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Founder of Project Bug Light dies

The lighthouse community has suffered another great loss with the death, at age 69, of Dr. Donald Morrison Muirhead Jr. of Duxbury, MA. As well as being an avid sailor and preservationist Dr. Muirhead was also the founder and chairman of Project Bug Light and Project Gurnet Light. Bug Light is the nickname for Duxbury Pier Light in Mass and Gurnet Light is more commonly known at Plymouth Light in Plymouth, MA.

Barnegat saved from toppling

New Jersey’s Barnegat Lighthouse (Old Barney) is being saved from toppling into the sea thanks to $1.38 million project to fill in a five story deep hole under the water near the base of the lighthouse, which has been caused by erosion. It is speculated that the jetty built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1992 caused the hole. Although the Army Corps of Engineers is not admitting responsibility, they are paying to have the hole filled in. Coincidently, the first Barnegat Lighthouse toppled into the sea from erosion back in the mid-1800’s.

Anclote Key gets funding

The State of Florida has earmarked over $2 million dollars that will be given in the next three years to help develop the Anclote Key Lighthouse site. The Coast Guard wharf has been completed. The next work will be to build the keeper’s house. Preliminary site work on the tower began at the same time, with the actual work on the tower to begin in the fall of 2001. The keeper’s house will be rebuilt first to enable a caretaker to be installed to prevent future damage from vandalism to the site. The assistant keeper’s house will be rebuilt at a later date. Of the actual money approved, another $370,000 has been requested and is expected to be approved by July. Preliminary plans call for rebuilding both keeper’s houses, the oil house, and the brick walkways that joined all the buildings. One of the houses will be for the resident ranger; the other might be a museum or interpretative center. The eventual goal will be to relight the lighthouse.

Spend the night at an Alaskan Lighthouse

For an experience of a lifetime, you can spend the night at Alaska’s Sentinel Island Lighthouse. It’s a wonderful six-acre island with two active eagle trees and a great place to whale watch. For more information call Renee Hughes, Gastineau Channel Historical Society, 1001 Basin Road, Juneau, Alaska 88901 or call 907-586-5338 or by email at glrrlg@alaska.net

Cape Decision needs painting

Alaska’s remote island lighthouse at Cape Decision is due for its five-year painting. The group is looking for donations to help with the cost. Donations can be sent to Cape Decision Lighthouse Society, 224 Katlian, Sitka, Ak 99835. For more information call Karen Johnson at 907-747-7803 or email - tfkjj@uas.alaska.edu

Lighthouse for sale

Scotland’s restored Neist Point Lighthouse is FOR SALE. This absolutely beautiful and outstanding lighthouse, with majestic views from the cliffs overlooking the ocean, is a self-supporting station where guests can spend the night. It was built between 1907 and 1909 by the ‘Lighthouse Stevensons,’ ancestors of Robert Louis Stevenson who wrote Treasure Island. If you want the opportunity to have a thriving business with substantial yearly income and a lifestyle that is difficult to describe, visit their web site at www.skye-lighthouse.com where you can also email the owner for more information.

Help - Lighthouse information needed

We are looking for historical information, old newspaper stories, photographs of keepers and family members, and recorded memories of life at the following Wisconsin lighthouses: Sturgeon Bay Canal Light; Sturgeon Bay North Pierhead Light, and Sherwood Point Light; and for the following Michigan lighthouses: North Manitou Island Light and South Manitou Island Light. If any of our readers can help us or know of someone who can, please write to Editor, Lighthouse Digest, P.O. Box 1690, Wells, Maine 04090 or by email at Timh@Lhdigest.com.

Our mistake

When we goof, we really goof. In last month’s issue (page 10) we stated that the Winter Lights Festival was held at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. This was wrong, the Winter Lights Festival, which is held every year, is at the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, Maryland. The museum is also home to the Drum Point Lighthouse, not the Hooper Strait Lighthouse as stated in the story. We certainly know better and can’t seem to explain how we made such a major blunder. However, we do apologize for this error.

This story appeared in the April 2001 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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