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Lost Fog Horns
Although the fog signal building at Maine’s Cape Elizabeth Light Station (also known as Two Lights) in the town of Cape Elizabeth still stands, the fog horns shown here in this 1953 photograph are long gone. Some fog horns have been saved for historical purposes and can be found on display at some lighthouses, but these fog horns likely went to the scrap heap.
Lighting the Light at Fire Island
This old photo from the New York World Telegram newspaper must have gone with a story about Gus Axelson who was an assistant lighthouse keeper at Fire Island Lighthouse in 1934. The photo, dated December 18, 1934, says that he was preheating the oil gas vapor lamp. We are searching for the story that went with this photograph and hopefully one of our readers can help.
Quoddy Head Life Saving Station Crew
The crew of the Quoddy Head United States Life Saving Station at Carrying Point Cove in Lubec, Maine proudly posed for this historic photo. Back row, (l-r) Billy McIsaac, Ira Elroy Scovilll (1864-1930), Frank Smith, Clifton (last name unknown). Front row (l-r) Ulysses Dyer Wilcox, Verna Reynolds, Alphons Yam Wormell. Ira Elroy Scovill was one of the original crew who later became the head keeper of the Quoddy Head Life Saving Station. His daughter, Constance “Connie” Scovill Small (1901-2005), married lighthouse keeper Elson Small, and she went on to become known as “Maine’s First Lady of Light” and, authored the book “The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife,” which is available from www.Lighthouse Digest.com. The U.S. Life-Saving Service was a sister organization to the U. S. Light House Service. In 1915 the Revenue Cutter Service and the Life Saving Service were merged to create the United States Coast Guard. If anyone can supply more information on these men, please let us know.
Rough Night on Lightship
Although the crews of lightships were often plagued by monotony, they also had to endure the harshness of the elements that often put them in extreme danger. A lightship, stationed out to sea where it was too expensive or impossible to build a lighthouse, was never allowed to leave its station. The caption with this very old image read, “A howling blizzard is sweeping over the sea and the thick driving snow is threatening to obscure the lantern upon whose light so much depends. The light[tender turns out therefore, clad in oil-skins, mounts to the railing platform, and with a mop keeps the lantern clear and bright, so that its light will show through the storm.” Would you have liked this kind of a job?
The Flags that Flew Over Biloxi
During a 1937 celebration at the Biloxi Lighthouse in Biloxi, Mississippi, which at one time was capital of more than half the area that is now the United States, seven women honoring the three women who were Biloxi Lighthouse keepers held the seven flags that once flew over cosmopolitan Biloxi. The flags shown, from left to right, are United States of America, France, Spain, Great Britain, Confederate States of America, Mississippi Magnolia, and the Mississippi State Flag.
Lost Crow Island
Images of the long lost Crow Island Lighthouse on Lake Cobbosseecontee in Maine are almost nonexistent. Sometimes the images of many structures no longer standing are only found on old post cards such as this one which was made and distributed by George W. Quimby of Augusta, Maine from 1907 to 1914. Apparently for space on the post card, the name of the lake was shortened to Cobossee. This type of aid to navigation would have been maintained by a person called a lamp lighter.
Forgotten Dunkirk on Cover
In 1991 the Dunkirk-Fredonia Stamp Club honored the nearly forgotten second Dunkirk Pier with a special cache envelope cover. Cache envelopes are extremely popular collectibles with stamp collectors as well as ephemera collectors. The second Dunkirk Pier Lighthouse was built in 1895 to replace an earlier tower that had been destroyed by ice. It was replaced in 1939 by a steel pyramid style tower that is now on display on the grounds of the museum at the Dunkirk Lighthouse.
Cache Envelope with Split Rock
Here at Lighthouse Digest we try to save just about anything that relates to any individual lighthouse, so that it can someday be used, studied, or written about by future generations. This is a FIRST DAY OF ISSUE postmarked envelope that features the 1995 Split Rock Lighthouse postage stamp with the America, a vessel that was owned by the United States and Dominion Transportation Company. This beautiful full-color envelope was postmarked on June 17, 1995, which was the first day of issue of the postage stamp. The America was one of the many vessels that relied on the Split Rock Lighthouse for guidance during its many voyages. On June 7, 1928 the America ran aground at Isle Royale in Lake Superior. Fortunately no lives were lost.
Catch of the Day
Left is lighthouse keeper Vern Bowen Sr. with an unidentified lighthouse keeper at Michigan’s Manitou Island Lighthouse as they proudly posed with the catch of the day. Manitou Island Lighthouse is located near Keweenaw Point in Lake Superior near Copper Harbor, Michigan. Since Vern Bowen Sr. was the keeper at Passage Island Lighthouse near Isle Royale, Michigan, he would have been visiting the keeper at Manitou Island. Although the quality of the photo is poor, there are some things that can be learned from the photo such as the two keepers enjoying visiting time together. If you look closely, you’ll notice the chickens roaming freely and a fog horn protruding from the fog signal building.
Lighthouses and Windmills
We love old post cards like this that helped promote lighthouses and other maritime related topics. Sadly, images like this type of post card that was produced from 1930 to 1944 are disappearing from the American scene. Cape Cod, Massachusetts is known for its large number of picturesque lighthouses and three historic windmills.
This story appeared in the
Jul/Aug 2016 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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