Show How Tb Own A Lighthouse organization and state and local government are eHgtole to receive lighthouses at no cost Individuals w Interested dmidcUoin i historical an amia vaHiwil odety or start their own The program will continue until ell 800 Hghthouses ere In safe hands If any properties aren’t given away they wfl be auctioned to MMduels or other parties Stfip 1: Find out which 20 Hghthouses ere now nW af Currituck Beach Lighthouse NC fl": h This stands wtwra two ocean ourrents oollido on tho Qutar ' Banka onos dUbbed "tha Oaveyard of the AttertJc” available at wwwMrtdexom (Five are shown here and one is on otr cover) Or send a stamped envelope to the US Lighthouse Society 244 Kearny St Fifth Floor Dept P San Franotoa Calif 9410& eetf-addree- eed Step 2: submit a letter of interest to the Department of the Interior for a specific fighthouM within 60 days of Reposting Step 3: If you meet tha eUgfeifity criteria you wH receive an appHcation which must be ' admitted within 90 days "Lighthouses capture Thomas Point Shoal Light THE SPIRIT OF THE SEAFARING ADVENTURERS AND TAP INTO THE CALL WE ALL HAVE INSIDE US TO BE ADVENTURERS” Md hrtvawandbayanlneawdavtoeaiiecrewpdaMitlMiiaa that looks fiko a cottage on Rtt lagw This one to tho oldeat still in its original location to the Chesapeake Bay —Gale Norton INTKRKM Light La As a keeper hero from V94-3- 2 Norvall was Margarot aO SOS La or w woman wno nava worked for tha Lighthouse Servloa Sha took on tho Job whan haahMband drowned PMMMMMAZM' M MOS goal They claim to have visited more than 700 lighthouses Many lighthouses were built after shipwrecks that could have been prevented Among the giveaways is toe Pigeon Point Light Station (on our cover) which got taname from the 1853 voyage of the Currier Pigeon a sleek merchant dip-pe- r that ran imp central CaHfonria’s tody shore one starless foggy night Tbday the lights stffl bum in most of the PACK recently war awarded tha Uttlo Rivar Light In Cutler Maine as part of tho first round of giveaways at first about giving Anwicas light- houses shes excited about the enormous response “Sometimes private groups can do more than the fedcr- - al government They bring their enthusiasm and willingness to work endless hours to restore something they love” Tim Harrison of Wfclls Maine has parlayed his love of lighthouses into a career SCCarrARV New Canal pie visited the Portland Head Lighthouse in Maine on their honeymoon 15 years ago they went lighthouse crazy vowing to see every one ofthem in the country public and private “Vfewodt just enough to get money to go out and see more lighthouses” Shanklin says "My husband says that lighthouses are a virus with no known cure” The two have braved frigid cold heavy storms seasickness and situations to achieve their Tim Harrison of Walla Maine to president of tha Amarlcan Lighthouse Foundation which ill-fat-ed federal lighthouses They are electric and automated now and still used as an emergency navigational system in case of a power failure aboard a ship The Coast Guard will maintain the light after a house is transferred while the rest of the costs will go to the lucky new owners “In a sense this is not a giveaway” says Cullen Chambers executive directorof the lybee Island Historical Society in Georgia There is atremendous price to acquire the responsibility and expense of restoring a lighthouse” Just readying a lighthouse for the public can cost tens of thousands ofdoHais “There is the possibility that stmle communities will be unable to afford taking over their lighthouses" says Chambers “If that happens the Hothouse could faU into disrepair as so many already have” This week Chan&n' organization will be given the deed far the lybee Island Light as part of the first round of giveaways Nonprofaandcomimmity-restoratio- n groups arc encouragedtoapply far the 20 Hghthousraavailabte now Though Secrete Norton says there yro mixed feelings BHaaaa and a mission Harrison the Lighthouse Depot a store that’sells all co-ow- ns things lighthouse from lightkeeper statuettes to a Ugh thouse toilet scrubber He also is president of the American Lighthouse Foundation a nonprofit restoration group that has saved 1 2 lighthouses from demolition or disrepair and recently one from fee government program Hairison has spread the restoration fever in Maine He struck a deal with a bank to create a Ughthouse credit card: A portion of every purchase goes to his foundation And a local brewery sells Lighthouse Ale to help fund the cause “Lighthouses are our history” says Hanison “A nation that doesn’t save its U history is a nation that’s lost” FOrmoreanthatvalhUe ndalnktothoUghthouM w VTOgrflfn WN VW vWtimwj |