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Somebody with a serious brick problem and way too much free time has stolen tons of old bricks from Florida's Anclote Lighthouse.
The bricks have been stolen from a walkway, the oil house and the remains of two keepers quarters.
This in itself was not an easy task according to state parks officials since the bricks are not only heavy, but getting them onto the island's beach would have required a trek through a mosquito infested swamp. Plus, the thieves would have required a shallow boat and have had to made numerous trips.
"It's just a shame people have to steal something like that," said Ed Hoffman Sr, president of the local historical society that is trying to restore the lighthouse. "People get out to the island, where there is no chance of a police car driving up and they work endlessly for 8 to 10 hour days destroying something."
To prepare for restoration, state park officials had cleared overgrown bushes and trees from the land around the abandoned lightstation buildings and tower. It was shortly after that the bricks began disappearing. Officials found boards laid across the swamp giving an indication that wheelbarrows were used to haul out the bricks.
Florida Parks Department erected a chain link fence around the area, but the thieves cut the fence on two different occasions.
What's even more amazing is "the bricks aren't worth that much to go to so much trouble to steal them," said one local official.
This story appeared in the July 1998 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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