First, we want to say how much we enjoy your magazine and being lighthouse collectors.

We read with interest Mr. Jeremy D'Entremont's article “Women of the Light” in the July issue of the Lighthouse Digest, but we must take exception to the name he ascribes to Pacific Grove's lighthouse and headland. We visited the lighthouse on 19 June. When we talked to the first docent we met, we referred to the place as Point Pinos (with a tilde over the “n”). We were told immediately that there is no tilde and the “o” in “Pinos” is not pronounced with a “y” in front of it. The correct pronunciation is “peenos,” the plural of “pine tree” in Spanish. We were informed that the Point was named “Point of Pines” because of the pine trees that grow there.

We visited with another docent, the lady at the entrance desk, Mrs. Veva Stone Larson. She was married to a Coast Guardsman who was assigned to the Point Pinos Light Station crew in 1953-56. Mrs. Larson and her family were the last family to live in the lighthouse. Her photograph appears on Jerry McCaffrey's book “Lighthouse: Point Pinos, Pacific Grove, California,” page 93. She, too, emphasized the correct pronunciation.

We recommend a visit to Point Pinos when folks travel in the Monterey Bay area.

Sincerely,

Robert R. Darron

Lieutenant Colonel

U.S. Marine Corps(Retired)

Eleanor I. Darron

Ramona, California

Jeremy D'Entremont replies:

Mr. Darron is absolutely right. The improper use of the “~” was my mistake, and I thank him for this correction.

This story appeared in the Aug/Sep 2004 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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