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Little River Lighthouse to be relit after being dark for 21 years
Story ran on: September 25, 2001
The United States Coast Guard and the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) will be hosting an official relighting ceremony of the Little River Lighthouse in Cutler on Tuesday, October 2, 2001.
The Little River Lighthouse, which has been dark since the light was removed from the tower over 21 years ago, will be relit in ceremonies to be held in Cutler on Tuesday, Oct 2nd. Two years ago the Little River Light Station was listed as one of the ten most endangered historic properties in Maine. Now under the care of the American Lighthouse Foundation, they have restored the tower, and the United States Coast Guard has installed a new revolving beacon in the tower and the station will again serve as an active aid to navigation.
“This is a wonderful example of a joint partnership in saving Maine’s maritime heritage between the U. S. Coast Guard and the American Lighthouse Foundation,” said Tim Harrison, president of the nonprofit Maine based lighthouse preservation group.
In spite of the national events, the United States Coast Guard will be in attendance and will be sending representatives from Boston, including, CWO Dave Waldrip of the First Coast Guard District Aids to Navigation Office. Coast Guard representatives will read special remarks on the relighting. There will be two nearly identical ceremonies, one on the water and the other on land. The water ceremony will take place on the water at approximately 6:15 PM. If the weather is bad, there will not be a water ceremony.
Either way, after the water ceremony, an expanded ceremony on land we will be repeated in the town circle by the fog bell from the lighthouse. If weather is bad, the land ceremony might be transferred to the church by the town circle. This ceremony will begin between 6:45 PM and 7:00 PM. The Machias High School Band will open the ceremony with the National Anthem and end the ceremony with the playing of “God Bless America”. The ceremony will last about a half hour. The public is invited to attend.
The History Channel will also be in Cutler on October 1 and 2 to interview descendants and relatives of the former keepers and record their memories. The History Channel will also interview other local residents on their thoughts about the lighthouse, its role to the community and their thoughts on having the lighthouse relit after being dark for over 21 years. They will also film the relighting ceremonies of the lighthouse, which will be part of a national television show to air at a date yet to be announced. “This will be a great tribute to the history of the Little River Light Station and the people of Cutler,” said Harrison.
Other lighthouses that will be included in the program are Rockland Breakwater Light in Rockland, Maine, Portsmouth Harbor Light, NH, Copper Harbor Light, MI, Cape Hatteras Light, NC, the Shore Village Lighthouse Museum in Rockland, ME, the American Lighthouse Foundation Museum in Wells, ME and a few other locations.
In President Bush’s recent remarks, on two different days, he mentioned lighthouses; once on his evening address to the nation on the day of the attack, and again at the National Prayer Service where he said, “America was attacked because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And, no one will keep that light from shining.”
Because of the recent events, ALF will drape a large American flag from the lighthouse during the day on Monday and Tuesday, Oct 1 and 2.
At the evening ceremony the American Lighthouse Foundation will also place two wreaths in the town circle; one in memory of the past keepers and family members of Little River Light and, the second in memory of those who lost their lives in the recent terrorist attacks on America to let the world know that the relighting of the Little River Lighthouse is our way of saying that America’s beacon of light for freedom, and our way of life, will always shine on and never go dark.
“In the springtime a bronze plaque will be installed at the lighthouse to remind all that the Little River Light was re-lighted as a symbol of the American way of life that will shine forever,” said Harrison.
Although the tower itself has been restored, Harrison said it may take as much as an additional $250,000 to restore the rest of the light station, including the keeper’s house and boat house, which have suffered from years of neglect. The group is appealing for funds to help cover the cost of continuing restoration.
In a prepared statement Harrison went on to say, “In light of recent events, many may think that it is totally trivial to care about saving lighthouses. The world seems to have descended into barbarity, and you may ask yourself why people like us worried about old and obsolete structures in remote locations. We think these thoughts are wrong.
We talk about being civilized, and yet what makes us civilized? Is it that we live by laws? Is it that we believe in freedom for all? Is it that we don’t kill indiscriminately? Certainly, each of these thoughts is part of civilization. Yet in thinking about being civilized, we think that true civilization is when people give of their fortune, skills and maybe even their lives for others. That is surely true of the firemen and policemen in New York and Washington in recent days.
One of the finest examples we can identify in history of man becoming civilized is the totally altruistic endeavor of the building and maintaining of lighthouses. Lighthouses were built for one purpose, to save lives. They were built by people and governments who cared about others. Lighthouses played a vital and significant role in making our country the great nation that it is today. In saving lighthouses, we are caring for one of the first examples of true civilization in our society.
We should never forget the people who recently were lost in the barbaric act of terrorism, but, possibly by caring for our lighthouses, we are maintaining a very important symbol of our humanity and way of life to the world.
Little River Light will shine again as a beacon of light for the American way of life that will never be extinguished. Let freedom shine!”
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The media is encouraged to attend and cover this historic event. For more information contact:
Tim Harrison
American Lighthouse Foundation
P.O. Box 889
Wells, Maine 04090
1-800-646-0515
Or
Linda Throckmorton
P.O. Box 286
Cutler, Maine 04626
Ph # 207-259-3646
Date Entered into online database: September 25, 2001
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