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. [...]
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 [...]
May your 2022 be a year filled with blessings!
New Canal Lighthouse, Flickr, Creative Commons, photo by hatchski What kind of a Mother’s Day gift do you give to a woman who took care of hundreds of people while tending a lighthouse at the same time? Margaret Norvell, who served as a lighthouse keeper at three different lighthouses in Louisiana, was [...]
Montauk Point Lighthouse, photo courtesy lighthousefriends.com. If you visit Montauk Point Lighthouse on the end of Long Island, New York, you’ll find it hard to believe the lighthouse was almost abandoned, either to be destroyed or allowed to fall into the sea by the encroaching waves. But that is exactly what almost happened. [...]
What’s Good about being a Ghost? (ghostwriter) There are times in my writing career when I’m asked to ghostwrite a story, that is, write someone else’s story, where they get the byline and I don’t. As a writer who likes to take advantage of any opportunity I can, I usually accept the assignment. Some of [...]
More than twenty lighthouse keepers and assistant keepers served at the Galloo Island Lighthouse from the time of its first lighting in 1820 until its automation in 1963. But the one who served the longest was Robert C. Graves, whose tenure spanned thirty years, first as an assistant keeper in 1903, then as the head [...]
Portland Bill Lighthouse Sunday, November 11, 2018, marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war. To commemorate the occasion, an event called “Battle’s Over” has been planned. The event was inspired by a comment made on August 3, 1914, by Foreign Minister Sir Edward Grey who said as [...]
White Shoal Lighthouse, Lake Michigan , Not a good place to stay in winter Did you think lighthouse keepers stayed and worked at the lighthouses all year long? So did I, until I found out that this was not the case for lighthouse keepers on the Great Lakes. Unlike other bodies [...]
Hello Lighthouse Enthusiasts and Readers, I owe you big time. Please accept my apologies for not posting on this site as often as I used to. Believe me, I've wanted to, but other commitments have prevented me from doing so, and since it takes a lot of time for me to research each story, the [...]
Crisp Point Lighthouse, MI, Photo by Chuck Turk “Are you sure we’re on the right road?” I asked my husband. He pointed to the lighthouse map on the seat and said, “There it is. See for yourself.” But the rocky, dirt road we were on gave no hint that a lighthouse was near. [...]
Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse, Maine, Photo by Chuck Turk If Gus only knew... A lighthouse keeper’s job can be a lonely one, especially if it’s on a stag station – one that doesn’t have room for families. Such was the case at Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse at South Portland, Maine. The spark [...]
Moose Peak Lighthouse (Mistake Island) Photo courtesy T.Bruce Jeffries and lighthousefriends.com. One day in 1905, the MacDonald brothers, both ministers, stood on top of Cadillac Mountain on Mount Desert Island, Maine. As they scanned the island-laden coastline, Alexander suddenly slapped his brother on the shoulder and exclaimed, “Angus, what a parish this would [...]
Penfield Reef Light, CT, photo courtesy lighthousefriends.com Now’s your chance to buy something you’ve always wanted – a lighthouse! Yes, right now, there are seven different lighthouses up for bid. So how do you buy your own lighthouse? Under the provisions of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, the General Services [...]
Boston Light on Little Brewster Island, MA, photo by Chuck Turk 300 is a big number. And it’s worth celebrating, Since this is my 300th post on this blog, it is a special anniversary for me. And fittingly, I get to share it with a lighthouse. Not just any lighthouse, but the first [...]
Portland Head Light, ME, photo by Chuck Turk August 7 is National Lighthouse Day, the day on which we honor those majestic towers that were built to protect and guide mariners. Today, those lighthouses are historic symbols of man’s effort to help their fellowman. Many are still active aids to navigation despite modern [...]
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse The Outer Banks, a string of islands off the coast of North Carolina, boasts a chain of lighthouses from the northernmost tip to the farthest south. The purpose of these lighthouses is to warn mariners of shifting shoals that are hazardous to ships. In fact, thousands of ships and [...]
Bob and Sandra Shanklin, The Lighthouse People If you like lighthouses, you enjoy looking at them. If you have the opportunity, you visit them in person. However, very few people ever get to visit all of them. But thanks to lighthouse photographers, we can still look at pictures of lighthouses in places we’ll [...]
Sandy Hook Lighthouse, NJ When the American Revolution began in 1775, there were eleven lighthouses on the coasts of the original thirteen colonies. These lighthouses became targets of control for both armies in order to control the shipping lanes. The very first lighthouse in the country while under British control was Boston [...]
American Shoal Lighthouse, Florida, photo courtesy lighthousefriends.com Lighthouses were not always the idyllic, romantic locations many have imagined them to be. Although some of us would welcome the peace and quiet of an isolated lighthouse, to many lighthouse keepers the solitude was depressing, boring and monotonous. Even when the keeper had a [...]
Victory Lighthouse, Italy Towering above the city of Trieste, Italy, stands the Faro della Vittoria, the Victory Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built as a monument to celebrate Italian victory and honor the country’s soldiers who died at sea in World War I. One of the world’s tallest lighthouses, the structure stands 223-foot [...]
Libby Island Lighthouse, Maine Flash followed Keeper Gleason Colbeth everywhere. Keeper at Libby Island Light, Maine, Colbeth said his medium brown Irish setter was so intelligent she could almost talk. And being the devoted pet that she was, Flash never let her master out of her sight. If Colbeth went to the 1823 [...]
Angels Gate Lighthouse, CA, photo courtesy lighthousefriends.com Lighthouse keepers develop a relationship with the sea and learn to appreciate its personality. They also acquire an understanding of the creatures that live within it. Marine animals can provide food for the keepers, but they can also provide company. Along the west coast of the [...]
Rondout Creek Lighthouse, NY, courtesy lighthousefriends.com. Hudson River, NY, 1857 When George Murdock, the keeper at Rondout Creek lighthouse, didn’t return with the supplies, his wife Catherine knew something had happened. Her worries were confirmed when officials from the mainland arrived to tell her he had drowned on his way back to the [...]