Winter, 1998 (Volume X, Issue 1) For
the full text, please join
the Chapter to obtain a copy.Cover story:TO PRESERVE: A special report on our first year:by Anne Puppa Ft. Washington Project Update: We did it. We actually worked on a LIGHTHOUSE!!! No more talking…time for action. On Saturday, October 25, fourteen members of our chapter gathered on the banks of the Potomac at the Ft. Washington lighthouse. While the little light looks to be in good shape, much of the wood siding has rotted. It was our task to remove the rotted wood and replace it with custom made siding. Some of the wood was in such bad shape it crumbled in our hands. While we were only able to work on Saturday, we did make tremendous progress. Due to the enthusiasm of all involved, we will complete the project in the spring. We hope to replace the rest of the rotted wood and then paint the entire structure, inside and out. Bring your ladders! Lens Cleaning and Repair Project: We are going to help clean and restore the fresnel lenses that are in the Coast Guard Exhibit Center. The Coast Guard would like to get the lenses to museums so the public can view them. In order to do that, many of them need to be restored and stabilized. This is a process that requires training and special equipment. Both will be provided on site by the Coast Guard. The first required training session is scheduled for March 21, 1998. There is also other work available at the Exhibit Center. By giving the Coast Guard a helping hand in maintaining and restoring their treasures, we can show our appreciation for their help in seeing lighthouses. Lightship Chesapeake and Seven Foot Knolls Lighthouse: We didn't want to confine our help to one organization, so when we were contacted by a volunteer with the Baltimore Maritime Museum, we responded enthusiastically. They are planning to work on both the lightship Chesapeake and the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse. This work may come as early as February so we can take advantage of the "slow" season. Miscellaneous: I would like to expand the preservation efforts to other area museums and private organizations who are trying to keep the history of the Chesapeake alive. Many of these organizations already have volunteer groups in place but I think we can assist them with special projects or in areas where they may need a few extra people. I have contacted many of them and we stand ready to help when they make requests. Volunteer Announcements: Please note, the announcements and schedules for volunteer activities will only be mailed to registered volunteers. So if you would like to volunteer for any of these activities, please let me know. Indicate what types of activities you would be interested in doing. You can be sure I will contact you whenever we have a project but if something comes up which requires the talents you indicate, I will contact you first. Also, if you have any ideas or are aware of projects that we can or should assist with, please pass them on to me. You can contact me via e-mail or leave a message on my answering machine. You Can H.E.L.P. Make This Happen: To make these and other projects possible, we will be using donations to the H.E.L.P. Fund. As you can see, we have many plans for the future. Your donations will be used to preserve the lighthouses we love while honoring the memory of Herb Entwistle, our chapter's founding president. Many thanks to those who have contributed so far. Inside:Chapter Membership Dues! by Henry GonzalezMember Spotlight: Tony Pasek Glimmerings news from the Chapter's President, Henry Gonzalez. National Lighthouse Museum. In the last newsletter, I reported that I would be attending the second meeting of the Steering Committee of the National Lighthouse Museum, which was held in Alexandria, VA on October 24th and 25th. The main goal of the meeting was to narrow down the selection of a site for the proposed museum. A national and very widespread call for proposals had been made earlier in the year, which resulted in 10 formal proposals or "expressions of interest" and four informal ones. The proposals were evaluated by a subcommittee against a set of eight criteria which included the historical significance of the site, its attractiveness, practicality, accessibility, visitor potential, financial capabilities, etc. Staten Island, NY , Mackinaw, MI, and Boston Harbor Islands (Hull, MA), were the three top candidates, with further research recommended for Point Judith, RI, and the New London, CT area. The only proposal received from the Chesapeake Bay area was Concord Point at Havre de Grace, which faired well, but did not make the final cut. The committee is now in the process of conducting site visits to the final candidates, in preparation for our next meeting in March, 1998, in Newport, RI, to make the final site selection. Stay tuned for the results of the site selection process in the next Chesapeake Lights! Point Lookout Open