Turnberry Lighthouse, Scotland This summer, my husband and I were able to check a box on our bucket list and travel to the United Kingdom. One of the highlights of our trip was being able to see lighthouses in Scotland. Like in the United States, these lighthouse properties are managed or owned by [...]
Mull of Galloway Lighthouse, Scotland When visiting the United Kingdom, my husband and I rented a car to see lighthouses in Scotland. Like in the United States, these lighthouses are governed by different entities, so access is varied. The light apparatus of those that are still active aids to navigation are managed by [...]
On June 6, 1944, the largest naval, land and air operation in history when 160000 Allied forces landed in Nazi-occupied France at Normandy, signaling the beginning of the end of World War II. Orfordness Lighthouse in camouflage, UK, 1944 To commemorate the 80th anniversary of this historic day, Trinity House, the General [...]
Monkey Island, 2024 Recently, I had the pleasure of "discovering" a very unusual lighthouse, the lighthouse on Monkey Island, Florida. This lighthouse isn’t located on an ocean or a huge lake. No, this lighthouse is on a tiny island in the Homosassa River. So how did it get there and why, you ask. [...]
Sally Snowman waves hello and goodbye. When a new year comes around, many of us face changes in our lives. Sally Snowman, the last remaining official lighthouse keeper in the US, retired the last day of 2023 from her post looking after the first lighthouse built in North America, on a [...]
Merry Christmas! May your heart be filled with the love and joy of the one true light. I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12 "Take Out Window" by Charles Wysocki.
Biloxi Lighthouse, MS, photo by Alex North If you travel on Highway 90 along the Gulf coast in Biloxi, Mississippi, you might be surprised to see a lighthouse in the median of the four-lane highway. The Biloxi Lighthouse is unique for several reasons. One is its place in the median of a highway, [...]
Stella Maris Lighthouse on navy base today On a recent trip to Israel, our guide took us to what he said was the pinnacle of Mount Carmel where in the Bible (1 Kings 18), God’s prophet Elijah had a confrontation with the prophets of Baal. The guide told us we were on the [...]
South Foreland Lighthouse, Dover Cliffs by archangel 12, Flickreviewr Due to my affinity for lighthouses, readers expect to find a lighthouse in my books. Sometimes the lighthouse is the main setting, other times it’s just mentioned and may be missed unless searched for. As a result, looking for the lighthouse in the story [...]
Alligator Reef, photo courtesy lighthousefriends.com What’s your first thought when you hear of a place called “Alligator Reef?” A reef crawling with creepy reptiles with giant teeth and powerful jaws? So naturally, a lighthouse named “Alligator Reef Lighthouse” would be set right in the middle of all those gators, right? Pity the poor [...]
Alcatraz Island and Lighthouse today, photo courtesy NPS The name “Alcatraz” brings to mind the notorious federal penitentiary from 1934 to 1963, home to noted criminals like Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly. The prison was considered impossible to escape, with its position on a remote island in the San Francisco Bay. Of [...]
Birdcage Lantern What does Baileys Harbor Light in Wisconsin, Selkirk Light in New York, Prudence Island Light in Rhode Island, and the Old Cape Henry Light in Virginia have in common? Bailey's Harbor Light, Wisconsin Selkirk Light, New York In addition to all being [...]
May your 2022 be a year filled with blessings!
Thacher Island Twin Lights, photo courtesy Lighthousefrinds.com In 1864, a few days before Christmas, Maria Bray, wife of head lighthouse keeper of the Thacher Island Twin Lights, Alexander Bray, was in the keeper’s house, planning for the special day. She thought about what she’d prepare for Christmas dinner while she knitted a pair [...]
Pencarrow Lighthouse, New Zealand Mary Jane Bennett was New Zealand’s only female lighthouse keeper and was the head keeper of the country’s first permanent lighthouse. However, for many years, her contribution went unnoticed. Mary was the daughter of an English squire, where she lived a comfortable life of prestige. But when George Bennett [...]
Fairport Harbor Lighthouse, photo courtesy of Kraig Anderson To many, lighthouses represented guidance and safety. But to runaway slaves in the 1800's, the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse represented freedom. Built in 1825, the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse in Ohio is located at the mouth of the Grand River where it flows into Lake Erie. Fairport’s [...]
August 7, 2021 Last year most lighthouses were closed like many other public venues due to the Covid scare. But this year, lighthouses have re-opened, giving us a chance to observe these icons of history in person. If last year has taught us anything, it’s that we should take advantage of opportunities we have while [...]
Les Hanois Lighthouse—built by Trinity House in 1862—marks the shoals and reefs off the coast of Guernsey. Situated at the western end of the Channel Islands, the white granite lighthouse rises from a reef on the southwest side of the Island of Guernsey. Les Hanois Lighthouse is important in the development of lighthouse engineering because [...]
Today, I have a milestone birthday. I’ll spare you which one, but I’m still trying to accept my age. Birthdays are so looked forward to when we’re children, but as we get older, they’re not quite as exciting. Getting older is often associated with getting weaker, slower, forgetful, and losing one’s usefulness to society. [...]
Spectacle Reef, photo courtesy lighthousefriends.com. Located in Lake Huron, Spectacle Reef is subject to the conditions of the Great Lake. From December through March, the lake is covered with ice. The lighthouse keepers played roulette trying to guess when it was time to go back to the mainland, since shipping stopped during that [...]
Bishop Rock, photo by Richard Knights, Creative Commons Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a lighthouse keeper at Christmas at one of the isolated lighthouses in the middle of the water? Here’s a story about how some lighthouse keepers in the United Kingdom spent Christmas. It was [...]
Photo courtesy lighthousefriends.com The lighthouse at the entrance to the Tchefuncte (pronounced “she funk tee”) River was built in 1837 to guide ships across Lake Ponchartrain, Louisiana, to the port in Madisonville, Louisiana. Built on low-lying land, the area of the lighthouse and its other buildings like the keeper’s house, the fog signal, [...]
Little River Lighthouse, Cutler Maine In July, 2013, my husband and I had the privilege of being honorary lighthouse caretakers at Little River Light on an island off the coast of Cutler, Maine. A dream come true, I'll never forget the experience we had for ten days on the island. We were hosts [...]
Race Point Light, Cape Cod, MA, photo courtesy lighthousefriends.com Closed for overnight stays summer 2020. With the threat of the COVID virus pandemic, most everyone has been affected in some way. Our lives have changed, and our futures questioned. For those of us housebound, we’ve hoped for summer vacation as an escape from [...]
Republished from 2014 Portland Head Light photo by Royalbroil, courtesy Wikimedia “Here they come!” Nine-year-old Tommy shouted from the front porch. Polly dried her hands with the dish towel and followed Emily, Tommy’s little sister, to the front door. Sure enough, coming over the top of the hill were men, women and children [...]