Maritime Exhibit in Michigan
An amazing exhibit of artifacts from the Golden Age of Lake Michigan’s Maritime History is being put on by the Lake Michigan Carferry Service. The exhibit will feature rarely seen artifacts and memorabilia from the C & O Train and Auto Ferries, S.S. City of Midland, S.S. Spartan, and the S.S. Badger. Many of these items have been sitting in warehouses or on the ships for more than 30 years. Included will be furniture, navigation equipment, ships logs, letters, portholes, oars, uniforms, life saving equipment, and much more. The special exhibit will be from May 19-30 only at the Ludington Center for the Arts, 107 South Harrison St. in Ludington Michigan. The exhibit will be open daily (except Monday May 25), from noon to 5:30PM. Tickets are $5.00 at the door.

Lighthouse Stewardship Act Goes To Committee
The National Lighthouse Stewardship Act of 2009 Senate Bill s715 has been referred to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; Subcommittee on National Parks. The members of this subcommittee are Senators: Mark Udall, Byron Dorgan, Mary Landrieu, Robert Menendez, Blanche Lincoln, Bernard Sanders, Evan Bayh, Debbie Stabenow, John Barrasso, Sam Brownback, John McCain, Jim Bunning and Bob Corker. You can write to them at 364 Dirkson Senate Building, Washington, DC 20510. You can also fax them a letter at 202-228-0539. You are urged to write these Senators and ask them to support the bill’s passage in Congress.

Lighthouse Exhibit in Saginaw
The Castle Museum and the Annex in Saginaw, Michigan has a new lighthouse exhibit that can be viewed from now until October of this year. One special part of the exhibit is a wooden replica of the Saginaw River Range Lighthouse built by John Heinz. For more information you can call the museum at 989-752-2861 or visit their web site at www.castlemuseum.org.

New England Lighthouse Tours
Based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is entering its second season. Acclaimed lighthouse author/historian Jeremy D'Entremont offers a day-long van tour that includes five lighthouses and other interesting stops in Seacoast New Hampshire and Southern Maine, including shopping time at Lighthouse Depot in Wells. You can get the full details and make your reservations at www.newenglandlighthousetours.com. A portion of the proceeds from all tours goes to lighthouse preservation.

Pirates Attack Lighthouse
The new $40,000 boat ramp and dock installed just last year at Ohio’s Toledo Harbor Lighthouse has been stolen by thieves. It is speculated that the thieves stole the dock and ramp for its scrap metal value. Hopefully the crooks will be caught and have the book thrown at them. The Toledo Harbor Lighthouse Society and the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keeper’s Association is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to their arrest and conviction. Harbour Lights now offers a replica of this lighthouse as #42476.

Brighter Future for Hawaii Beacon
A fund raising effort has been launched to help raise $1 million to restore Hawaii’s Kilauea Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse, built in 1913, was automated in the late 1970s and the structure has had very little maintenance since then.

The Jewel of the Lighthouse
Every lighthouse in America once had a beautiful Fresnel lens in the tower. The magnificent works of glass prisms were referred to as the “Jewel of the Lighthouse.” Sadly, over time, many of them were removed from the lighthouses and some were destroyed. Harbour Lights was the first company to produce finely crafted models of these exquisite works of art in the various orders of power that they represented. They are fast becoming highly sought after collectibles. Replicas available are the 1st order lens from Florida’s famous St. Augustine Lighthouse; the 2nd order lens from Boston Light in Massachusetts; the 3rd order lens from California’s Point Vicente Lighthouse ; and the 4th order lens from Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, New Jersey. Another unique model is of the lantern room of Oregon’s Umpqua River Lighthouse with a model of the 1st order Fresnel lens inside it. Not to be left out, Harbour Lights also has manufactured a replica model of a lens from a lightship. Each replica lights up and they all make for a wonderful addition for any home or office display that you and your guests can admire for years to come.

April Trivia Questions

1. A few years ago the United States Postal Service issued postage stamps honoring all 50 states. The postage stamps of four of the states featured lighthouses on them What are the names of the lighthouses that were shown on the stamps?
   
   
2. Abbie Burgess was Maine’s famous lighthouse heroine. What was her lighthouse keeper husband’s name?
   
   
3. President Franklin Roosevelt, during a visit to Key West Florida in February 1939, in responding to a statement by a lighthouse official, angrily clenched his fist while telling that person that no matter what, nothing would stop the United States Lighthouse Service from being dissolved and merged into the Coast Guard. What was the name of the lighthouse official?

