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Cape Hatteras to reopen
America's tallest lighthouse, Cape Hatteras, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina will reopen to the public as of April 18. Lighthouse tours will begin at 9 am daily and run every 20 minutes until 5 pm with a limit of 60 visitors per hour. Tour fees are $4.00 for adults and $2.00 for seniors over 62 and children under 12. However, it is best to call ahead of time to 252-995-4474, as certain times are pre-sold to school groups.
Trinity House offers lighthouse cruises The organization that runs Great Britain's lighthouses is offering luxury cruises on its flagship lighthouse tender THV Patricia as it sails the coast of England and Wales to service lighthouses and buoys. For more information go to www.trinityhouse.biz www.trinityhouse.biz.
A Buck for the Lighthouse
The Buck for the lighthouse campaign to save Avery Point Lighthouse in Connecticut has only been mildly successful. Our last e-mail brought in a little over 2,000 donations in the last ditch effort to save the only lighthouse in America, which is about to crumble and collapse. In fact chunks fell off the lighthouse in the past week. Most of the money is in the bank, but the group trying to save the lighthouse is still short of its goal. The University, which owns the property that the lighthouse sits on, will not allow the work to begin until all the money is in the bank. If you have not yet sent your dollar to save the lighthouse, please do so now. To learn more or make a donation go to www.LighthouseFoundation.org www.LighthouseFoundation.org or send your dollar bill to Avery Point Lighthouse Society, Chapter of ALF, P.O. Box 1552, Groton, CT 06340.
Apostle Islands funds secured
It's amazing that when the federal government needs money for a lighthouse that it owns, it simply gets the money from Congress when non-profit lighthouse groups have to go out and hold fund raisers and ask for donations to save lighthouses and then do so without taxpayer money. Congress has approved $1.6 million to push ahead with the restoration and protection of Wisconsin's Outer Island Lighthouse, which is in danger of being lost through erosion, and suffered damage in recent storms.
Canadian Lighthouse Conference
Canada will host a Lighthouse and Tourism Conference at White Point Beach Resort in Nova Scotia April 24-27. For more information go to www.atlantic-lighthouses.com www.atlantic-lighthouses.com
Preservationists express outrage at lens removal
The 5th Coast Guard district has announced that it will be permanently removing the First order Fresnel lens from 157-foot tall Bodie Island Lighthouse on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The Coast Guard says the lens, which is deteriorating and in desperate need of restoration must be removed from the endangered tower to be restored. Preservationists have no problem with this. However, the Coast Guard says after the lens is restored, it will not be put back into the tower. And, since the visitors center at the lighthouse is not big enough to house the gigantic lens, it will have to be moved somewhere else to be put on display. Lighthouse groups are outraged and want the lens to go back into the tower after the lens and the tower is restored. Again, lighthouse preservation groups will need to fight another battle on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Erosion at Chesapeake Bay lighthouse
New Point Comfort Lighthouse has been included in a U.S. Army Corp of Engineers study of shoreline erosion along the bay. Preservationists say that time is running out to put into place a firm erosion plan before it is too late to save the historic 1805 lighthouse.
Mystery sleuth Duffus to speak to lighthouse group
Kevin Duffus, the man who solved one of the greatest lighthouse mysteries of the Civil War, will address the American Lighthouse Foundation spring dinner meeting at White's of Westport in Westport, MA on May 31. Duffus, who recently released the book, "The Lost Light, The Mystery of the Missing Cape Hatters Lens", spent years trying to located the lens that eluded 28,000 men of General Sherman's Army, the U. S. Lighthouse Establishment and volumes of Civil War writings. The lens remained missing until Duffus found it last year. His amazing story will be sure to fascinate booth Civil War buffs and lighthouse historians alike. Tickets for the dinner meeting are $32.00 each by calling 1-207-646-0245 or on line at www.LighthouseFoundation.org www.LighthouseFoundation.org.
Last issue's Trivia answer
Last month's trivia question was; "Although slightly altered since having been built, I am the oldest sea swept lighthouse now in existence. What is my name?" The correct answer is the Phare De Cordouan a lighthouse that was completed off the coast of France in 1611. The winning name, drawn from the correct answers submitted, who wins a Lighthouse Bread and Bun Warmer/Trivet was, Gail Voyer of Massachusetts.
