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Three whaleboats, each carrying a lantern, rowed out to Palmers Island Light at dusk, while sea chants were sung from the State Pier in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The procession of whale boats landed at the light, and as a lantern was swung by the Mayor of New Bedford, Fred Kalicz, the signal was returned by one of the coxswains and the 150 year old light once again showed a flashing white light from its newly restored lantern room.
Fifty-eight years after the lighthouse was extinguished by the United States Coast Guard, the City of New Bedford took a bold step; they restored the Palmers Island Lighthouse without any federal, state or local grants. The city used sheer determination and funds raised from the sale of decorative banners from the relighting of Butler Flats Lighthouse.
The ceremony was attended by several hundred enthusi
astic people on a beautiful late summer evening at the end of this past August. The ceremony was preceded by a lively group of men singing sea chants, while one of the most beautiful sunsets in many New Englander's memory took place. It was an absolutely picture perfect evening for the re-lighting of one of America's oldest whaling era lighthouses.
This story appeared in the October 1999 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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