Chesapeake Chapter, US Lighthouse Society - Chesapeake Lights, Our Newsletter

Cover Story The Search For Little Red
by Sara Colby

It was a dark and stormy night when we left Virginia. There were literally sheets of rain and bold strokes of lightning as we pulled into Baltimore to pick up the rest of the group. Homemade chocolate chip cookies from the Liebrecht twins were the highlight as our little white bus braved the inclement weather all the way north to Newark, NJ.
After a good night’s sleep and a bountiful breakfast, the rain cleared and our first stop was Blackwell Light. This exquisite short stone light aids the East River Channel traffic, and Roosevelt Island provided us with a crisp morning view of Queens and Manhattan Island. From there we drove into Manhattan and onto the Staten Island Ferry.
Unfortunately, when we stopped, the bus door opened right into a wall, prohibiting the group from getting out. It went completely dark in the hull of the ferry but Dwight McMakin exhibited strength and bravery (where is your cape Dwight?) when he pushed the bus backward into an opening. This quick action avoided a riot as this was our first stop with a restroom. Those who got out quickly, got to see the Statue of Liberty. We then cruised by Ellis Island and Robin’s Reef Light.
Before we knew it, we had arrived at Staten Island.
We left our first passenger when we drove off the ferry. Poor Larry had to sprint to catch up with us. On Staten Island, Henry Stephenson, President of the New York Harbor Lights Chapter of USLHS, met us and gave us a tour of one of the proposed sites for the National Lighthouse Museum. He told us about the warehouses, various houses and buildings that had been used as the depot for the US Lighthouse Service’s North East District. The plaza in front of this site turned out to be a perfect place for our lunch, with plenty of tables, chairs and sun.
Then, on to Fort Wadsworth where we saw a short film, were given a personal tour of the main fort and heard about the creation and use of the fort. Many made the 15 minute walk down to Battery B and the Ft. Wadsworth Light which is set on the banks of the Hudson River under the Varrazano Narrows bridge. Most actually climbed the steep steps to the top of the battery and looked into the remains of the lantern room.
The next stop took a bit of negotiating for Dwight and Henry Stephenson, as the Coney Island Light sits right in the middle of a private community in Brooklyn. Private indeed, the City was completely walled and gated. We must have looked all right and Dwight must have told a good story, since they let us enter after the Mayor and Police Captain checked us all out. The Coney Island Light is not your most attractive lighthouse, and is badly in need of a coat of paint.
Another job for our Preservation Troops ???? NOT!!!!
Back on Staten Island, we traveled through numerous back streets. Some were quite steep for our little white bus (I think I can, I think I can) but we finally arrived at the New Dorp Light. It is now a private residence surrounded by trees. The lighthouse had been completely gutted when the current owner purchased it in the 1980s. Despite the extensive remodeling efforts needed to make this house a home; he kept the turret that is accessed by spiral staircase.
Our last stop for the day was High Rock Park, to see the Staten Island Range Light. We had to take our pictures quickly, as the fog started to roll in. In the blink of an eye, the tower was engulfed. Even though this white stone tower sits in a very exclusive neighborhood, it had many antennas attached. This greatly detracted from its beauty. Dwight and I again thank the group for the picture of this light. It will bring us great memories of the trip. And again, many thanks to Henry Stephenson. Without him it would have been difficult to find some of the these lights.
On Sunday, we sped towards Jeffries Hook Light, also called The Little Red Lighthouse in the children’s book by that name. We drove and drove and passed it and drove and drove and passed it. We got directions from an usher in Palisades Park that danced through her directions trying to get us there. I hope the video came out! We drove and drove and passed it again. Yep, we could see it from the highway overpass, under the George Washington Bridge, but we couldn’t figure out how to get there.
Many of us wished we still had Henry Stephenson on the bus. This is where we lost our 2nd passenger, Robert!!. Finally new members John and Gail Pugni from Connecticut, who had been following us in their car, offered to scout the route based on a previous trip of theirs. After 15 minutes, they were back and led the way. On a narrow side street there was a tiny little sign with an arrow pointing the way to Fort Washington Park. We would have never found it. From the sign, it was a good 25 minute walk down through tunnels, over footpaths and on bridges to get to Little Red. Definitely not the cleanest park, it had plenty of drug paraphernalia strewn about and really stinky tunnels. However, the Light had been recently painted and it was the highlight of the trip.
As you see, the group crowded around for a photo.
With only a few hours left, the South Street Seaport was our stop for lunch and time to see the Ambrose Lightship, several original sailing ships and the museum. I will admit that most of us spent our time eating, shopping and watching the various street musicians and dancers.
A few dedicated souls had their USLHS Passports stamped in the Seaport Museum Shop. It was then homeward bound for the 33 of us; very glad we were on a bus and not driving the 6 hours home. Being on the bus was great, it added camaraderie and new made new friendships. Next time however, we’ll bring our own videos to watch as we travel home on the bus.

Officer & Board Elections Information

I N S I D E

Chesapeake Chapter History - Our First Meeting

GlimmeringsNews from the Chapter's President, Henry Gonzalez.

