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Wow! Where did the time go?

It’s hard to believe that this issue of Lighthouse Digest is our 10th anniversary issue.

Who could have imagined that in May of 1992 with our first issue, which was a 16-page newspaper print tabloid with 34 paid subscribers, that we would evolve into a glossy 56-page publication with subscribers in all 50 states and 17 countries?

In those days, we were only published 8 times yearly and the cost was $24.00 per year. Now we publish every month and the publication is larger, bigger, better, and even in color, but only $4.00 a year more. Not bad, considering the difference in the cost of many other consumer goods from 1992 to today.

So much was different in 1992. The interest in lighthouses was barely noticeable. In fact it was difficult to even find a lighthouse product in a gift store. This was before Lighthouse Depot opened its doors as “The World’s Largest Lighthouse Gift Store.”

In fact, when Kathleen Finnegan and I opened the store in May of 1993 it was called Lighthouse Gifts; the name change to Lighthouse Depot didn’t come until the spring of 1994. The first issue of the Lighthouse Depot Catalog was in August of 1994. Three hundred thousand were sent out; today millions are mailed each year.

Harbour Lights was in its infancy, Lefton Company only made one lighthouse replica, Spoontiques had a couple of generic ones, Scaasis didn’t exist, Spencer Collin lighthouses were just starting to be well known and there were only two major lighthouse groups in the country with any significant membership.

The Internet, who was even using the Internet? It was also still in its infancy. The first order from the Lighthouse Depot web site didn’t occur until Dec. 17, 1998. Today, most of the Lighthouse Digest stories are on the web. They make great research tools when researching lighthouses. In fact, the Lighthouse Depot web site, which also includes Lighthouse Digest, is the largest lighthouse web site in the world with more information on lighthouses than can be found anywhere.

As I look back at that first issue and other early issues many of those stories seem to still be fresh on my mind. The first issue covered the story of Maine’s Heron Neck Lighthouse, an event that triggered the Maine Lights Program, which was literally one of the most important lighthouse events in modern American lighthouse history and was the forerunner to the National Lighthouse Preservation Act.

There was a story in that first issue by Bill Thomson, who was an early supporter of Lighthouse Digest and through his promotions at his Whispering Sands gift shop in York Beach, Maine obtained many of the first new subscribers to Lighthouse Digest. Although there were a number of advertisers in that first issue, the first one signed up was The Keepers House at Isle au Haut Lighthouse in Maine, and in fact Jeff Burke, owner of the Keepers House, wrote the story of “The Bell,” in that first issue.

In that first issue was an ad for the Shore Village Lighthouse Museum founded by Ken Black, whose conversations with us started our lighthouse odyssey. We ran a story on the proposed museum at Portland Head and we all know what a success story that turned out to be. The first product we advertised in Lighthouse Digest that was our Littlest Lighthouse story coloring book, (written by me) and which is still available today, ten years later and continues to sell, as does the stuffed toy that now comes with it.

That first issue had 12 historic properties on the Doomsday List, a list that Lighthouse Digest started which has since gained an international reputation.

Over the years we have given you some great stories. When lighthouses were moved, we were there to tell you about it. When lighthouses were lost, we were the first to report it.

We have uncovered stories that would have otherwise been lost to the pages of time. We have drawn public attention to the vital importance of saving lighthouses and their history. Lighthouse Digest has made a difference. We have helped save much of the history that might have otherwise been lost forever. Our research has created one of the largest archive files of American lighthouse history found anywhere. We have shared joy and tears with you. But above all we have made many friends all over the world.

None of this would have been possible without your continued support, subscriptions and readership. You, our readers, have helped in so many ways, with your story ideas, photographs, letters, memories and so much more. Lighthouse Digest is really your magazine.

Thank you for a great 10 years!

This story appeared in the May 2002 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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