Send your answers to one, two or all three of the trivia questions listed above to: . One name from each of the correct answers to each trivia question will be randomly drawn for a prize from Lighthouse Depot. The winning names and the answers to the above trivia questions will be published in next month’s Depot Dispatch. When submitting your answers, be sure to include your full name and mailing address so we can mail your prize to you should your name be drawn from among the correct answers. Please submit only one answer per person per trivia question. Multiple entries will not be accepted; only one answer per trivia question will be accepted. Since winning entries are drawn at random, one person could possibly win more than one prize. Have fun researching lighthouse history and good luck!

When submitting your answers, be sure to include your full name and mailing address so we can mail your prize to you should your name be drawn from among the correct answers.

Last Month’s Trivia Questions and Answers

1. What is the name of the first lighthouse station in the United States to receive a Fresnel lens? The correct answer is Navesink Lighthouse in Highlands, NJ. Congratulations to Sharla Miles of Huntsville, Texas whose name was randomly selected from among the correct answers submitted.
   
   
2. What major airport has a large lighthouse exhibit on display? The correct answer is Alabama’s Mobile Regional Airport. Congratulations to Sandy Adrion of Pine Hill, New Jersey whose name was randomly selected from among the correct answers submitted.
   
   
3. What is the name of the lost lighthouse that has been replicated in the form of trash containers near the community where the lighthouse once stood? The answer is the Tangier Lighthouse which has been replicated in trash containers on Tangier Island, Virginia. Congratulations to Korla McFall of Grover Beach, California whose name was randomly selected from among the correct answers submitted.

The prizes for the winners above will be shipped out soon. We wish to thank everyone who entered. Stories about all of the lighthouses that were used in the Trivia Contest can be found in past issues of Lighthouse Digest magazine.

Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is just around the corner and Lighthouse Depot has many wonderful items to choose from for gifts for moms, favorite aunts, sisters and spouses. Some of the items that we would suggest might include the Thomas Kinkade votive candle holders. Our New Whimsical Lighthouse Clock is sure to please. My personal favorite is the Kinkade Victorian Clock. If its clothing you’re interested in, we might suggest our new Depot Exclusive Lighthouse Poncho, the new Lime Green Lighthouse Tee or the Lighthouse Cardigan.

Lighthouse Digest Cover
Many people have written letters saying how much they admired the cover of the April issue of Lighthouse Digest that featured the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, and asked if we have a product available with the lighthouse. The answer is yes. Lighthouse Depot has a Harbour Lights replica of the famous beacon.

MLM Needs Help
The long Maine winter months have been hard on the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland and the museum now needs your help. Founded by the late Ken Black, the museum has an amazing collection of lighthouse lenses and lighthouse artifacts. A few years ago it added the collection of artifacts from the Museum of Lighthouse History making the collection the largest of its kind in the United States. It is a great educational tool for people of all ages that must be preserved for future generations. If you can help, tax deductible donations can be sent to: Maine Lighthouse Museum, P.O. Box 1116, Rockland, ME 04841.

Did Lighthouses Suffer from Bad Karma
The May issue of Lighthouse Digest magazine has an interesting article that suggests that deceptive advertising may have caused bad karma at two lighthouses and the major companies that were involved. The story includes some never before published historic images. Other stories in the May issue include life at Bon Portage Lighthouse with more never before published photos and a story of one man’s quest to build a real lighthouse. These stories and more can only be found in the print edition of Lighthouse Digest. You won’t find them on the Internet! If you are not yet a subscriber you can do so by going to www.LighthouseDigest.net or call 207-259-2121 and ask to have your subscription start with the May edition.

As an additional point of interest, the upcoming June issue of Lighthouse Digest will have a unique story about a major publication that while promoting a lighthouse vacation also warned American’s that World War II was inevitable and imminent. You won’t find these kinds of stories anywhere, except in the pages of Lighthouse Digest magazine.

Public Awareness
Since 1994 Lighthouse Depot has helped draw public awareness and support for lighthouse preservation. This has only been made possible through the purchase of gifts and collectibles from our catalog, web-site and at our stores. For this we sincerely thank you and hope that you will continue to shop with us for all your lighthouse collecting and lighthouse clothing and lighthouse home décor needs.

Clearance Central
Be sure to visit the Lighthouse Depot Clearance Central for an ever changing selection of discontinued and close out items.

Lighthouse Depot has the largest selection of lighthouse merchandise in the world and we invite you to browse through our web site to view the wide selection of items from home décor, to books, jewelry, clothing and more. Have fun browsing and please remember that Lighthouse Depot is helping to save lighthouses and their history, one gift at a time. Thank you for your business, loyalty and support.

If you would like to learn more about lighthouses subscribe today to Lighthouse Digest.

Lighthouse Depot, helping to save, lighthouses, one gift at a time.

We support the efforts of The American Lighthouse Foundation. You can too!

Lighthouse Depot
P.O. Box 427
Wells, ME 04090
1-800-758-1444