Omnibus Bill Earmarks Lighthouse Money
The Omnibus Bill that recently passed by Congress and was signed by the president provided a generous amount of money for lighthouse preservation. In Maine, the American Lighthouse Foundation will receive $380,000 for lighthouse restoration projects at Wood Island Lighthouse, Owls Head Lighthouse and Pemaquid Point Lighthouse and in Michigan; Pointe Betsie Lighthouse will receive $225,000 toward the ongoing restoration at the 1888 light station. In North Carolina, the National Park Service will be getting $3 million for the long overdue restoration of Bodie Island Lighthouse and a whopping $5 million dollars will go to the Apostle Islands National Seashore for restoration projects at six of their lighthouses.

Michigan Gives State Money for Lighthouses
The Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program, which receives funds from the sale of “Save Our Lights” lighthouse plates and administered by the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office has awarded preservation grants of $29,666 for the Charlevoix Pier Lighthouse, $16,666 to the South Fox Island Lighthouse, $24,000 for the Gull Rock Lighthouse and $8,716 for the Manitou Island Lighthouse.

National Lighthouse Stewardship Act Reintroduced
The National Lighthouse Stewardship Act, which did not pass in the last Congress, has been reintroduced in the United States Senate by both of Michigan’s senators and both of Maine’s senators. It has been assigned Senate Bill number s715. The bill would distribute $20 million over three years in competitive grants to state and nonprofit groups that own lighthouses to help them with their restoration projects. In order for this to bill to get through the United States Senate it will need a massive letter writing campaign by lighthouse preservationists to their United States Senators. If the bill passes the Senate, it would then have to go to the House of Representatives where the process would start all over again. Getting federal money for lighthouse preservation is difficult but can be accomplished if everyone helps. Please write your senators and representatives in Congress in support of Senate Bill s715, the National Lighthouse Stewardship Act.

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.

Spring Lighthouse Cruise Offered
The New England Lighthouse Lovers (NELL) spring cruise will be held on June 6, 2009. You will cruise aboard the Newburyport Whale Watch out of Newburyport, MA. Departure 8:45 a.m. and return approx. 3:30 p.m. View 13 lighthouses. $90.00 per person includes catered lunch. Send your reservation and payment to “NELL”, c/o Kathy Santucci, 38 Lime Kiln Rd., Tuckahoe, NY 10707. For more information you can visit NELL’s web site at www.nell.cc.

Hurley-Wright Building – Lighthouse Headquarters
The Headquarters of the Bureau of Lighthouses, which was also known as the United States Lighthouse Service, had its offices in the Hurley-Wright Building at Pennsylvania Avenue and Eighteenth Street, Northwest, in Washington DC. One of the owners of the building was Patrick J. Hurley, who was the Assistant Secretary of War under President Herbert Hoover. It was here that the General Administration and Engineering Divisions of the Lighthouse Service were headquartered. George Putnam, Commissioner of Lighthouses, had his office there, as did his successor H.D. King, the only two men to ever hold the title of Commissioner. We are searching for photographs of the exterior and the interior of the Hurley-Wright Building from the 1920s and 1930s. If any one can help, we’d appreciate hearing from you at Lighthouse Digest, P.O. Box 250, East Machias, ME 04630 or

Lighthouse Digest In and On the News
After the cover of the November issue of Lighthouse Digest magazine showed up in a Canadian newspaper, French National TV in Canada contacted Joanne Therrien, who took the photo of the Pointe-de-la-Renommee Lighthouse and asked her to come in for an interview on their one-hour daily program. The episode aired on March 11 and featured Lighthouse Digest magazine, and other images of lighthouses.

March Trivia Questions

1. What is the name of the first lighthouse station in the United States to receive a Fresnel lens?
   
   
2. What major airport has a large lighthouse exhibit on display?
   
   
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?

Send your answers to one, two or all three of the trivia questions listed above to: . One name from each of 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. The first public reading of the Pledge of Allegiance in the United States took place at what lighthouse?

