Number 68 June 2007The Beam

www.njlhs.org

The Beam

Brett Franks

Paul Rider’s dramaticphotos of Tucker’sIsland Lighthouse

falling into the sea onOctober 12, 1927

Continued on Page 18

Journal of the New Jersey Lighthouse Society, Inc.

LIGHTHOUSE AT ATLANTIS: THE STORY OF TUCKER’S ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE

On October 11, 1927 Paul Rider knew what was going tohappen, but he did not know that it would make him famous.Rider was the nephew of Tucker’s Island Lighthouse Keeper,Arthur Rider. That night, Paul became the last person tosleep in the lighthouse which had stood for almost sixty years,and been the home to a string of six different members ofthe Rider family who served as either keeper or assistant.On the morning of the 12th, Paul took a series of photos thathave come to represent the fickle nature of a barrier island.His photos capture the Tucker’s Island Lighthouse topplinginto the stormy Atlantic. Paul Rider made us witness to oneof nature’s greatest disappearing act.

On that final visit, he stated: “I slept in the oldlighthouse…camera in hand, the night before she toppled.The government had officially abandoned her some weeksbefore and we knew she could go any minute. Earlier stormshad broken and undermined the foundation and the sandsaround it were constantly being washed away.” So endedthe history of a New Jersey lighthouse, like Atlantis, it waslost to the tides. And it’s sad to say, but to most of us whenwe think of Tucker’s Island, this is all we remember. Thehistory of this light has been compacted down to a singleevent, and that’s a shame. This light has a story, and here’san attempt to tell it.

Situated at the entrance of Little Egg Harbor Bay, Short Beachwas a natural resting place for seafarers during storms orlong voyages. Ephraim Morse took advantage of this loca-tion and provided supplies and shelter to passing sailors.The island’s cool breezes and beaches began to attract sum-mer visitors, and during the mid 1700’s, Short Beach be-

came the first resort on the Jersey Shore. The island wasto gain a new name through the popularity of its second in-habitant, Reuben Tucker. Mr. Tucker purchased the 607 acreisland in 1765 and built a large house with a tavern on thehighest point of the island. The house grew into a large board-ing house and prospered until it burned down in 1845. By1840 people who lived on the island knew it was sinking. In1845, only 500 acres of Tucker’s Island remained abovewater. Later that same year the island lost 1,944 feet due tostormy weather and ‘longshore drift’.

Longshore drift has a very powerful influence on the shapeand composition of the coastline. It changes the slopes ofbeaches and creates long, narrow shoals of land called spitsthat extend out from shore. Longshore drift can also createor destroy entire “barrier islands”. A barrier island is nothingmore than a long offshore deposit of sand situated parallelto the coast. As longshore drifts deposit, remove, and rede-posit sand, barrier islands constantly change. Tucker’s Is-land was a barrier island that clearly illustrates how longshoredrift and strong weather affect these transient sand depos-its. It also reconfigured shoals that wreaked havoc on themariners and necessitated the lighthouse.

In 1848, the United States government built the first light-house on the island to guide ships into Little Egg Harbor,located west of the island. Little Egg Harbor Lighthouse, orTucker’s Beach Light, was built on the site of the formerTucker House and was a short brick tower displaying an ar-ray of fifteen lamps set in 15-inch reflectors. The lighthouseproduced a dim light and garnered a poor reputation. Mari-ners complained that more ships ran aground looking for

cided to write about “volunteering”. So, to get started, Itook out Webster’s New World School and Office Dictio-nary, and looked up the definition:

VOLUNTEER: “one who chooses freely to do something”,and “to offer or give of one’s own free will.”

I wanted to write about this topic because we’re alwayslooking for volunteers to help run this organization—fromsetting up/breaking down chairs at the meetings, bringinggoodies for hospitality, writing articles for the newsletter,spending a day or two greeting the public during the Chal-lenge weekend, giving tours at Sandy Hook, manning thetable at Outreach events, and the list goes on and on!

All the individuals who participate in these activities “choosefreely to do” whatever it is they’ve decided to help with.They aren’t getting paid—they are contributing their timebecause they want to help, they want to be involved, andthey want to meet people with a common interest. Andthis organization thanks all who do help.

Here’s a challenge to those of you who are sitting backsaying: Why’d they do it that way? Why are things run thatway? Why’d they spend money on that? I challenge you toalter your thought process—instead say: What area needshelp? What can I do to get more involved? Who should Italk to about doing that?

You may just surprise yourself at how much fun and howrewarding it is “ to choose freely to do something” or “tooffer or give of one’s own free will”.

Thank you to all the contributors of thiscolor issue of The Beam. That includesthe writers, photographers, proofread-ers, and, of course, the designer. With-out volunteers, this newsletter—and thisSociety—would not exist.

In an effort to make deadline and collectall the articles for this issue, guess whosearticle Mike Boucher had to wait for—mine. What’s the old saying “theshoemaker’s shoes need repairing or the

roofer’s roof is the one leaking”? In this instance, it’s the “edi-tor who couldn’t meet her own deadline”!

The reason is, I wasn’t sure what to write for this issue—I didn’twant to sound redundant and say “submit your stories andphotos of where you’ve been”. Then for some reason I de-

The Beam

The Beam, the official journal of the New Jersey Lighthouse Society, Inc.,is published quarterly, March, June, September and December.Membership dues are $20.00 single and $25.00 family, and are for thecalendar year. Back issues are available free for members joining mid-year. All materials are copyrighted and cannot be borrowed or reproducedwithout permission of the New Jersey Lighthouse Society. The NJLHS -New Jersey Lighthouse Society, Inc., is a non-profit educational corporation(501c3).

OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS

COMMITTEES

Page 2

NJLHS Web Site: http://www.njlhs.orgNJLHS Email address: njlhs@njlhs.orgThe BEAM Email address: beam@njlhs.orgThe BEAM Fax: (973) 829-0876NJLHS Announcements: (856) 546-0514

FFFFFromromromromromthththththeeeeeEditorEditorEditorEditorEditor’’’’’sssssDeskDeskDeskDeskDesk...............

