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Cover story:

Herb Entwistle Memorial Cruise: by Barbara Entwistle. On September 27th, Barbara Entwistle and her family joined more than 60 members of the Chapter on a memorial cruise to honor her late husband, Herb Entwistle. He was the founding President of the Chesapeake Chapter and passed away last February. He is greatly missed by those who knew him. It was in his honor that we shared this event.

"I wish that all of you who knew Herb could have joined us for the Chesapeake Bay cruise in his memory. As soon as my family and I boarded our vessel, the "Enticer", I knew it was going to be a very special trip. She is the sister ship to the former Presidential yacht, "Sequoia", and is elegantly furnished. We were blessed with a beautiful blue sky and warm sunshine. Our first destination was Sandy Point Light. This lighthouse can be seen by motorists crossing the Chesapeake Bay bridge. Baltimore Light, which we approached next, is also visible from the bridge but is harder to see, being much further away. We then passed beneath the bridge and, after a while, approached Bloody Point Bar Light. It is located near the southern end of Kent Island. It is a caisson type structure, as are the two lights we had already seen. Our next destination, Thomas Point Shoal, has been called the finest example of a screwpile lighthouse anywhere in the world."

"Several Chapter members had "I knew Herb" stories to share. I was moved by the many gracious comments. When I saw the beautifully crafted plaque which had been made by Advisory Board member Bill Cronin in Herb's memory, I was deeply moved. He said the Coast Guard has given permission for it to be installed inside the lighthouse."

Glimmerings news from the Chapter's President: by Henry Gonzalez.

U.S. Postal Service Turns Us Down. It took a while, but I finally received formal notice that the U.S. Postal Service turned down our proposal to issue a set of stamps commemorating Chesapeake Bay lighthouses. I'm not one that gives up easy, and I know that many concepts for commemorative stamps have gone for years of repeated nominations and rejections before ultimate approval, so I'll keep trying. I will be writing to our local Governors, Representatives, and Senators to once again seek their support in our cause.

News from the U.S. Coast Guard 5th District. LT Ed Westfall, USCG, 5th District Lighthouse Manager has put together a very thoughtful Long Range Lighthouse Plan that covers projects from 1998 through the year 2010. It's nice to see someone planning for the future. Many things will certainly change between now and 2010, but at least he's got a baseline plan from which to make changes. Here's what the 5th district has in store for the Bay area in 1998: (1) possible outgrant of the New Cape Henry lighthouse to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, the same folks that keep the Old Cape Henry lighthouse open to the public; (2) complete the transfer of Cove Point lighthouse to the Calvert Marine Museum, hopefully by next summer; (3) repair/repaint Craighill Channel range lights; (4) change the optics at Newport News Middle Ground and Thimble Shoals; (5) repaint the leaning Sharps Island light (see, no one is going to tear it down!); and (6) solarize Smith Point caisson light. They're planning on spending a total of $744,500 in the 5th District (from Cape May, NJ to Oak Island, NC) next year.

From Dwight's Desk: news from VP for Publications, Dwight McMakin. Thanks to everyone who has sent me things about lights. Some of the most interesting items this time are a picture of Fenwick Island Light and an article about its restoration. You may remember that they have been planning to paint and restore the light for some time. Well, they are finally working on it. The picture shows it covered by a white shroud. It now looks like a giant silo. 

Our friends at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum sent us a notice that on Dec 13th and 14th they will have historian Wes Stone in their Hooper Strait screwpile lighthouse. He will be recalling the life and times of a lighthouse keeper in 1910. This will be part of their annual "Christmas in St. Micheals" event.

And last but not least I was sent a copy of the National Parks Service's publication Cultural Resources Management, volume 20, number 8. This one is about restoring lighthouses. It has articles written by esteemed author Candace Clifford and the USLHS's Wayne Wheeler.

From Chuck's Desk: news from VP for Programs, Chuck Huffman.

To Preserve: by Volunteer Program Coordinator, Anne Puppa.

