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Ken Black, known in most lighthouse circles as "Mr. Lighthouse," has been presented the "President's Award" by the United States Lighthouse Society for his efforts in the preservation of America's lighthouse artifacts. The award consisted of a beautiful plaque and a check in the amount of $500.00.
Over the past 30 years, Ken Black has worked on the ever expanding collection of lighthouse artifacts that are now housed at the Shore Village Museum in Rockland, Maine. The museum now houses the largest collection of lighthouse lenses, the jewels of lighthouses, in the United States. Also on display are numerous other artifacts such as flags, fog horns, dinnerware, life-saving memorabilia, maps, documents, buoys and just about anything you can think of associated with lighthouses. It is a hands-on museum, where most items can be touched.
Years before anybody realized that we were quickly losing our lighthouse history, Ken was busy saving it. Many of the priceless and irreplaceable items now on display in the museum would surely have been destroyed, if it were not for Ken's efforts in saving them for future generations.
Ken was previously awarded the "Keeper of the Light" award by the American Lighthouse Foundation in 1995 for his efforts. It is the highest award given by the Foundation.
The Shore Village Museum is a "must visit" destination for any person interested in lighthouse or maritime history. Located at 104 Limerock Street in Rockland, Maine, the museum is open daily, free of charge, from June 1 to October 15, and the remainder of the year by appointment.
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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