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Florida’s once remote Hillsboro Lighthouse finally got its claim to fame as one of the new lighthouse postage stamps recently released by the United States Post Office.

In a lavish ceremony held at the City of Pompano’s Beach Hillsboro Park the new postage stamp was officially released. Numerous dignitaries were on hand as speakers with Rear Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr. Commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District giving the keynote address. He told of the rich history that has intertwined between the Coast Guard, the lighthouse and homeland security going back to World War I when the lighthouse was used by scanners to watch the ocean for enemy ships and Coast Guard Beach Patrols used the lighthouse as a base to patrol against enemy landings. He then spoke about how the lighthouse has served as a backdrop to the numerous security and law enforcement patrols the Coast Guard has conducted over the past decades. But, more importantly he went on to say, “We’re also here today to commemorate the lighthouse keepers, their assistants and their families.”

Later in the day a separate ceremony was held to dedicate a site at the Hillsboro Lighthouse to honor the “Barefoot Mailman” in honor of the men who delivered the mail along the sandy beach coastline from Palm Beach to Miami.

In closing his remarks the Admiral said, “While technology has certainly changed the way the Postal Service and the Coast Guard perform their missions, it is important to recognize the contributions of the people who have gone before us: and the role that facilities; like the Hillsboro Light have played in shaping our nations history.”

This story appeared in the August 2003 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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