As you all know by now, our Vice President for Programs, Chuck Huffman, “crossed the bar” on May 11th. Chuck was very knowledgeable about lighthouses and he was a vigorous leader in our Chapter. His energetic ideas and hard work will be sorely missed by all of us. The Chapter has been struck with another tragic loss, but just like when we lost our founding President, Herb Entwistle, in January 1997, we must respectfully look ahead and move on with the Chapter’s business.
Chuck’s loss and several other circumstances led me to make several changes to the Chapter’s schedule of summer cruises. I’m sure that these changes disappointed many of you, but I appreciate your understanding.
During the Chapter’s Board regular Fall meeting, we will decide what to do about Chuck’s position. Until then, I will be providing oversight to the trip coordinators for the rest of the year’s meetings, and will also lead the planning for our 1999 schedule.
Trip Coordinators Wanted.
Speaking of trip coordinators, I’m looking for some help for 1999. As you know, all of our trips are
coordinated by one of our volunteer members. The coordinator gets involved in planing the details of the trip, coordinating hotels, charter boats, entrance to lighthouses, meals, etc. It takes a bit of work… but it is most satisfying and rewarding work! Just ask any one of our current coordinators. As a small token of the Chapter’s appreciation, the trip registration fee for the trip coordinator and a guest gets waived (does not include accommodations). We could always use more trip coordinators. If you are interested in volunteering to join our group of coordinators, please contact me!
Chapter’s 10th Anniversary.
The Chesapeake Chapter’s 10th anniversary is coming up on March 18, 1999, so it’s time to start
celebrating! Mike Voss has been our Membership Chairman since that first meeting, and he informed me that the Chapter has grown from the original charter group of about 35 people to over 600 members! We will be celebrating the 10th Anniversary a little bit early at our Chapter’s very special “Preservation” meeting on November 14, 1998 in Baltimore.
Wayne Wheeler, President of our parent organization, the U.S. Lighthouse Society will be our keynote speaker. We also plan on having U.S. Postal Service representatives there with a special 10th anniversary cancellation stamp for your mail; this will be a collector’s item, and some members have suggested you might want to mail your Christmas cards out extra early this year and get them stamped at our meeting! Read all about the details of our November 14th meeting in the trips insert, and come join us in the fun!
Membership Brochures.
Vice President Dwight McMakin and member Jerry Waters have designed a new Chapter membership brochure that is sure to attract many new members! It’s front cover is very “catchy”; it has a lovely drawing of a screwpile lighthouse and asks “Do You Like Lighthouses?”. The inside cover further entices the reader and then explains what our Chapter is all about. They’ve also added a couple of photos, and have added information about our web site. Great job, Dwight and Jerry!
Officer & Board Nominations.
Folks, you’ll notice that we are reprinting the call for nominations for 3 officer positions and 2 Board
positions that was published in the Spring newsletter. We’re really serious about this and need your help! If you are interested in any of the positions, or if you have someone else in mind that you would like to nominate, please contact Anne Puppa and Lauren Liebrecht! Thanks for your help!
Ham Radio Lighthouse Day.
There area a couple of days in August when some ham radio operators will be hosting special lighthouse events. As I understand it, the ham radio operators would individually visit a whole bunch of lighthouses and broadcast to each other from these “temporary” stations. Some of them will be visiting land-based lighthouses, while others will be going out in boats to the ones in the water. Sounds like fun! One special event will be on August 8th and 9th and will be focused primarily in the Chesapeake Bay area, while a second special event will be on August 22nd/23rd and will have more of a national and international flavor. Please contact Jim Weidner (K2JXW) for more details at http://www.waterw.com/~weidner/ham.htm and email him at weidner@kwiknet.net

TO PRESERVE by Anne Puppa

Preservation work continues on the four on-going preservation projects.
The chapter has provided over 300 volunteer man-hours to various projects so far this year. The group has made three visits to Ft. Washington and two visits to the Lightship Chesapeake. Six volunteers
have returned to the Exhibit Center at least once, and Joe Kiebish has made good progress on the lighthouse files at the Coast Guard Archives.
At Ft. Washington we have completely replaced the wood on the front of the light and now need to complete this task on the remaining three sides. Volunteers have been generous in donating the use of their personal equipment and their special skills, which has greatly enhanced our ability to work. We have also begun work on shoring up some of the structure under the light where several of the wooden beams have cracked. Future proposed workdays are August 15 and September 26. We are in need of ladders and people who can climb them.
We have worked on the Lightship Chesapeake a second time. We completely painted the wardroom and two officer’s cabins, cleaned up the captain’s cabin, inventoried some of the storage areas and last but not least polished some more brass! Our next proposed workday on the Chesapeake is
October 17.
There is a lot of work left to do at the Exhibit Center. Individuals can and should schedule time, as there is ample work for you to do. Some of the tasks individuals can perform are writing lens condition reports, cleaning and polishing prisms, uncrating panels and much more. If you have been trained, please remember you need to put in at least two or three volunteer days.
Those who are interested in archive work please give me a call when you have a free day and would like to spend it going through and straightening up the lighthouse files at the Coast Guard Archives. We
need to keep moving forward on this project, as there is more work to do after the files are in order.
Future projects that are being discussed are very exciting, so please don’t hesitate to sign up now.
Volunteer Acknowledgments:
Ft. Washington: Leslie Casconi, Henry and Chris Gonzalez, Lauren and Paula Liebrecht, Tony Pasek, Ruth Ann Risinger, Ruth Rosenthal, Hobie Statzer, Judy Stewart, Alan and Mary Teets, Susan Thwaites, Nancy Troha, Marie Vincent, Jerry Waters.
Lightship Chesapeake: Karin and Larry Fountain, Dona and John Glenn, Chris and Henry Gonzalez, Upton Jenkins, Bob Kaminski, Adam Liuthicum, Robert, Elizabeth and Melissa Puppa, Tom Wade.
All volunteers are appreciated!

Collectors Corner:
by Dwight McMakin.

Chesapeake Flashbacks:
by James B. McCrady

Member to Member
by Dwight McMakin

From Dwight's Desk: News from VP for Publications;
by Dwight McMakin.

I N S E R T S

The Channel Marker

The Keeper's Loft

Trips and Cruises

Cape Hatteras Report: You Don’t Fool With Mother Nature!


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