Society Address:NJLHS, Inc.P. O. Box 332Navesink, NJ 07752-0332

President Yvonne Miller Thies (609) 654-25851st Vice President Mary Beth Doherty (973) 966-55732nd Vice President Brett Franks (856) 256-0881Recording Secty. Bob Gleason (732) 238-7066Corresponding Secty. Laura Portée (908) 222-0107Treasurer Debbie Megonigal (609) 268-0779Board Member Tom Laverty (732) 872-2966Board Member Doreen Berson (732) 202-7420Board Member Cindy Mitzen (908) 281-6879Board Member Jim Cope (609) 587-6266Board Member Marion Hudspeth (609) 877-1393

Historian Jack Slavin (856)858-1956Archivist VacantHospitality Chair Martha Brown (609)877-0134Membership Chair Mary Beth Doherty (973) 966-5573The Beam Editor Mary Beth Doherty (973)966-5573The Beam Designer Mike Boucher (201) 653-4062Program Chair Judy Franks (856)256-0881Comm. Outreach Chair Anthony Albence (302)983-3200Publicity Chair Betty Smith (856) 546-7810Preservation Chair Brett Franks (856)256-0881Ways & Means Marion Hudspeth (609) 877-1393Challenge Chair Doreen Berson (732)202-7420Challenge Chair Assist. Laura Portée (908) 222-0107Sandy Hook Coord. Al Smith (856)546-7810Webmaster Howard Wright (908)725-9782Assistant Webmaster Greg Fitzgerald (908)647-1885

PRESERVATION ISSUES UPDATEBrett Franks

Continued on page 8

Preservation RaffleThe preservation raffle for this year will be drawn at ourSummer Picnic Meeting being held at Tuckerton Seaporton June 30, 2007. You do not need to be present to win—we’ll contact all of those who win if you’re not there. I’dlike to thank everyone who participated in this event, sell-ing and buying the tickets. I know it’s forced volunteerismto ask each of you to help us raise money for the lights,but it’s the only thing we ask each year. Many of you havemade suggestions on the raffle and I’ve heard them alland will do my best to incorporate them. Our first prizethis year is the Garmin In-Car Navigation System. It’s avery nice item and one I hope most of you would like towin. Good luck to all and once again thanks for being sogenerous once again this year.

Ludlam’s Beach LighthouseIn early June, members of the “Friends of Ludlam’s BeachLighthouse Society” got together to discuss the project.Much has happened over the last year. The society isalmost complete with the “not for profit” documentationrequired by the state. The Constitution and By-Laws arein place and the Officers and Trustees elected. Sea IsleCity has just undergone a full scale change in their systemof government, changing from a three member committeeto a mayor and five person committee. While we lost twositting committee members sympathetic to saving the light-house, we gained three to five new members who supportthe effort.

and only had one pass of it because ofthe fog bank. We were in the air for justunder an hour and itcost us $110—it wasworth every penny!We then went backinto Brookings for ashot of Pelican BayLighthouse, a privatehome.

Heading north we stopped back at CapeBlanco to take some nighttime picturesof the lighthouse, but it was so windythat Mike could not hold the camerasteady, even with the tripod, resulting inblurry photos.

That night westayed in Bandonand the next morn-ing took pictures ofthe Coquille RiverLighthouse fromthe Bandon side ofthe Coquille River,

and then drove to the lighthouse. Wetook pictures from outside the lighthouseand then went inside to get our pass-ports stamped and support the gift shop.(Mike did his part by buying a jacket.)

After some time at the lighthouse, weheaded to Sunset Beach on our way tothe Cape Arago Lighthouse. We saw lotsof seals on the rocks at the top of thebeach–lots of noise. We had our lunchat a picnic table over looking the vastPacific Ocean. Then it was off to gothrough the woods via a twisted path tothe Cape AragoLighthouse, whichwas visible to photo-graph at a distancebut “off limits” to getto. We walked thruthe woods skirtingthe private homesand fence whichclosed the light off tothe public. We met one young coupleon the trail coming back from the light-house and we took some good photosof the 1930’s era lighthouse.

Our next lighthouse was the UmpquaRiver Lighthouse. This was the first light-house Mike had ever climbed—back in2001. We took a tour and again sup-ported the gift shop. We drove to ourhotel in Reedsport and after supper

The Beam Page 3

Mike & Judy Boucher

Cape Mendocino

Cape Blanco

Pelican Bay

Coquille River

Cape Arago

Table Bluff

Continued on Page 4

WEST COAST LIGHTHOUSE ROAD TRIP

On Friday, September 1, 2006 Judy flewinto the Portland, OR airport where I mether. I had driven out to Colorado to helpmy son with home repairs before driv-ing to meet Judy. We started the nextday for a two week vacation thatstretched some 2,600 miles. We wentalong the Columbia River into easternOregon, then into Washington Statebefore coming back into Oregon, andover to the California coast and thenback into Oregon. Along the way westopped at many delightful spots.

After a week of see-ing area sites we vis-ited our first light-house, CapeMendocino, locatedon the grounds of theHumboldt CountyFairgrounds inFerndale, CA. Thisreplica lighthousewas built in 1950,and the 1st orderFresnel lens wasplaced in the lantern

room the following year when it was de-activated. The original 1868 tower wasmoved to Shelter Cove in 1998, and re-stored.

The next day we were in Eureka, CAlooking for the remains of the HumboldtBay Lighthouse, but could not find it.According to the docents at the nearbymarine museum nobody had seen theremains in a couple of years because

of the shifting sanddunes. We thendrove to Woodley Is-land, just down theroad to photographTable Bluff Light-house. It had a freshcoat of paint on itswooden walls. Builtin 1892, it was origi-nally located on theSouth Spit near the

entrance to Humboldt Bay and was re-located in 1987 to Woodley Island. It hasbeen inactive since 1961.

Late that afternoon we arrived at Cres-cent City and drove to the Battery PointLighthouse which was closed for theday. The lighthouse is on an island andthe tide was out so we could walk to it.We took lots of pictures and played in

the tidal pools on the way back to themainland. We went back at night tophotograph the lighthouse which illu-minated and the light in the tower wasextremely bright. It was VERY windyand cold, but worth it—I was rewardeda second place winner in the Winner’sCircle. The next morning before leav-ing Crescent City and California wewent back to the lighthouse for somemore pictures in the fog.

We drove north into Oregon andBrookings for our flight to St. GeorgeReef Lighthouse off the Californiacoast. We called the pilot and askedabout our flight and he said it was notthe best time but that the fog would burnoff and he could do it at 4:00 PM. Sowe said we would meet him then. Weheaded off to Cape Blanco, some 50miles north, and planned to come backsouth to Brookings and hopefully ourflight. The fog was breaking up nicelyand it was bright blue sky by the timewe got to Cape Blanco.