Let's work on a lighthouse. By the time you read this, we should have started our first lighthouse preservation project. The plan is to work on the Fort Washington Light located along the Potomac River. The wooden structure is in need of some maintenance. Some of the wood needs to be replaced and the whole structure needs to be scraped and painted - inside and out. The current plan is for the Coast Guard to provide the material and we will supply the labor.

There is the potential for many future projects. So, if this job goes well, I can see us getting to know more of the Bay lights up close and personal. There are many lights, with many needs. Contributions to the HELP Fund will be used to buy supplies for many of these projects, so please keep those donations coming. I have a list of 38 volunteers. We could use more, many more. So if you are interested in future projects, please contact me.

To help us preserve the lights, the Chapter is now in possession of the Historic Lighthouse Preservation Handbook, a publication put out by the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service. The handbook is designed to be used as a resource guide for planning and undertaking lighthouse preservation projects. Copies of the handbook are offered through the Government Printing Office. If you would like to order a copy, call (202)512-1800 and indicate stock number 024-005-01181-1. I believe the cost is around $30.00.

Maryland Lighthouse License Plate Update: by Lauren & Paula Liebrecht. The state of Maryland has denied the Chapter's request for the issuance of a state-wide lighthouse license plate available to all Maryland automobiles. We will continue to pursue this issue with the state. As a backup, Lauren is also working on a proposal for a Chapter specialty license plate. It would have a much smaller picture and would list the Chapter name. Being a specialty plate, it would not be available to any state motorist, but would only be available through the Chapter.

Screwpile Lighthouses: by Henry Gonzalez. 

Part I: Origins

Many members of the Chesapeake Chapter as well as tens of thousands of residents of the Chesapeake Bay area are quite familiar with Thomas Point Shoals screwpile lighthouse, situated in Bay waters just a mile southeast of Annapolis, Maryland. We see it on our Chapter logo and in countless postcards, posters, photos, replicas, and other lighthouse memorabilia. It's a recognized symbol of the Bay. Many boaters and watermen cruise by it on a regular basis and see its faithful flash of light. Those of us that are lighthouse enthusiasts know that it is the last of its breed, the last of the screwpile lighthouses on the Bay. Fortunately, we also have three other screwpiles in the Bay area, although they have been removed from their original site and transported to museums in St. Micheals, Solomons Island, and Baltimore, for their preservation and display to generations of future lighthouse and maritime history lovers. It's hard to believe that there once were 41 operational screwpile lighthouses in the Bay area, "and then there was one"Thomas Point Shoals. 

Where did screwpiles come from, why was this type of lighthouse construction so plentiful in the Chesapeake Bay area, and what exactly is a screwpile? Let's start to answer these questions by going back to the 1830s. At that time, there were very few lighthouses located right at the site of offshore shoals and other navigational hazards. Most lighthouses were located on land, where they were too far away to do a truly complete job of warning passing ships of offshore dangers. The few lighthouses that were located offshore were generally massive stone towers built on exposed rock foundations.

At about this time a remarkable Scottish engineer named Alexander Mitchell invented a screw mooring for use on the River Tyne. One of the remarkable things about Mitchell is that he had gone blind in 1820 at the age of 40, before inventing the technique that would make a tremendous impact on lighthouse construction. His concept for a screw mooring and pile was actually quite simple. The explanation given by the inventor to his colleagues in an 1848 report cannot be improved upon in its completeness and eloquence: "The plan which appeared best adapted for obtaining a firm hold of soft ground, or sand, was to insert to a considerable distance beneath the surface, a bar of iron, having at its lower extremity a broad plate, or a disc of metal, in a spiral or helical form, on the principle of the screw, in order that it should enter the ground with facility, thrusting aside any obstacles to its descent, without materially disturbing the texture of the strata it passed through, and that it should at the same time offer an extended base, either for resisting downward pressure, or an upward strain." To put it another way, have you ever tried pushing on a common home wood screw instead of turning it with a screwdriver? Or how about trying to pull one straight out with a pair of pliers? Doesn't work too well, does it?