   The correct answer is the Twin Lights of Navesink, in Highlands, New Jersey.

   Congratulations to Lorinda Maki of Goodrich, Michigan whose name was randomly selected from among the correct answers submitted.

2. This is a two part question. I was originally a twin lighthouse that replaced previous twin lighthouses. Then I was moved to become another lighthouse. Later I was moved again, but kept my name. Harbour Lights has a replica of me in its Little Lights. What is my current name and what was my previous name?

   The correct answer is the Nauset Beach Lighthouse on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which was previously one of the twin lighthouses of Chatham.

   Congratulations to Anita Norris of Wharton, New Jersey whose name was randomly selected from the correct answers submitted.

   
   
3. What is the name of the lighthouse where the first east to west Trans-Atlantic airplane flight crashed landed?

   The correct answer is the Greenly Island Lighthouse in Quebec, Canada where the “Bremen,” the first plane to cross the Atlantic from east to west crash-landed on April 13, 1928.

   Congratulations to George Maina of South Plainfield, NJ whose name was randomly selected from among the correct answers submitted.

Prizes will be mailed out to our winners this week. Our sincere thanks to everyone who entered the contest. We hope you had as much fun figuring out the answers as we did on choosing the questions. Lighthouses are fun!!

Lightship Replicas Recall Dangerous History
Lightship duty was considered the most dangerous duty in the Coast Guard as well as its predecessor, the Lighthouse Service. Lightships were stationed in areas where it was considered too dangerous or too expensive to build a lighthouse. The lightship was not allowed to leave its station, regardless of the weather conditions. A number of lightship crewmen lost their lives in storms, sinking by enemy submarines and collisions with other ships. To recall this important part of history, Harbour Lights offers two wonderful limited edition replicas to commemorate the bravery of the crews, the Nantucket Lightship and the Lightship Overfalls. Harbour Lights also offers a replica of the Lightship Portsmouth in their Little Lights series.

There’s a story behind each replica
Each and every Harbour Lights replica has a unique history behind it that can make your collecting more interesting. For example, the replica of the Long Beach Bar Lighthouse in New York, shows the lighthouse being rebuilt after it had been destroyed many years earlier. The March 2009 issue of Lighthouse Digest has a wonderful story about the family that once lived there. The Hendrick’s Head Lighthouse replica has a great ghost story associated with it and folklore tells of a baby washed up on the shore from a shipwreck that was raised by the lighthouse keeper. The Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse in Michigan is viewed by thousands of tourists every year and is the only lighthouse that has been restored to look like it is still an endangered lighthouse. On the Doomsday List of Endangered Lighthouses, the replica of Price’s Creek Lighthouse may be the only way we will ever see the lighthouse as it once looked or will ever appear again.

Last Month's Bonus Question
What is the title of the sixth lighthouse book authored by the editor of Lighthouse Digest? Send your answer to . One name will be randomly selected from among the correct answers and sent an autographed copy of the book.

The correct answer is Lighthouses of the Sunrise County. Unfortunately, no correct answers were submitted. Harrison’s books in order are: Lighthouses of Maine & New Hampshire, Lost Lighthouses, Endangered Lighthouses, Golden Age of American Lighthouses, Portland Head Light, Lighthouses of the Sunrise County, and Lighthouses of Bar Harbor and the Acadia Region.

Show Your Support
One way to show your support of the lighthouse preservation movement as well as your own personal interest and love of lighthouses is by wearing clothing that honors our lighthouse heritage and history. Some that we have available are the Lighthouse Service Quilted Vest, which is great for the coming spring weather and cool summer nights as well as the ever popular Northeast Cardigan. Also great for spring and summer wear is the Lighthouse Service Acadia Wind Jacket and the Polar Fleece Jacket. Take a look, we are confident that these clothing items will please you and you’ll get lots of compliments and maybe even start up a conversation about lighthouses and why you love them and their history.

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.

Until next time --- think - SPRING!!

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