Cape Blanco—thirdtime a charm forMike—who’s beenthere two times be-fore and it wasclosed. This time, itwas open to climband we had a beau-tiful, clear sunnyday. We each paid$2.00 to climb thetower, payable to

the Bureau of Land Management. Thevolunteers belong to the Oregon StatePark system, Coalition of BLM, StatePark, two Indian tribes and Friends ofCape Blanco. After about an hour at thelighthouse (and gift shop) we headedsouth for our flight out of Brookings.

We returned to the Brooking Airport tomeet our pilot, Dan Branigan, for ourflight to St. George Reef Lighthouse,some six miles off the coast. We tookoff in a Cessna 172 and saw somespectacular views of the coast line. Wecircled St. George Reef Lighthouseseveral times and took many picturesthat resulted in some great shots anda first place winner for Judy in thisyear’s photo contest. A lot of seals weresunning themselves on the reef andlighthouse. We then flew south to Bat-tery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City

We walked to the lighthouse in a mistand then a rain. We toured the light-house and supported another lighthousegift shop.

Before weleft forhome wehad madea r r a n g e -ments torent an-other planeto fly out to

Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. We calledJohn Glenn, a retired Coast Guard Cap-tain, and made arrangements to meethim at Warrenton Airport. The weatherfor this flight was not the best—lowclouds and drizzle—but still flyable. Onour way to Tillamook we flew past CapeDisappointment and North Head Light-houses in Washington State (and an-other winning photograph for Judy). Ourflight was cut short (8/10’s of an hour)because of the rainy weather, and it costus $158 dollars for the twin engineplane.

That night we stayed at Canon Beachwith a view of Tillamook Rock Light-house. The next morning we had abeautiful day and took some nice pho-tos of the lighthouse from a distance. Be-fore leaving Cannon Beach we stoppedat the History Museum, next to the firehouse, to get the Tillamook Rock Light-house stamp for our lighthouse passportbooks.

We over-nighted inAstoria andthe next morn-ing visited theC o l u m b i aRiver Mari-time Mu-seum—an ex-

cellent museum with exhibits about fish-ing, barges, Coast Guard rescue heri-tage, lighthouse service, salmon can-nery and duck decoys. We toured theLightship Columbia, moored next to themuseum.

We drove across the bridge to Wash-ington State and Cape DisappointmentState Park. We had to take a shuttle busto the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Centerbefore hiking to Cape DisappointmentLighthouse. The 7/10 of a mile walk waspretty steep at some points. The light-

drove back to thelighthouse for night-time photos. It wasSPECTACULAR, redand two white beamsrotating and the raysbouncing off all thetrees in the area.

The next day weheaded north toHeceta Head Light-house and our night

in the bed & breakfast. Before we gotthere we took a dune buggy ride overthe HUGH sand dunes and had a greattime.

We arrived late at the lighthouse andfound a note with instructions on gettinginto the keeper’s house. We checkedinto Victoria’s Room and realized thatJudy would need the step stool providedto get into the HIGH bed. Lovely set-ting—beautiful renovations, decorationsand upkeep of this old house, with twofireplaces! This duplex originally housedthe two assistant keepers. We walkedto the lighthouse and took photos but itwas already closed for the day. Beforereturning to Florence for dinner, westopped at the viewpoint and took somepictures of the lighthouse which earnedJudy her third winning photo, an honor-able mention.

After supper we wentback to the light-house for nighttimephotos. The light gotmore spectacular asit got darker. At firstyou could only seetwo beams of light,then four, and theneight. The beamswent far out into the

night sky. Stars were also beautiful! Af-ter a dark walk back to the keeper’shouse, a cup of tea in front of the fire-place, and a little conversation with otherguests, we were off to climb up on thatbed and get some sleep.

One of the highlights of staying at theB&B is its seven course breakfast. Patty,the chef, was out cutting spinach in thegarden about a half hour before break-fast. The spinach turned up in ourfrittata—which was the main course(spinach, eggs and potatoes). The rest

of breakfast included a fruit cup, shrimpspread on crumpets, chocolate butterand scones, cranberry frappe tocleanse the pallet, blackberry pastryand cheese & melon balls. After break-fast we went back up to the lighthousefor more pictures and a tour. At the topof the lighthouse we saw the 1st orderFresnel lens. The lens was taken outand repaired, and the turn table leveledin 2000. The lighthouse was turnedover to the county to maintain and op-erate tours.

After spending the morning at HecetaHead we photographed lighthouse au-thor, Jim Gibb’s home, a replica light-house from British Columbia.

Next stop was at theYaquina Bay Light-

house and a tour of the keeper’s house.We also went down to the beach andgot some great pictures. We climbedthe lighthouse—the tallest in Oregon.The lighthouse had a two million dollarrestoration in 2006 and was reopenedin July.

The next morningwe drove alongthe coast linealong 3-CapesDrive. This drivewas very scenicand is known asa Scenic Byway.We continuedalong the drive toCape MearesLighthouse. The

weather was iffy and it started to rain.

The Beam Page 4

Cleft of the Rocks a replica of Fiddle ReefLight on Vancouver Island

Yaquina Bay (above) &Yaquina Head (left)

Cape Meares

Tillamook Rock

Continued on Page 5

Umpqua River atnight

Heceta Head atnight

Continued from Page 3

West Coast Lighthouse Road Trip

Columbia Lightship and thebuoy that replaced it

house is not open to climb right now but might be nextyear. It was a difficult lighthouse to photograph with littleland before the 200 plus foot cliff. We walked back tothe Visitor Center for better photos but the walkway out-side was closed for repairs. The Interpretive Center park-ing lot was under repair after a slide, thus the shuttlebus. We drove down to the beach and the north jettyand got some great photos of the lighthouse. The nextstop was the North Head Lighthouse two miles away,just around the corner from Cape Disappointment. Thislighthouse was open to climb, which we did. The light-

house had the passport stamp for our book. It cost us one dollar to climbthe tower.

Our lighthouse adventure ended a couple of days lateras we circled back to Portland. Judy flew back to NewJersey and I drove back cross country. Along the way Ihad stopped at several other lighthouses. On the wayout to Oregon I stopped at Hannibal, Missouri and shot

the Mark Twain Light on the Missis-sippi River. Returning I stopped be-tween Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraskato shoot some photos of the LinomaBeach Lighthouse which is in a sadstate of repair. I also stopped in Michi-gan City, Indiana to photograph the oldlighthouse and the two breakwaterlights and a faux lighthouse at an outlet center.

We had visited 17 lighthouses and climbed nine ofthem. We drove around 10,000 miles and visited some spectacular ar-eas of this country.

