Digest>Archives> June 2008

The More Things Change, the More History We Try to Save

By Timothy Harrison

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There is no question about the fact that we are living in an ever-changing world that is also faced with tough economic times, changing weather patterns, and an over abundance of personal gratification. Although, over time, the outward appearance of Lighthouse Digest might have changed, one thing has not changed, which is our ever constant and ongoing efforts to preserve and tell the stories of lighthouses and the people behind them, those of yesterday and those of today, to preserve them for future generations.

Not a week goes by, as is evident more than ever by the recent and current stories in this magazine, Lighthouse Digest, that we, with the help of many of our loyal subscribers, continue to rediscover what was thought to have been lost lighthouse history and previously unknown historical facts.

Yes, it is true that a lot of lighthouse history has been saved and much of that is common knowledge, especially with the popular tourist attraction lighthouses, and some of the more prominent events in lighthouse history that seem to be retold over and over.

But for the lesser known lighthouses, lighthouses that are no longer standing, and even many of the well known lighthouses, especially in areas that are, or were at that time, remote and where reporters of yesteryear never went to do a story, or when families of the lighthouse keeper's died off, much of that history has been lost in the pages of time.

But, I can assure you that much of this history is still out there to be rediscovered in attics, family Bibles, written family memoirs, and in old boxes or file cabinets of newspapers or historical societies that have not been opened or looked at in years.

In the past few months we have rediscovered literally hundreds of old photos and memories of lighthouse life that have never been told and reported on. In one case we received a large book of the written memoirs of the life, from 1875 to 1977, of a man who was a lighthouse keeper at a number of lighthouses. His memoirs provide an amazing view of life during those times, a life that saw many changes that lead up to and affected the changes that we see around us every day today in our now fast paced society. Many of these stories and photographs will be published in upcoming issues of Lighthouse Digest.

We have only been able to do this because of you, our loyal subscribers. Without our subscribers, we wouldn't be able to afford to scan and document so much of this lighthouse history so that we can first report about here in the pages of Lighthouse Digest and then make sure these photos and memories are preserved for future generations.

We thank our long time loyal readers and subscribers, we thank our new subscribers and we ask that you continue to help us through gift subscriptions, purchasing our logo merchandise and telling others about Lighthouse Digest. Together, we are making a difference, something that we can all be proud of.

This story appeared in the June 2008 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.

All contents copyright © 1995-2024 by Lighthouse Digest®, Inc. No story, photograph, or any other item on this website may be reprinted or reproduced without the express permission of Lighthouse Digest. For contact information, click here.


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