Light Hearted

There are two lighthouses at Cape Henry in Virginia, marking the south side of the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. The older of the two lighthouses was built in 1792, and it was the first federally funded public works project of the newly formed United States government. It was authorized by President George Washington and overseen by Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the Treasury. The sandstone tower stands 92 feet tall.

A new, taller lighthouse was built in 1881 to replace the original one, which remained standing. The New Cape Henry Lighthouse, built of cast iron, is 163 feet tall and stands about 350 feet from the old structure. Since 1930, the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse has been owned and operated by Preservation Virginia. Rachel Balderson is the site coordinator for Old Cape Henry Lighthouse.

Also in this episode, host Jeremy D’Entremont and co-host Michelle Jewell Shaw read excerpts from Jeremy’s article Lighthouse Keeper Wars, from the latest edition of the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s quarterly journal, The Keeper’s Log. Over the years, at the light stations that had multiple keepers, most got along just fine with each other. There were, however, some notable exceptions, as you will hear.

This episode is dedicated to the simple pleasure of visiting lighthouses. The guests in the first interview are Anna Povyshevs (also known as Anna Fox) and her daughter Valeriia (Val). Anna is originally from Ukraine and Val was born there.

Along with Anna’s husband and another younger daughter, the family has been sailing from their home port in Stamford, Connecticut, on a mission to photograph all the lighthouses in Long Island Sound. In addition to their sailing adventures in Long Island Sound, the family has traveled widely in New York state and elsewhere, and they have a website detailing their travels – aswegoplaces.com. Val has written an article for Windcheck – click here.

The second interview is Josh Liller, the historian and collections manager at Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum in Florida. Josh is the author of the book The Florida Lighthouse Trail as well as many articles on lighthouse history in the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s journal The Keeper’s Log and other publications. In September, Josh made his first ever trip up the Maine coast to see lighthouses. This discussion with host Jeremy D’Entremont details his adventures and impressions of Maine.

The collection of the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia, includes a vast art collection, boats from around the world, a first-order Fresnel lens from Cape Charles Lighthouse, and much more. Among the museum’s projects has been the conservation of archaeological material from the USS Monitor, the famous ironclad warship built for the Union Navy during the Civil War. The museum is also home to the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s research library, known as the Wayne Wheeler Library. Interviewed in this episode is Jennifer Anielski, the librarian of the Mariners’ Museum.

This episode also includes an interview with Ralph Krugler, the historian for the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse in Florida. St. Augustine Lighthouse in Florida holds occasional Dark of the Moon tours, which focus on the light station’s ghostly legends. In this interview, Ralph tells about a very interesting experience he had at St. Augustine Lighthouse.

Right: Peter Rasmussen was the longest serving (23 years) of the keepers at St. Augustine. He is a “usual suspect” in the light station’s ghost stories.

The historic twin light station on Thacher Island, off the east side of Cape Ann in Massachusetts. is one of the small number of lighthouse sites in the U.S. that are designated National Historic Landmarks. In 1771, there were nine lighthouses in operation in North America. The original twin lighthouses built on Thacher Island in 1771 were the first built to mark a dangerous spot rather than a harbor entrance, and they were also the last lighthouses built under British rule in the colonies. The two granite towers that stand today, 124 feet tall, were built in 1861 and fitted with first-order Fresnel lenses. The north light was deactivated in 1932.

In the 1980s, concerned citizens of Cape Ann formed the Thacher Island Association and chose a caretaker to live on the island. The Town of Rockport’s Thacher Island Committee in partnership with the nonprofit Thacher Island Association maintains and operates the island, including both lighthouse towers.

This episode includes historic audio recorded in the 1980s, as well as audio from a recent visit to the island with co-host Sarah MacHugh. Sarah spoke with Syd Wedmore, chairman of the Thacher Island Town Committee.

O Camiño dos Faros, or The Lighthouse Way, is a 125-mile hiking route in Galicia in the northwest part of Spain. The route passes nine lighthouses, as well as forts, fishing villages, beaches, and important landmarks in the portion of the coast known as A Costa da Morte. National Geographic called the Lighthouse Way an under-the-radar gem, and The Telegraph called it “one of the 50 best adventure vacations in the world.” The Lighthouse Way is divided into eight sections, with an average hiking time of nine hours per section, allowing for time to stop along the way for meals and photos. The route is steep in places and is considered of medium difficulty.

The organization known as the Association of O Camiño dos Faros was created with one goal: to make O Camiño dos Faros a reality and to preserve the hiking route for people to experience, with maximum respect for nature. The guest in this episode, Cristina Alonso, is the president of the Association of O Camiño dos Faros. She also has a personal connection to lighthouses, as the daughter of lighthouse keepers.