The Beam Page 5

LinomaBeach

Continued from Page 4

San Francisco +

+ Cape Mendocino

+Table Bluff

+ Battery Point

St.GeorgeReef +

+ Pelican Bay

+ Cape Blanco

+ Coquille River

+ CapeArago

+ Umpqua River

+ Heceta Head

+ Yaquina Head

+ Cape Meares

Tillamook Rock +

OREGON

CALIFORNIA

+ North Head

WASHINGTON

Is anyone interested in doing the Maryland Challenge by bus September15 &16? We would leave from Audubon Park around 8:00am Saturday,September 15 and return around 7:00pm Sunday, September 16. Thecost would be approximately $350 for a single or $550 for 2 people. Thiswill include transportation, hotel, 5 meals and all admissions. If you areinterested, please complete the following form and send to me with a$50 deposit, per person, no later than July 15, 2007. We need 52 peoplein order to make this a go. If it is a go, half balance due by July 31 andbalance due by August 25. If you are a single and would be willing todouble-up with someone to cut your expenses, let me know and I will tryand accommodate you.

Possible Bus Trip for Maryland Lighthouse ChallengeBetty Smith

bjks313@juno.com

Name(s):

Address:

Phone number:

E-mail address:

Mail form & deposit to:

West Coast Lighthouse Road Trip

Betty Smith7 Goldfinch RoadAudubon Park NJ 08106856-546-0514

Yaquina Bay ++ Cleft of the Rock

CapeDisappointment +

WEST COAST LIGHTHOUSESVISITED

CapeDisappointment

Lighthouse PlaceMichigan City, IN

Who’s Who in NJLHS

The BeamPage 6

Ade, John & Patty Egg Harbor, NJBeaton, Sr.,Reynold A. Old Bridge, NJBell, Kimberlee Jersey City, NJBergadano, Bill Freehold, NJBott, Judith A. Roebling, NJBrandt, William & Helen Manahawkin, NJBrown, Jan Orange Park, FLBrown, Lawrence J. Miele/Robin L. Reynoldsburg, OHBuchanan, Bill Sea Isle City, NJBudzynski,Gloria M. Gosnell & Frank J. Kingsville, MDBur, Philip W. Gwynedd, PABurke, Lisa B. Egg Harbor Twp., NJBux, Curtis Cream Ridge, NJCalkins, Bob & Pat Cape May, NJCampagna, Steve, Almira & Steven Medford, NJCarpenter, Linda Little Egg Harbor, NJCasey, NPS, Bill Boston, MAChampion, Jack & Rose Egg Harbor Twp., NJChepurny, CLA, Steve Moorestown, NJCooper, Laura Beth Millville, NJCosta, Charles & Michelle Port Monmouth, NJDelMonte, Cherie Little Egg Harbor, NJDupree, Berneta Long Branch, NJ

Meeting Attendees:There were 115 members and guests who signed in at our March meeting at St. Uriel’s Church in Sea Girt, NJ. Pleaseremember to sign the book—we want to make sure there are enough seats for you at future meetings!

Membership Numbers:At the deadline for this issue, the membership numbers are as follows:Single Memberships = 244Family Memberships = 291 x 2 = 582Total Members = 826**The membership number is always low this time of year due to the fact that renewals are still coming in.

New Members:The following members have joined our Society since the March issue. Please note that if you become a member afterthe deadline for The Beam, you will be listed in the following issue. If you happen to meet them at a future meeting,please welcome them!

A MESSAGE FROM MEMBERSHIP…

Eisele, Robert J. Roosevelt, NYFrascella, Michael Hawthorne, NJFroland, Debbie Pine Bush, NYGamel, Peg Bordentown, NJGiordano, Peter & Barbara Leonia, NJGriscom, Timothy Trenton, NJHelmer, Art & Roberta Washington Twp., NJHodgman, Rick Hillsdale, NJHouvener, S.G., Smithson & J.E. Metuchen, NJIovino, Gerri Fairview, NJIovino, Joseph Glen Ridge, NJJanesak, Charles Ortley Beach, NJLast, Anne Marie J. Moorestown, NJLesnick, Maryann Manassus, VALloyd, Wayne Union, NJMay, Barbara S. Pennsville, NJMcCloskey, Dennis C. Reading, PAMelfi, William J. Absecon, NJNewcomb, Cynthia & James Egg Harbor Twp., NJNietzer, Robert S. Plainfield, NJNitschke, Matthew & Leann Savage, MDNunez, Luis S. Union City, NJOlander, Brooke Atlantic Highlands, NJOliveri, Maria, Joseph, Carissa & Caryn Gibbstown, NJPaul, Dolores & John Warwick, RIPleines, Rich & Cathy New Haven, CTPueschel, Louis & Judy Essex, MDRoberts, Marion & Bob Scotch Plains, NJ

Rodgers, Robert Easton, PARowell, Jeff Madison, CTSchaeffer, Louise & Bob Little Egg Harbor Twp., NJSchenke,Lisa & Andrew Spring Lake Hts., NJShepherd, Cecil & Mary Glen Allen, VASnyder, Robin, Ryan & Cory Carlisle, PAStrang, Sr., Frederick L. Little Egg Harbor ,NJStumpf, Edward Union, NJTewell, Kathy Manassas, VAThompson, Charles Whiting, NJTroike, Noel & Christine Harrisburg, PATurick-Hand & Family, Michele Middlesex, NJTweedus, Robert & Linda Morris Plains, NJUhrmann, Robert Palermo, NJWallach, Steven Titusville, NJWalsh, William Tucker, Jr.& Patricia Colllingswood, NJWarren, Barbara Manahawkin, NJWurst, Mark & Marie Manahawkin, NJ

Membership Committee

Seated: Carol Nail, Linda Gleason, Linda Jakubowski, and JosephJakubowski, Standing: George Nail, Bob Gleason, and Mary BethDoherty

Mary Beth Doherty, Membership Chair; email address: NJLHSMember1@aol.com

The Beam Page 7

WORD SEARCH PUZZLEMike Boucher

Amelia Island, FLAssategue, VABarnegat, NJBeavertail, RIBlackwells Island, NYCockspur, GAColchester Reef, VTCraighill Channel Range Lights, MDDuxbury Pier, MAFenwick Island, DEMarblehead, MAMispillion River, DEMontauk, NYMorris Island, SCNavesink, Twin Lights, NJNubble Cape Neddick, MEOcracoke, NCPooles Island, MDPortsmouth Harbor, NHPumpkin Island, MERose Island, RI,Squirrel Point, MeStonington, CTThe Cuckolds, MEWindmill Point, VT

This month’s word search puzzle are EastCoast Lighthouses. Only the BOLD typewords are in the puzzle. Answer on Page 16

Send the necessary information to njlhsevents@netzero.net as an attached “MS Word” document or inline text. The Beamis published 4 times a year–March, June, September and December. Information must be received at least 8 weeks priorto publication to be included in the next issue. If you have any questions, call Faith Giamboi (732)580-0155.