[The article then goes on to describe the construction of the first screwpile lighthouses in England at Maplin Sands and Fleetwood on Wyre.]

In the next installment of this article, we'll follow the trials and tribulations of Major Hartman Bache and Lt Gordon Meade in their efforts to build Brandywine Shoals in 1848, and we'll then move down to our own Chesapeake Bay, starting with the construction of Pungoteague Creek in 1854, tracing the 41 screwpiles built in the Bay and the challenges they faced with ice floes, and closing out the story with the plight and dismantlement of all but one of themall except Thomas Point Shoals. 
 

Nautical Research Centre: by Henry Gonzalez. Over the last several months I have been corresponding with Colin MacKenzie, the Librarian of the Nautical Research Centre (NRC), located north of San Francisco in Petaluma, California. Colin is not only the Librarian but he is also the sole proprietor, as the NRC is essentially his private collection of lighthouse and other nautical material which he has set up in his own home to share with lighthouse researchers everywhere. In August, I was on the West Coast on a business trip and had the opportunity to go visit the NRC. When I walked into his library, which was located in a converted garage, my reaction was one of awe. One entire lengthwise wall was covered with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves full of books, scrapbooks, journals, etc. He has roughly 900 books and documents on lighthouses, including such classics as Stevenson, Putnam, Snowe, Talbot, etc. There are over 100 5x7 scrapbooks and over 50 8x10 scrapbooks full of newspaper and magazine articles, postcards, and other information about the world's lighthouses. 

Undoubtedly, the NRC is a result of Colin MacKenzie's passion and love for things nautical, and especially for lighthouses. This must be one of the most extensive private collection of lighthouse material in the world...which is also available to lighthouse enthusiasts like our Chapter members. Colin also makes fine photocopies of old out-of-print books. So, if you're doing some detailed lighthouse research and need some specific help, or if you're interested in purchasing a photocopy of a reference book, give Colin a try. You can contact him at 335 Vallejo Street, Petaluma CA 94952 and at 707-763-8453.

News about other recent trips taken by Chapter members:

North Carolina II, by Sara Colby. Over 55 members of the Chapter joined in this wonderful trip. We started at the Coast Guard station in Oak Island. Lt Ed Westfall gave us a tour of the facility and allowed everyone to climb the 134 steps to the top. This is the Coast Guard's newest reinforced concrete tower, 169 feet tall, and was completed in 1958. The light can be seen 24 miles offshore and is the most brilliant in the nation and 2nd most in the world. We drove to Southport and took the Bald Head Island ferry. Our first stop was "Old Baldy". Built in 1817, it is North Carolina's oldest lighthouse. It is 110 feet high and has 108 steps. Once back to Southport, the group took the Fort Fischer ferry. From the ferry, you could see the remains of Price's Creek (front range light). These brick, cone-shaped range lights were lighted in 1851. From there it was on to Cape Lookout lighthouse, where we had a BBQ lunch and climbed the tower. This trip was very special, neither Oak Island nor Cape Lookout are normally open to the public for climbing. A special Chapter thanks to Lt Ed Westfall, USCG, for allowing us this rare opportunity.

Shipwrecks and Other Stories of the Chesapeake: by Anne Puppa. As promised, the August 16th Shipwrecks of the Chesapeake cruise provided us with tales of shipwrecks, battles, and even pirates. From the moment we left, our guest lecturer, Donald Shomette began telling us what lay beneath the waves. We were captivated by tales of the captured German submarine that was sunk within sight of Piney Point lighthouse; the shipwreck that lays buried beneath your feet at Camden Yard; the ghost fleet of Mallows Bay; and much more. This was not a trip totally devoid of lights. On our trip, we past the Lazaretto Lighthouse replica. On our return trip we got so close we were almost inside. From Curtis Creek we took a turn around Baltimore's Inner Harbor passing the Sevenfoot Knoll Light that has been relocated there.