House. On Saturday, November 1st, Vice President Dwight McMakin and Volunteer Program Coordinator Anne Puppa joined my wife Chris and I in setting up a "booth" at the annual open house at the Point Lookout lighthouse in Southern Maryland. Point Lookout is located at the northern shore of the Potomac River where it meets with the Chesapeake Bay. We set up a display of information about the Chapter and Chesapeake Bay lighthouses in one of the rooms on the main floor of the two-and-a-half story lighthouse, alongside with representatives from various other lighthouse and maritime organizations. From noon to 4 PM, several hundred visitors passed through the lighthouse and heard tales about its life, its keepers, and its ghosts. Many visitors spent time chatting with us at our booth, and we really enjoyed meeting new friends, sharing our knowledge of lighthouses, and meeting some descendants of lighthouse keepers. Although the exterior of Point Lookout lighthouse is in good shape, having just received a fresh coat of paint less than year ago, the interior is in serious disrepair and in need of major preservation work. So stay tuned....we may be working on Point Lookout in the future. In the meantime, we'll be back to visit them as part of our March tour of Southern Maryland, and will be back for their next annual open house (first Saturday in November). If you'd like to help out at our booth next year, please let me know; it's a fun and rewarding experience. Photo Contest. It was another great Photo Contest, with 39 entries from 12 different photographers. The winners are highlighted in a separate insert to the newsletter, but thanks go to all 12 photographers and their gorgeous photographs of Chesapeake Bay lighthouses. Thanks for sharing, and be on the look out for the rules for our 4th annual Photo Contest in the Spring newsletter. Oh, and don't forget to look at the winning entries in full color on our web site....where you can also download the images to add to your screen saver! Preservation. On October 24th, several Chapter members gave our Volunteer Preservation Program its first success story, by working together under the capable leadership of our program coordinator, Anne Puppa, to take initial steps in the restoration of the Fort Washington lighthouse tower. I'm really proud of the work that they've started, with more work to come on Fort Washington next spring, and with more projects spread throughout 1998. This is a great program that allows us all to give back a little something to our beloved lighthouses. Anne also arranged for herself, Jerry Waters, Marie Vincent, and my wife Chris and I to visit US Coast Guard headquarters and help them archive their historic lighthouse photographs. "Read more about it" in Anne's "To Preserve" article....and join up with her for next year's projects....you'll enjoy the gratifying experience! And thanks, Anne, for your excellent leadership! Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Maps. It seemed like within hours of publishing my request in the last newsletter for a volunteer to help generate maps of and directions to Chesapeake Bay lighthouses, that Jerry Waters contacted me with his enthusiastic offer of help. Being a retired cartographer for the USGS and being very adept with computers, Jerry was a natural for the "job". He has been busy generating an overview map that highlights the position of all Bay area lighthouses, and generating individual maps to each accessible lighthouse along with directions and a short history of the lighthouse. The maps will be made available (upon request) to members and other lighthouse lovers that contact the Chapter asking for directions (I get 1 or 2 requests a week at times), and will also be posted on our web site for all to see in the not-too-distant future. Thanks, Jerry (and Marie), for making a significant contribution and for being great volunteers! Member to Member by Dwight McMakin The 40+3 Club by Dwight McMakin Are you a member of the 40 + 3 Club?
At the December '97 Officers' Meeting, the Board of Directors decided to designate all the lighthouses and lightships in Maryland and Virginia along with the ones in the lower portion of Delaware as the ones of our Chapter's primary interest. Guess what? There are 40 lighthouses in this area. Guess what, again? There are 3 lightships docked in this area. Wa, la. 40 + 3. Have you seen them all? If you have and you are a member of the Chapter, you are a member of the 40 + 3 club. Just let me know. We'll take your word on it. Only you'll know if you have REALLY seen them and I'm betting you'll get lumps of coal for your birthday if you fib. When you send me the information, we'll put you on the membership list. Your name will be published in the newsletter and we are hoping to give some further recognition later. Any ideas??? Let's have fun with this!!!
The 40 + 3 are:
Baltimore
|
 2001(c)
Chesapeake Chapter, USLHS. All rights reserved. |