PLEASE NOTE: If no specific time is listed, you should call before heading out. Some special events require advancereservations. There may be additional events not be listed below.

CALENDAR OF EVENTSFaith Giamboi

Absecon Daily-July-Aug Tower & House 10-4 (609)449-1360 $5Fri. June 15 Gala 150th Party 5:30pm (609)449-1360 $50

Sun. July 15 History Run/Walk TBD (609)449-1360 callJuly 23-27 Kid’s Camp TBD (609)449-1360 callTue. Aug 7 Nat. Lighthouse Day 10-5 (609)449-1360 callWed. Aug 15 Sunset Cruise 7pm (609)449-1360 $20

Barnegat Tower (609)494-2016 callCape May Tower & Visitors Center (800)275-4278 callEast Point Third Sun Apr-Oct Tower & House 1-4pm (856)691-5934Hereford Daily May-Sept House & Grounds 9-3pm (609)522-4520 $4Sandy Hook Sat & Sun Climb the Tower 12-4:30 (732)872-5970

Sat & Sun Keepers House 12-5pm (732)872-5970Weekdays Climb the Tower 1:30-4:30 (732)872-5970Weekdays Keepers House 1-4:30pm (732)872-5970

Numerous Events Visit www.nps.gov/gate or call (732) 872-5970Sea Girt Tower & House (732)974-0514 callTinicum Climb the Tower (856)423-1152 call

Wed. July 4 Fireworks 9pm-? (856)423-1152Tuckerton Seaport Events (609)296-8868 callTwin Lights Tower & Museum (732)872-1814 call

The BeamPage 8

NEW LIGHTHOUSE STAMPSJim Cope

The US Postal Service will release five new 41 cent stamps on June 21 depict-ing West Coast Lighthouses. The lighthouses pictured are: Diamond Head, HI;Five Finger, AL; Grays Harbor, WA; Umpqua River, OR; and St. George Reef,CA. There will be 20 stamps on a sheet (four of each). In addition, there will bea postal card for each with a 26 cent stamp printed on one side and a picture ofthe lighthouse on the other side. The stamps were designed by Howard Koslow(Toms River, NJ) who also designed the five lighthouse stamps in the 1990booklet (which included Sandy Hook Lighthouse), the five Great Lakes Light-house stamps, and the five Southeastern Lighthouse stamps which had their2nd Day Unveiling at Twin Lights in 2003. Mr. Koslow has designed many stampsfor the US Postal Service, including eight stamps for the 1940’s “Celebrate theCentury” series, four stamps featuring jazz/blues singers, the 8 cent AntarcticTreaty stamp in 1971, and many others.

The Community Outreach season for2007 is underway!

The long-awaited new Society profes-sional four-fold display board is now inuse. Thanks to Yvonne Miller Thies,Marty Hudspeth, and DebbieMegonigal—other members of the “cre-ative team”— who set up the new boardwith me in late April.

Community Outreach setups now alsofeature children’s activities (coloring and crafts). There’s now “fun for the wholefamily”!

A mix of longtime events and newer events is on the calendar for this year’soutreach season, including “Expressway Outreaches” at rest areas on the Turn-pike and the Atlantic City Expressway.

The recent “Spirit of the Jerseys” event on 5/5 at Washington Crossing StatePark—a new Community Outreach event for NJLHS—was a fun opportunity to“officially” begin the season, and provided an opportunity to interact with manywho have a passion about New Jersey history.

Outreach continues regionally as well. NJLHS was present at the Piney PointLighthouse Festival in southern Maryland in May, and the Society also waspresent at the Winter Lights Festival in January at the Calvert Marine Museumin Solomons, MD.

Please check the Community Outreach schedule on the Society web site andconsider signing up to staff an outreach. No experience or prior knowledge isnecessary!

Also, if you know of an event in your community which might be a good venueto promote NJLHS, please contact Anthony Albence.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH COMMITTEE UPDATE

Marty Hudspeth (left ) and Sheila Hines sellingWays & Means at Piney Point Lighthouse Festival

in Maryland

Anthony J. Albence, Chair

Preservation Issues UpdateContinued from page 2

One of the main topics discussed was thefuture location of the lighthouse. Origi-nally, all were pushing for a site at thefoot of JFK Boulevard and the boardwalk.However, a new project in the northernend may offer a better setting. What iscurrently being called the “Passive Park”to underscore its emphasis on protect-ing wildlife areas and natural features, isshaping up as a major possibility for thelight’s new home. The area wouldpresent the light in a more historically-correct setting and could take advantageof becoming the focal point for the park.Township officials and the Department ofEnvironmental Protection are talkingalong with state and county representa-tives.

The society will be getting out the mes-sage to save Ludlam’s Beach LighthouseJune 16th at Skimmer Days, a local SeaIsle City Boardwalk Festival. They willbe handing out information on the light-house and its plans as well as sellingsome shirts and artwork to help raisefunds for the project. Please stop by ifyou’re in the area and help support thisgreat lighthouse cause.

Helping Hands Clean Up ProjectThe Preservation Committee SpringClean Up event took place at the SandyHook Lighthouse May 6. This first timeout we did some light landscaping andcleaning up around the wooded areas.The volunteers collected roughly ten bagsof trash and debris from the woods in-cluding some interesting items like golfballs, plate glass and an abundance oftin foil and beer bottles. In addition tothis, brush was cut back from the pathand cleared around the sides and backof the exhibit barn. Tom Hoffman fromSandy Hook supervised the work andpitched in with our volunteers to finish upin about 3 hours time. Thanks to all thevolunteers who came to Sandy Hook forthis effort. Future plans have us lendinga hand to Absecon for painting the porchthis summer as well as a return trip toSandy hook this fall for additional workon the exhibit barn. If you would like tovolunteer to help us out with theseprojects please contact Rich Veit, theHelping Hands Coordinator, through theweb site or at our quarterly meetings.

The Beam Page 9

We all know the lens saved countless ships from ending up on the bottom of the sea, but they also sped up the timerequired to transit between ports. These lights were the road signs of the time. And the better and easier those marks areto see, the faster you can go and the fewer times you get lost. The faster the ship can make the trip, the fewer ships youneed to transport your goods. So the merchants in France save by needing fewer ships and crews and by moving theirgoods faster to markets. With fewer ships needed and more available since the wrecks decline, transportation costs fall.Now you can lower your price to undercut the competition, and flood the market with your products instead of his. Yourgovernment is happy because they collect taxes off your profits, but the competition in England isn’t. Trade declines andso do the Royal coffers.

