Lighthouse education among elders growing

06/25/03 10:49 PM

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"Both beauty and service are provided by these magnificent structures. In the classroom and on location, discover the history, mechanics, and functions of light stations and other navigational aids." . . .

Elderhostels around the world are reading this as their first look into a lighthouse course being offered in Ocean Park, Maine.

Elderhostel, a continuing education program for those 55 years and older, publishes their catalog of programs quarterly, listing facilities and courses throughout the United States and foreign countries. Each sight is run independently, yet they are under the careful eye of Elderhostel ensuring that a college level education is being offered. Oceanwood Camp and Conference Center, a retreat center owned by the American Baptist Churches, is one such sight, offering week-long residential programs.

In 1990, then Program Director and Elderhostel Coordinator, Larry Thompson, sought to expand the types of courses being offered at the coastal location. Being a lighthouse enthusiast himself (he has seen over 300 lights personally), he enlisted the help of the local Coast Guard Portland Group for instructors and created the Lighthouses of New England course. Inside the classroom, Coast Guard Aids to Navigation personnel presented classes on the Coast Guard's role with the lights, past and present. On location, numerous lights were visited from New Hamshire to Portland. During the first season, the program filled rapidly, with the international office of Elderhostel begging for more weeks with larger enrollments. Their waiting lists were by far exceeding the enrollment capacity.

Now in its fifth year, Oceanwood's Elderhostel programs are being run by gifted Joseph Plasse. Still working closely with the Coast Guard, Joe has also brought in Jay Hyland of the Lighthouse Preservation Society and field trips include visits to the Shore Village Museum and Lighthouse Depot, The World's Largest Lighthouse Gift Store. While some of the original resources are no longer available, such as when the Lightship Nantucket moved out of Portland, and the town of Cape Elizabeth closed the tower at Portland Head Light to tours, new resources are continually being added, including touring the beautiful Owls Head Light in Rockland.

Oceanwood will be offering eleven Elderhostel sessions in 1996, seven of them to include the now renown Lighthouses of New England course. For more information on Elderhostel you can write to Elderhostel, 75 Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110-1941. For more information on Oceanwood's lighthouse programs contact the New England Baptist Council, P.O. Box 7338, Ocean Park, Maine 04063-7338.

This story appeared in the January 1996 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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