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland, explores and preserves the history, environment, and culture of the entire Chesapeake Bay region, and makes this resource accessible to all. The museum’s collections include historic watercraft dating back to the 1860s, maritime paintings and prints, ship models, a Chesapeake region folklife collection, and a dozen historic vessels still afloat on the Chesapeake Bay.

The museum is also home to Hooper Strait Lighthouse. Constructed in 1879, it was once one of the bay’s famed screwpile lighthouses. After its automation in the 1960s, the Coast Guard considered destroying the structure. With support from the Historical Society of Talbot County, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum stepped in to save the lighthouse. It was moved to shore and arrived at its final home on November 9, 1966, and it opened to the public in the following year.

The guest in this episode, Pete Lesher, is the chief historian and ambassador at large for the museum.

The peninsula known as Cape Blanco, the most westerly point on the coast of Oregon, was named by Spanish explorers because of its high, light-colored cliffs. The reefs around the cape were a hindrance to navigation, leading to the establishment of a lighthouse in 1870. The brick tower, 59 feet tall with its light 256 feet above mean high water, still stands. It’s the oldest continuously operated lighthouse in Oregon, and also the highest above sea level. The lantern room originally held a fixed first-order Fresnel lens.

Today, the Cape Blanco Heritage Society works cooperatively with several partners to manage three historic sites on the southern Oregon Coast: the Hughes House and Ranch, Cape Blanco Light Station, and the Port Orford Lifeboat Station. Five people took part in the interview in this episode: Rebecca Malamud-Evans, executive director of the Cape Blanco Heritage Society; Brian and Katherine Zimmerman, and also Mike and Theresia Hewitt, all active volunteers at the lighthouse.

The Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, is dedicated to showcasing the area’s rich maritime roots. The museum’s exhibits spotlight fishermen, ship captains, skilled craftsmen, inventors, and lighthouse keepers, among others who have contributed much to the area for centuries. Under the same management is the Death’s Door Maritime Museum in Gills Rock, which traces the area’s commercial fishing tradition.

Among the museum’s most popular offerings are the Door County Lighthouse Festivals that are held each spring and fall. The festivals include tours that highlight all 11 of the lighthouses of Door County and three additional lighthouses to the south.

In addition, Cana Island Lighthouse, built in 1869, is owned by Door County and managed by the Door County Maritime Museum. Visitors are taken across a causeway to the island via hay wagon, and tours include a sweeping view of Lake Michigan and the Door County peninsula.

Sam Perlman, Deputy Director and Development Manager for the Door County Maritime Museum and Lighthouse Preservation Society, Inc., is interviewed in this episode. Averie Shaughnessy-Comfort, executive director of Presque Isle Lighthouse in Pennsylvania, co-hosts.

Solargraphy – also called solarigraphy – is a niche form of pinhole photography that stretches single exposure images to an extreme exposure length. Relying on homemade cameras, darkroom paper, and a small pinhole instead of a glass lens, solargraphs allow an image to be captured over months or years. The path of the sun and the landscape appear directly on the surface of the paper.

Christian Fiedler, a photographer in New Jersey, discovered solargraphy during the covid pandemic lockdown. He developed “Beacons Through Time,” a solargraph pinhole photography project that has focused on east coast lighthouses. As Christian has stated, regarding what drew him to the project, “With the sun orbiting in grand arcs over the horizon month after month, these beacons through time have endured centuries of quiet and distinguished service.”

This summer, for the first time ever, the U.S. Lighthouse Society held a dance contest centered around National Lighthouse Day on August 7. Entries came in from ten different states. The first prize winner was shot at Yaquina Head Lighthouse in Oregon and was produced by Sabrina Gorney, who is interviewed in this podcast episode.

In addition to their nature cruises, Bar Harbor Whale Watch in Maine runs regular sightseeing cruises that go near several of the local lighthouses. For years, pre-pandemic, the company also ran occasional all-day lighthouse cruises that passed close to as many as 15 or 20 lighthouses. An annual July cruise was known as the Grand Slam cruise. The cruises were put on hold during the pandemic. The tradition is being revived, with an all-day cruise going near at least 20 lighthouses this September 24. In this episode is a discussion with Zack Klyver, who has organized the cruise; co-narrator Bob Trapani Jr. of the American Lighthouse Foundation; and photographer Mike Leonard, who will be on the cruise to offer photography tips. Also narrating on board will be Jeremy D’Entremont, USLHS historian and host of this podcast.

The second segment concerns an exciting project at Graves Lighthouse in outer Boston Harbor. Graves, a 113-foot-tall granite tower on a barren, wave-swept ledge, began service in 1905 with a huge first-order Fresnel lens from Paris. The lens was removed in the 1970s and is in storage at the Smithsonian. Boston businessman Dave Waller bought Graves Lighthouse at government auction in 2013. For the past few years, Dave has been assembling his own first-order lens from spare parts, and that lens has now been installed in the lighthouse. Dave discusses this groundbreaking endeavor with host Jeremy D’Entremont.