Now as an English merchant you’ve just ended another war with France and are being taxed for the pleasure. At a pointwhen you need to sell more goods than ever, your rival has just skewed the playing field in his favor. His ships find theports easier, and yes, while you can use the lights to find the same ports, your home ports aren’t easily located. Think ofit like a warehouse with a forklift. You have it and can load your trucks easily. You put one in your customer’s warehouseso he can unload your truck, but also your competition’s trucks. But back at the competition’s warehouse he’s still loadingby hand. England doesn’t have forklift. So what does a superpower in 1825 do when the other superpower has atechnological advantage? Same thing they did in 1950, steal the secrets.

England tried several legal ways to buy lenses from France and they did acquire the technol-ogy behind how to make the lens. They even hired Fresnel’s brother, after Auggie died, towork with Cookson Glass on producing a lens. However they did not have the secrets on howto produce the optical glass that was the key. The French considered glassmaking an art andone thing they zealously protect in France, is art. But some other things they are zealousabout are money, revenge, pride and position. An English glass maker may have been able toexploit these to get what he couldn’t by direct methods.

Chance Brothers was one of the English manufacturers ofFresnel lens, but their quality was severely lacking due tothe glass. One of the brothers, Robert Lewis Chance spenttime touring Europe looking for ways to produce sheet glass.His travels brought him to France and the Choisy-le-Roi glassworks run by Georges Bontemps.Bontemps had been a partner with the lens makerFrançois Soliel and had provided the glass Solielground into some of the first Fresnel lenses. To-gether they were the experts in manufacturing thelens at that time. But problems with the glass qual-ity arose and by 1830 Choisy’le-Roi was no longerproviding Soliel glass.

Bontemps improved the glass and got back into pro-viding material for optic lenses but the reputation ofhis glassworks was heavily damaged by this partingwith Soliel. When Soliel retired, his company passed

down thorough a muddy linage of family until 1844, when Theodore Létourneau tookpossession. It’s interesting to note that Soliel refers to it as renting the business to hisheirs, which could account for what happens next.

It’s not clear but it seems Bontemps thought the lens manufacturing business wouldcome to him when Soliel retired. But theonly way to get it was by marrying into thefamily. Bontemps watches the businessslide from one relative to the next for twenty years, but does nothing. He winsawards for the quality of his glass, but still his glassworks are not the choicematerial provider for Fresnel lenses. Finally, in 1848, Robert Chance has be-come friends with Georges and convinces him to come to England and showthem how to make the Fresnel glass. Georges Bontemps accepts this offerand moves to England—taking with him a 20 year secret.

What made him do this? Money, honor, unrequited love? All possible, but un-known. It is known that once Bontemps left Choisy-le-Roi, they never againhad any involvement with Fresnel manufacturing. Was it a French government

Brett FranksThe Power of Light–Part 2

James Chance

The Chance Brothers glass works in SmethwickEngland near Birmingham

Glass polishing machine (below) and aschematic on how it functions (above)

from Tomas Tag’s collection

Continued on Page 15

NEW JERSEY LIGHTHOUSE SOCIET

Page 10 The Beam

1st Place New Jersey LighthousesSandy Hook by Tim Griscom

1st Place Black & White LighthousesCape Cod by Mike Boucher

2nd Place New Jersey LighthousesEast Point by Janet Balett

2nd Place Winner’s CircleBattery Point by Mike Boucher

2nd Place International LighthousesWoody Point by Tony Jadczak

3rd Place New Jersey LighthousesSandy Hook by Tim Griscom

3rd Place Black & White LighthousesNobska by Howard Wright

3rd Place National LighthousesNorth Head by Judy Boucher

Honorable Mention Winner’s CircleLong Point by Howard Wright

Honorable Mention Winner’s CircleWest Quoddy Head by Katie Moser

Honorable Mention National LighthousesHeceta Head by Judy Boucher

The Beam Page 11

1st Place National LighthousesSt. George Reef by Judy Boucher

1st Place Winner’s CircleCape May by Mike Boucher

1st Place International LighthousesCape Forchu by Al Smith

3rd Place InternationalLighthousesLobster Cove

by Howard Wright

2nd Place Black & WhiteLighthouses

Drum Point by Thomas Wade

2nd Place NationalLighthouses

Cape Lookout by Brett Franks

Honorable Mention NationalLighthouses

Key West by Cheryl Stumpf

3rd Place Winner’s CircleEast Point by Karl Fahringer

Honorable MentionNew Jersey Lighthouses

Sandy Hook by Joan Stumpf

TY 2007 PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

The BeamPage 12

How Barnegat’s 1stOrder Fresnel lens

looks today on displayin the Historic

Museum

A 1st Order Fresnel lens,from Cape May without

the added panels

A close up of the mystery catadiopticpanels added to the Barnegat lens

Lighthouse Detective – 3

Yeah, like a bad penny, I keep turning up. Brick Towers, your lighthouse detective,never sleeps. But I often pretend to sleep for eight hour stretches just to confuse my cat.Anyway, I’m sitting here in my office with another case for you. I’ve chased this one upand down the old spiral stairs and I’m stuck. Stuck sitting here by the light of my Funck

lamp wondering how does a Fresnel lens grow? You heard me right, I said grow. I know what you’re saying; you’re saying“Brick, you’ve sniffed a little too much brass cleaner.” Well, a couple months back I might have agreed with you.

You see it all started one day when I was snooping around Barnegat. I’d gotten a tip that the lens they had been showingfor years as belonging to old Barney didn’t match with the original records and dimensions from the Lighthouse Service. Idecided to check to see if someone had been pulling my wick by passing off the wrong lens on us.

I ran down the history on this 1st Order lens. It was contracted to Henry Lapaute’s shop in 1856. Hank finished her up andloaded the crates aboard the steamship ARAGO on May 5th of 1857. The ship docked in New York and delivered the lensto the boys from Tompkinsville on July 14th of that year. In 1858 Lapaute’s work took center stage in the top of ‘new’Barney, at that time. She sat there until 1933, several years after they stopped lighting her. A decision was made at thattime to convert the light to modern technology and help alleviate some of the concern with the tower actually tipping over.But that’s a different story.