This Month's Trivia Question
For many years I was known as the Fogbark of this lighthouse. Clue - a fire of mysterious origin eventually got this lighthouse on the Today Show and started a new type of lighthouse preservation. What is my name and what lighthouse did I live at? Submit your answer to:
Thunder Island, another lighthouse in trouble
The cracks in the walls of the tower of Michigan's Thunder Island Lighthouse are spreading and the lighthouse is now in serious danger. The group trying to save the lighthouse is $17,000 short to meet a 3 for 1 grant to save the lighthouse. In other words, for every dollar they receive it is matched by $3.00. The total for the grant is $100,000. However, if they don't raise the $17,000 by June, they will lose all the money and the lighthouse will not be saved. If you would like to help, donations can be sent to: Thunder Island Lighthouse Society, Attention, Karen Melton, P.O. Box 212, Alpena, MI 49707.
Next issue of Lighthouse Digest Magazine
The April issue of Lighthouse Digest, which will feature Rhode Island's Pomham Rocks lighthouse on the cover, is packed full of great stories including color photos of winners of the most recent lighthouse photo contest. The April issue will feature stories on the Point Reyes Light, CA; Libby Island Light, ME; Ponce Inlet Light, FL; Great Duck Island Light, ME; Boon Island Light, ME, Elbow of Cross Light on the Delaware Bay; Liston Range Lights, Delaware; Ballast Point Light, CA; Mt. Dora Lighthouse, FL; Big Sable Light, MI; Lights of the Outer Banks of NC, as well as the regular monthly columns; a story on the new lighthouse postage stamps that will be issued this June and so much more. This is an issue you will not want to miss.
Subscribe Now to get our Free Book Offer!
If you are not yet a subscriber, now is the time to join! Our recent free book offer was so successful that that the offer has been extended to April 4th, making this the perfect time to subscribe for yourself or as gift.
If you subscribe now to Lighthouse Digest you will get a free copy of the full color book "America's Lighthouses, A Pictorial Guide" which has marvelous color photos, with informative text on lighthouses from sea to shining sea. To subscribe call 1-866-643-4227 or on line at www.lhdepot.com/subscribe.cfm www.LighthouseDigest.com. Be sure to enter the keycode #NL303 when ordering to receive your free book (online, enter the keycode when it asks for your magazine or Internet keycode at the end of the order process). Free Book Offer expires April 4.
New Mystery
If you like a good mystery, the new lighthouse mystery novel "Danger Lighthouse" is for you. Written by Lighthouse Digest columnist Sharma Krauskopf the book tells the story of Laura File, who through a series of traumatic experiences, winds up buying a lighthouse. However, she and an acquaintance start seeing mysterious lights on the beach at night, a situation that worries the local police. With the death of a customs officer and the ransacking of Laura's living quarters in the lighthouse, DANGER is everywhere and Laura does not know who to trust or what to do. Available as item www.lhdepot.com/order.cfm?orderitem=91323 #91323 for $10.99 plus shipping, Danger Lighthouse is one mystery novel you must read.
A new lighthouse nation is about to be born The Republic of Boon Island is about to declare its independence in an effort to raise money to restore the remote Boon Island Lighthouse which is the tallest on the Maine Coast. Information on the new Republic will be posted on April 1, at www.LighthouseFoundation.org www.LighthouseFoundation.org. Have some fun and visit the site next week.
Show your American Pride
The new Lighthouse Stars & Bars Tee-Shirt www.lhdepot.com/order.cfm?orderitem=34951# 34951 is the perfect way to show your patriotism. Made of 100% organic cotton it is hand dyed and printed in the USA by Mountain Corporation for only $24.95.
History
Lighthouse Depot carries a large selection of lighthouse books for your enjoyment. Purchasing books from Lighthouse Depot does help save lighthouses! To view the large selection of lighthouses books offered by Lighthouse Depot go to www.lhdepot.com/Maincat.cfm?cat=21 www.LighthouseDepot.com. Until next time this is Tim Harrison reminding you that "You can learn more about early American history by studying lighthouses than from any other source." 
Clearance Central
Be sure to check out the www.lhdepot.com/clearance.cfm Lighthouse Depot Clearance Central -- items here change on a regular basis, so be sure to check back often.
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