|
St. Augustine, FL - Have you ever wondered what it might have been like to be a lighthouse keeper? Take a step back in time to the nation’s oldest city - St. Augustine, Florida - and find out! The St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum has announced the initiation of its brand new Guest Keeper Program. The first of its kind in the southeastern United States, this interactive getaway weekend will offer guests the opportunity to actually be a part of our daily site operations and to learn what is involved in maintaining and working an historic light station.
The program includes three days on-site at the St. Augustine Light Station, with the first day’s activities concentrating primarily on training. The training procedures will include a full tour of the facilities and individual meetings with our museum archivists, our maritime archaeologists, and our maintenance staff as well. As for additional site training, you will have the opportunity to shadow museum interpretive staff stationed at the base and the top of the tower - the primary locations where guest interactions take place.
The following two days will be filled with hands-on operations and guest relation activities. The weekend concludes on Sunday afternoon with an experience that few people get to enjoy - a private tour of the lighthouse’s lens room, and an up-close view of our working, first-order Fresnel lens.
Accommodations for this weekend adventure will be provided by one of two historic and picturesque Bed & Breakfasts located in the heart of downtown St. Augustine - the St. Francis Inn or the Casa de Solana. On Saturday and Sunday, your breakfast will be furnished by your B&B, while lunch will be provided for you at the Lighthouse.
Your transportation to and from the Light Station each day will be provided by the Harbor Shuttle, a local water taxi service operated by a friendly captain with great knowledge of the local maritime history.
Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to be a part of history at the St. Augustine Light Station. If you or someone you know is interested in taking part in a unique experience and becoming one of the first guest keepers at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum, you can contact the coordinator of the Guest Keeper Program, Mollie Malloy, at (904) 829-0745, ext. 223.
The St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum, Inc. is a working lighthouse of national significance, serving the nation’s oldest port, and a museum that preserves and interprets the history of the St. Augustine Light Station and the associated maritime, coastal and social history. This is accomplished through historical research, restorations, maritime archaeology, collections and publications that reflect and document its rich history. Exhibitions and educational programs engage and enlighten a diverse community in order to help them gain a greater understanding of the role of the St. Augustine Light Station.
Patricia Bock photo.
This story appeared in the July 2003 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
All contents copyright © 1995 - 2006 by Lighthouse Digest®, Inc. No story, photograph, or any other item on this website may be reprinted or reproduced without the express permission of Lighthouse Digest. For contact information, click here.
|
Keepers Picks
Build your own lighthouse watch!