The lens was removed with the understanding it would stay with the lighthouse by agreement withthe state of NJ, in exchange for paying to shore up the tower foundation— but that didn’t happen. In1932, the city fathers of Chicago were planning the 1933 World’s Fair. They touted it as a “Centuryof Progress”—with apologies to Upton Sinclair I’m guessing. And, as part of it, they wanted to tie backto the 1893 Columbia Exposition history they had. Well, in the ‘White City’ of 1893, a Fresnel lenswas shown in the Technology and Science Building. That lens left the fair and became the Navesinklens, which is still on display in their old powerhouse. Since that lens was in use, the LighthouseService decided to send the other lens they were in the process of removing from Barnegat. So, offit went to Chicago until the end of the fair in 1934.

Our lens was returned to Staten Island Lighthouse Depot in December of 1934, and for those of youwho question this, this location isn’t Tompkinsville but was actually in St. George. It didn’t have a longstay here because Chicago felt attached to it now and requested it be sent back for display in the new‘Museum of Science and Technology’. And guess what that museum was several months earlier...right,the lens went back to its home building from the fair, but now under a new, permanent name.

And here she stayed for 30 years until some NJ Congressmen, thankfully well connected in Washington, got the lensreturned to its rightful home. Now when the lens left the World’s Fair in 1934 it was in 24 crates, just like when Lepaute sentit from France. But when the boys from Staten Island sent it back the shipping documents described the lens as being in11 crates and one bundle of metal parts. Yikes! What happened here?

This is curious when you hear the rest of the story. The lens returns to NJ on April 30,1957 and is reassembled by the Coast Guard. But it grew somewhere in this time spanfrom leaving New Jersey to returning. Now I know the mid-west is famous for its fertileland, but let’s not be ridiculous, glass doesn’t grow. But what explains the fact that therenow appears an extra set of catadioptic panels. Just look at her and you’ll see themsitting right there on top. They don’t even match the lines and size of the original lensstructure. Somehow, somebody added the pieces from another lens to the Barnegatlens. Why and when, I can’t say. I’m stuck.

I checked the lens and it’s Lapaute’s—with all the serial numbersand makers marks associated with Barnegat’s lens. But thoseextra panels and prisms, there’s nothing to identify them. There is one mention of a flash panelfrom Grosse Point Light being shipped with Barnegat’s lens but these add on pieces aren’t flashpanels. And if you think the description might be in error, check this. The size of these panelsadded to Barnegat corresponds to the size for a 3rd Order lens, but Grosse Point Lighthouse wasoutfitted with a 2nd Order. So where did this come from? Could lighthouse technicians at StatenIsland have added this by mistake? Not likely since they were experts on these lenses. Did some-one in the Chicago museum add them? Again, very unlikely. Where would the museum curatorsget these extra components?

This is where I need your help. Brick is between a rock and a hard place on this. Can you figure outwhen the lens got a little hat added to it? And the who and why behind it? Do a little digging andsee what you can find. The answers are there, just help me find them and wrap up this case.‘Til next time.

The Beam Page 13

Thank you” letter from Mrs. Lighthouse, Dot Black widow of Ken Black, for the donation to the Maine Lighthouse Museumin his memory from the New Jersey Lighthouse Society

The BeamPage 14

Judi Franks, Program ChairProgram Signals

Continued on Page 15

Tuckerton Seaport

SUMMER MEETING/ANNUAL NJLHS PICNIC:Our next meeting will be in Tuckerton, NJ at the TuckertonSeaport. This is our annual picnic meeting and celebrationof the anniversary of the formation of the Society. A limitednumber of boxed lunches will be offered on a first come-firstserve basis. The details are listed below. And don’t forget tosave room for cake!!!DATE: June 30, 2007PLACE: Tuckerton Seaport

120 W. Main StreetTuckerton, NJ 08087

ITINERARY:

Hospitality will be served. If you wish to bring good-ies, please contact Martha Brown at 609-877-0134.Please remember that we are bringing coffee readyto serve. In order to continue this, donations aregreatly appreciated. We really don’t want to go backto using the old coffee urn that takes forever to perk.

10:30 to11:00

11:00 Meeting will call to order.

12:30 Lunch. A limited number of boxed lunches will beavailable from Skeeter’s Crazy Water Café. They willbe offered on a first come first serve basis the day ofthe meeting. The menu is as follows: Crab Cake Sand-wich, Fried Flounder Sandwich, Grilled C h i c k e n

Sandwich, The boxed lunch includes French fries anda drink. All lunches are $10.00 each.

2:00

RECAP: SPRING MEETING MARCH, 31, 2007The Spring meeting at St. Uriel’s in Sea Girt was attendedby 110 regular members, 2 new members, and 3 non-mem-bers for a total of 115 attendees. I received so many posi-tive comments about Jim Woodward and his presentationon the history of lighthouses. Wasn’t the picture of the origi-

DIRECTIONS TO TUCKERTON SEAPORT:FROM NORTH JERSEY: Take the Garden State Parkwaysouth to Exit 58 (Tuckerton/Little Egg Harbor). Make a left atthe end of the ramp onto Route 539 South. Follow Route539 (becomes Green Street) to the third traffic light at Route9 (Main Street). Make a right. The Seaport is on the left acrossfrom the lake.

FROM SOUTH JERSEY: Take the Garden State Parkwaynorth to Exit 50 (New Gretna/Route 9 north). Follow Route 9north for approximately 7 miles through New Gretna andinto Little Egg Harbor Township. The Seaport is on the rightacross from the lake approximately 1 mile after enteringTuckerton Borough.

Meeting adjournment and tours of the Seaport.

The Beam Page 15

Program Signals

nal Fresnel lens constructed by AugustinFresnel fascinating? My many thanks toJim and I hope he returns to share moreof his knowledge with us in the future.

I would also like to acknowledge the pre-sentation and plaque given to TomLaverty and thank him for his many tire-less years of service as president of theNew Jersey Lighthouse Society.

As expected, the Photo Contest was agreat success. A big thanks to Cindy andMike Mitzen and their helpers for put-ting this together. Every year it getsharder and harder to pick a winneramong the many entries. However, I amstill waiting for the “Lighthouses picturedwith Thumbs” category to be a part ofthe contest. I’m a shoe-in to take firstplace in this category.

Lastly, I’d like to thank Sea Girt Light-house for inviting our members to thelighthouse after our meeting. Theirfriendliness and hospitality always makevisiting a pleasure.

PHOTO CONTESTCindy Mitzen

penalty for Bontemps betrayal or coin-cidence is also unknown. But the fact ittook 20 years for another country to gainthe glass secret is remarkable. Whatwould it be worth, a two decade advan-tage in commercial trade? That’s power.

