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Hanging On
We doubt that there are many of us who would take on this type of a painting job as shown here in 1998 at North Carolina’s Ocracoke Lighthouse. (Photo by Kevin Cutler of the Coastland Times)
1941 Christmas Seal
The story of Christmas Seals began in Denmark in 1904 as a way to raise money for children with Tuberculosis. The stamps were not postage, but were sold to decorate envelopes and packages being sent in the mail. The idea reached the United States in 1907 and, to this day, Christmas Seal stamps are still being issued. The 1941 Christmas Seal featured a lighthouse from a painting by famous artist Stevan Dohanos (1907-1994). Among the first people to purchase the 1941 lighthouse stamps was Cyrus L. Gray, the lighthouse keeper at the Saugerties Lighthouse on the Hudson River, New York. He purchased them from a young girl named Sally Russell.
Ready for Delivery in Alaska
The tractor shown here at the Lighthouse Depot in Ketchikan, Alaska is pulling wooden crates of Texas Oil Company Kerosene, Pearl Oil, and Eocene. Texas Oil Company later became known as Texaco. Pearl Oil and Eocene were made by the Standard Oil Company. The Kerosene was used to light the lamps in the lanterns at lighthouses. Pearl Oil was used in cook-stoves at the lighthouses and Eocene was used to light the lamps in the keepers’ homes. The wooden crates were being brought from the depot to the lighthouse tender waiting at the dock to then be delivered to the individual lighthouses.
Old Photos at Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse
These two news media photos from the archives of Lighthouse Digest show Boatswain’s Mate Luther M. Jacobsen USCG, in the lens and on the outside balcony of the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse in Pompano Beach, Florida from a newspaper story that appeared on June 19, 1979. At the time, the lighthouse was fully automated and Luther Jacobsen said, “My main job here is keeping the grounds and taking care of the VIP quarters.” He continued by saying that he and his wife change the linen, clean the silverware, and tidy up the place after the VIPs leave. “We don’t do it every day. We don’t do maid service.”
Jacobsen and his wife had a pool table at the lighthouse and they were allowed to golf and swim at the exclusive Hillsboro Club. He told the reporter, “I like the job. I like the spot. I’m from Minnesota, coming from Rhode Island. So I like the weather.” Jacobsen had previously served as a Coast Guard keeper from 1975 to 1977 at the Warwick Lighthouse in Warwick, Rhode Island
This story appeared in the
Nov/Dec 2020 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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