Skipjack Sailing to Sharps Island Light: by Tony Pasek. How many of you have ever sailed on an authentic skipjack? Well, on July 20th almost 50 Chapter members and guests did. We set sail from Dogwood Harbor on Tilghman Island, Maryland aboard the skipjack, 
HERMAN M. KRENTZ. Our destination was the historic leaning light of the Chesapeake Bay, the Sharps Island Lighthouse, built in 1882. We were truly blessed with a beautifully
sunny and clear day with a gentle breeze and very low humidity level. It was a dramatic
change from the high 90 degree the entire are experienced the previous week. Less than 30 minutes into our trip, Captain Farley cut his engine and unfurled the magnificent sails of the Krentz and we caught the soft winds in full stride. 

Less than 30 minutes passed before we approached the rusting beacon with its distinctive 15 degrees tilt to port- the Sharps Island Lighthouse. The lean was created after a series of strikes from ice floes in the very cold winter of 1976-1977. Captain Farley maneuvered his vessel within 15 feet of the tower and the light appeared to be within easy touching distance. As the lighthouse faded in the distance, captain Farley lowered a small dredging trap into the water and after several minutes pulled out our "bounty". Inspecting our catch, we found small marine life - a small crab and a sea anemone inhabiting the oysters. Cutting the muscle which held the oyster together, the captain allowed several adventurous passengers to taste the fresh seafood. Despite the squeamish cries of her daughter, Carrie, Linda Huffman sampled the raw delicacy and found it to be very flavorful.

Book Reviews

Forgotten Beacons: The Lost Lighthouses of the Chesapeake Bay by Patrick Hornberger and Linda Turbyville. Forgotten Beacons is being published by the same folks that brought us the 1995 release, Bay Beacons. Forgotten Beacons is the complement and supplement to its predecessor, and focuses on all of the Chesapeake Bay lighthouses that no longer existthus it's title. But it's more than lighthouses. The authors document all aspects of the lighthouse establishment in our area, including lightships, lighthouse depots, and lighthouse tenders. Against this backdrop, the authors provide chronologically ordered half-page to two-page write-ups on almost all of the lighthouses, lightships, tenders, and depots that were established in this time frame, accompanied by photographs obtained from the National Archives, Coast Guard, Mariners Museum, and even our very own Chesapeake Chapter archives! For those that enjoy history and wish to travel through time to relish the Bay's "lost" lighthouses, lightships, and supporting establishment, Forgotten Beacons is required reading. The 144-page book, which contains over 200 vintage black & white photos and illustrations, will retail for $23.95 and should be available by the time you get this newsletter. Look for it at area bookstores and maritime museums, the Lighthouse Depot, or order it direct from Eastwind Publishing, P.O. Box 1773, Annapolis MD 21404 (410-721-7987). 

Lighthouse Families by Cheryl Shelton-Roberts and Bruce Roberts. Most books and journal articles dealing with lighthouses focus on the history of the lighthouse itself and describe the lighthouse keeper and his family as a secondary, sometimes coincidental subject. Lighthouse Families breaks the mold and is unique in that it revolves around real accounts of life at America's lighthouses as told to the Roberts in interviews by the sons and daughters of lighthouse keepers. It is a compilation of the stories of 13 lighthouse families, with a chapter devoted to each one. The lighthouses that they were stationed at range from Tenants Harbor, Maine to Ponce de Leon Inlet on the East Coast, Pigeon Point to Cape Flattery on the West Coast, and four stations on the Great Lakes. Each chapter contains beautiful world-renowned photographs by Bruce Roberts, as well as a multitude of original photographs from the private collections of the families, and ends with a recipe or two from one of the lighthouse family's favorite dishes. So let these 13 families enter your home and share their experiences and their wonderful lives with you. The 194-page Lighthouse Families retails for $29.95 and can be obtained from our friends, Bruce & Cheryl, at Lighthouse Gallery & Gifts in Nags Head, NC. Call them at (800)579-2827, tell them you're a Chapter member, and ask for an autographed copy. The book can also be purchased from the Lighthouse Depot.

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