Digest>Archives> November 2010

Wickie’s Wisdom

We’re All in This Together

By Timothy Harrison

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Since 1992, Lighthouse Digest has been working diligently to bring the lighthouse community closer together through the dissemination of lighthouse news and history to the general public for the benefit of everyone.

We have helped raise money for many lighthouses, we have helped raise public awareness of lighthouse causes through editorial comment, and we have reported on endangered lighthouses with stories that have directly related to the various groups dedicated to saving them. We have fought to keep Fresnel lenses in towers, generated letter writing campaigns to save lighthouses, secured lighthouse artifacts and donated them to a proper organization, and much more.

That’s why I find it disturbing that there are many people who are actively involved in some lighthouse groups who have either never subscribed to Lighthouse Digest or let their subscription expire. One person told me that his group has enough problems with their own restoration efforts, without reading or worrying about what another lighthouse or lighthouse group is doing. Another told me that saving and reporting on the history of most lighthouses is not worth the time or the effort because most people don’t care anyway. A number of these so-called lighthouse people have actually told me that they only care about “their” lighthouse. Obviously, they have a right to their opinion, and although it is a cause for concern, fortunately these folks are not in the majority.

However, if the lighthouse movement in this country and around the world is going to survive into the future, it should have the support of the entire lighthouse community, which should continually be attracting new people as well as working to get younger people involved. This means that the lighthouse community needs to work together for the good of all. Naturally, we believe that one way this can be accomplished is to encourage others to subscribe to Lighthouse Digest and purchase gift subscriptions, which helps more people gain an interest in lighthouses and tells why so many others are working so hard to save them and the history associated with them.

Bob Mannino, President of the United States Lightship Musuem-Nantucket/LV-113 recently wrote to us saying, “Most magazines that I review have, at best, one or two articles that are worth reading. In my opinion, virtually every article in Lighthouse Digest is worth reading, is very informative, and includes pleasing editorial graphic layout.” That’s why we have believed from the beginning that Lighthouse Digest must be the layman’s guide to lighthouse preservation and lighthouse history, rather than a scholarly publication bogged down with technical material.

Additionally, with a very limited budget, we have spent considerable effort and funds to locate, rediscover and report to the public lighthouse history that otherwise might have remained lost forever. This is especially true in the cases of lost lighthouses or lighthouses that don’t have a preservation group, or may never have one. These old photographs and stories have now been preserved for future generations. Again, we do it because we believe it is important to save this history for future generations.

Joseph P. Dudek, President of the Tibbetts Point Lighthouse Historical Society in New York, may have said it best when he wrote to us saying, “Thank you for Lighthouse Digest. Dedicated organizations across the country owe you a huge debt of gratitude. I am afraid that without it, it would be like the old adage, ‘Will the last lighthouse standing please turn off the light?’”

That’s why we need your help in keeping the light on for saving lighthouse history. We hope that you will consider encouraging others to subscribe to Lighthouse Digest, and with the holiday season fast approaching, please consider giving a gift subscription. Only through your help can we be successful in saving lighthouse history for those who follow us.

This story appeared in the November 2010 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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