique structure would be available at no cost to a new steward, through the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. This fall the select board of the town of Harpswell voted to approve a partnership with the Presumpscot Foundation to submit an application. The Presumpscot Foundation was founded by the entrepeneur and preservationist Ford Reiche, who has restored several historic properties including Halfway Rock Lighthouse in Casco Bay.

Ford Reiche is interviewed in this episode. Bob Trapani Jr., executive director of the American Lighthouse Foundation and an expert on aids to navigation of all kinds, also takes part in the conversation.

At the end of this year, Sally Snowman will retire after 20 years as keeper of Boston Light in Massachusetts, America’s oldest light station. As a civilian employee of the Coast Guard, she oversaw tours and managed the Boston Light Augmentation Program, under which members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary perform various functions at Boston Light. She also has represented Boston Light in numerous interviews and TV shows. She is the last lighthouse keeper in the United States still employed by the federal government, a legacy that goes back 234 years.

In 2018, Sally was the recipient of a “Keeper of the Light” award from the American Lighthouse Foundation for “her sustained dedication and outstanding achievement at historic Boston Light Station – and for perpetuating our great nation’s time-honored lightkeeping heritage” Sally’s husband, Jay Thomson, who is a civil engineer, also took part in this interview.

In 2003, the active duty Coast Guard personnel that had been assigned to Boston Light on Little Brewster Island, America’s oldest light station, were reassigned to meet the needs of Homeland Security. Sally Snowman was named the new keeper. She became the first woman keeper in Boston Light’s long history, which dates back to 1716.

After 20 years as keeper, Sally recently announced her retirement, effective at the end of this month. Boston Light is in the process of being transferred to a suitable new steward, which most likely will be the National Park Service. The job of Boston Light keeper is ending with Sally, meaning it’s the end of 234 years of lighthouse keepers employed by the federal government.

Sally and her husband Jay Thompson have written two books: Boston Light: A Historical Perspective, published in 1999, and a book on Boston Light for Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series in 2016. In 2018, for perpetuating our nation’s time-honored light keeping heritage, the American Lighthouse Foundation presented Sally Snowman with a Keeper of the Light award.

Daniel R. May graduated with a degree in ocean engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, in the class of 1979. During his time as the ocean engineer for the Fifth Coast Guard District, Dan worked on lighthouse projects from Delaware Bay to the Carolinas. Dan eventually moved to Civil Engineering Unit Providence, Rhode Island, where he served as the project engineer for several major lighthouse projects including the relocation of Block Island Southeast Light, the first move of a major lighthouse structure in the United States. Dan retired as a rear admiral in 2013. He is the author of a new book published by the U.S. Lighthouse Society, called Preserving America’s Lighthouses: Memoirs of a Coast Guard Ocean Engineer.

Tawas Point Lighthouse is located in Tawas Point State Park in the northeastern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The State of Michigan acquired Tawas Point Light Station from the Coast Guard in 2002. Today, it’s one of twelve sites that comprise the Michigan History Center. Laurie Perkins is the Southern Lower Peninsula Historian for the Michigan History Center and she also coordinates the keeper program at Tawas Point Lighthouse. In this interview, Laurie describes the recent restoration of the lighthouse and also the keepers program, which is returning after an absence of a few years.

The entrance to Stamford Harbor in Connecticut, on Long Island Sound, is obstructed by treacherous ledges. One of them is known as Chatham Ledge. The construction of a lighthouse to mark the dangerous location was completed in 1882. The finished tower, 3,600 feet from shore, was a fairly typical cast-iron “sparkplug” style lighthouse of the era. Stamford Harbor Lighthouse was discontinued as an aid to navigation in 1953, and it was sold into private ownership. Eventually, in 1984, it was bought by Eryk Spector, the chairman of the board of the First Women’s Bank in New York City.

Mr. Spektor died in December 1998. The lighthouse was sold by his son in August 2023 to the Stamford Harbor Lighthouse Project, a nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Gary Kalan and Mr. Brendan McGee. Dr. Kalan is interviewed in this episode.

Judianne Point, an award-winning volunteer for Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse in Rhode Island, is the co-host of this episode. Judianne and host Jeremy D’Entremont chat about recent happenings at Pomham Rocks, including storm damage and a mysterious “something” that appeared on the lighthouse’s security camera.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse on North Carolina’s Outer Banks is one of the most visited lighthouses in the world. Offshore from Cape Hatteras is a dangerous twelve-mile long sandbar called Diamond Shoals. Countless shipwrecks there led to the nickname “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” A lighthouse was first authorized at Cape Hatteras in 1794, and the station began service in 1803. The lighthouse that stands today began service on December 16, 1870. It got its famous black and white spiral daymark three years later, making it easier to tell apart from other area lighthouses. At 198 feet, it’s the tallest lighthouse in the United States and the second tallest brick lighthouse in the world.

Cape Hatteras Light Station was transferred to the National Park Service in 1937. The National Park Service continues to manage the lighthouse and keepers’ quarters, as well as conducting public tours. The Outer Banks Lighthouse Society also actively supports all North Carolina Lighthouses. A major restoration of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse will soon be underway.

There are two people in today’s interview. Alisa Hardin-Lapp is the supervisory park ranger for the Hatteras Island District, and John Havel is a board member of the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society who has done many years of research on the history of Cape Hatteras light station.

Bodie Island (pronounced “body”) is a long, narrow peninsula at the northern part of the Outer Banks in North Carolina. The original Bodie Island Lighthouse was built in 1847 in a location that is now underwater. That tower was abandoned in 1859 due to its poor condition. The second lighthouse was an 80-foot tower built in 1859, but it was destroyed in the Civil War. The 160-foot brick lighthouse tower that stands today was constructed on the Roanoke Sound side of the peninsula in 1871. A duplex keepers’ house was also built, and a powerful first-order Fresnel lens was installed in the lantern.

Most of the light station property was transferred to the National Park Service in 1953. A restoration of the keeper’s house was completed in May 1992. The building now serves as a ranger office and visitor center for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The most recent restoration of the lighthouse tower was completed in 2013. The lighthouse is open for public tours. Carolyn Wellman, an interpretation park ranger for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, is interviewed in this episode.

The co-host for this episode is Guinevere Porter of Kentucky, and her mom Heather also takes part. Guinevere is 11 years old and loves traveling with her family to lighthouses. She’s seen at least 15 so far.

In the photo to the right, in front: Guinevere and her brother Ezekiel. Behind them: Heather, Adelaide, and Guinevere’s friend Dani.