How France maintained a monopoly onproviding Fresnel lenses after the secretwas exposed and why the United Statesfinally decided to manufacture its’ ownlenses continues in Part III.

Continued from Page 9

The Power of Light–Part 2

Continued from Page 14

IN THE NEWSPAPERSFrom the NY Times, Aug. 28, 1883

A LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER MISSING

Pictures and stories

of your lighthouse

adventures. Send

to: beam@njlhs.org

or talk to Mike

Boucher or Mary

Beth Doherty at the

next meeting. We

want to hear from

you!

NEW JERSEY LIGHTHOUSES:1st Place Timothy Griscom—SandyHook Light from the Motor Battery2nd Place Janet Balliet—Monarchs @Maurice3rd Place Timothy Griscom—SandyHook Light from the northeastHonorable Mention:Florence Neild—Tower at HerefordInletJoan Strumpf—Sandy Hook

LIGHTHOULSES IN BLACK ANDWHITE:1ST Place Mike Boucher—Cape CodLight2nd Place Thomas Wade—Drum Point3rd Place Howard Wright—NobskaHonorable Mention:Bob Neild—Victorian Sister/HerefordInlet

INTERNATIONAL:1st Place Al Smith—Cape Forcher,Nova Scotia Yardmouth Light2nd Place Tony Jadczak—WoodyPoint, Newfoundland3rd Place Tony Jadczak—LobsterCove Light, Newfoundland

NATIONAL:1st Place Judy Boucher—GeorgesReef2nd Place Brett Franks—Cape Look-out

3rd Place Judy Boucher—North Head,WAHonorable Mention:Judy Boucher—Heceta HeadCheryl Strumpf—Key West

WINNER’S CIRCLE:1st Place Michael Boucher—Cape May2nd Place Michael Boucher—BatteryPoint at Sunset3rd Place Karl Fahringer—East PointHonorable Mention:Katie Moser—Foggy Quoddy

John E. Johnson, a resident ofTottenville, Staten Island, and keeper ofthe Great Beds Lighthouse has myste-riously disappeared. Johnson was lastseen on Saturday night, August 18,when he was on duty at the lighthouse.His boat was found moored at the light-house. His coat was in the boat. Thekeys were found inside of the lighthouseon a table. Some think that Johnsondrowned himself by jumping into the baywhile others think he disappeared for areason. He has a wife and four children.A former keeper of the same lighthousedisappeared last winter and his bodywas afterward found in the Sound.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s Annual Amateur PhotoContest.

Also thank you to the people who volunteered to help: Judy Boucher, AnnetteColt, and my husband, Michael. If you haven’t checked out our web site, pleasedo because Howard Wright has done a fabulous job of displaying the winningphotographs there. And as for this Beam, WOW! Mary Beth Doherty, MikeBoucher and their team have once again out done themselves. The winningphotos were also on display at the Sandy Hook Keepers House from the begin-ning of April until the middle of May. They looked fantastic and received quite afew compliments from the visitors.

The next annual photo contest is slated to be held at the March 2008 meeting.The Winner’s Circle will stay the same, and the other categories are:

1) East Coast Lights;2) West Coast and Great Lakes Lights;3) New Jersey Lights; and

The fourth category will be open to all members, even those in the Winner’sCircle and can be of any lighthouse: 4) Lighthouse Doors.

The September issue of the Beam will have the contest rules in more detail. Tillthen enjoy the summer, and keep taking those photos. Who knows what photowill be next year’s winner.

Winners of the 2007 Annual Amateur Contest

Tom Laverty is presented a plaque by President, Yvonne Miller Thies, and Direc-tor, Jim Cope in recognition of his outstanding leadership, dedication, and accom-plishments as President of the Society from 1995 to 2006.

Word Search Answers

The BeamPage 16

NEW JERSEY LIGHTHOUSE CHALLENGE® 2007TAKE THE “PRE-CHALLENGE” CHALLENGE!

Doreen Berson and Laura Portée

We have been working hard to get the word out about the Challenge for this year.Two ads have been professionally designed and placed with several major publica-tions. So, just for fun, why not take the “pre-Challenge” Challenge?! See if you canspot one of the two New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge

® 2007 ads pictured here and

on the back cover in any one of the following publications: Lighthouse Digest, TheKeeper’s Log, The World Lighthouse Society E-Newsletter, New Jersey Monthly,New Jersey Life, AAA World and Curious Parents. In addition, keep on the look-outfor our classified ad which is to run in Family Fun Magazine!

Just a reminder…Night Climbs will be offered again this year. However, in additionto Sandy Hook, Absecon, Cape May and Tinicum, Tucker’s Island will also be openfor an additional 2 hours - from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm - on Saturday night. (The other6 Challenge sites will close at 6:00 pm on Saturday.) Get there early to climb duringthese hours! Based on last year’s attendance, this feature was very popular.

Volunteers are still needed! If you are interested in volunteering during the week-end of the Challenge please sign-up. As has been done in previous years, you willneed to sign up even if you volunteered in the past. Please visit the Challenge pageof the website (www.njlhs.org) for the printable pdf Volunteer Sign-up form. Just fillit out and either e-mail or snail-mail it to Laura Portée, Volunteer Coordinator, di-rectly. If you have not signed up by the June meeting, there will also be a VolunteerSign-up table available. (Please note that the deadline to volunteer is August 31st.Please be sure to submit your sign-up form before then!)

For your information…The Maryland Lighthouse Challenge is celebrating their 5th

year this year on September 15th and 16th. New this year will be an optional three-hour cruise out of Annapolis on Friday, September 14th to see the Chesapeake Bayicon and National Historic Landmark, Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse as well asSandy Point Lighthouse and Baltimore Harbor Light. For more information on the Maryland Challenge and Friday’s cruise,visit www.cheslights.org or call 410-437-0741.

Our hope is that this year’s Challenge will be the best yet! So whether you participate or volunteer, don’t miss out on thefun!

What do these flags mean?Answer on page 18

The BeamPage 17

LIGHTHOUSE NEWS FROM

MIKE BOUCHERAROUND THE COUNTRY

The National Historic Lighthouse Pro-gram Act has named fourteen light-houses that will be offered to any not-for-profit group in 2007. The fourteeninclude: Penfield Reef and SaybrookBreakwater in CT; Bellevue Rear Rangein DE; Whaleback Ledge in ME; Cleve-land Ledge in MA; Brandywine Shoal inNJ; Duluth Harbor Breakwater Inner inMN; Execution Rocks, Old OrchardShoal, and West Bank in NY; and Cleve-land East Pierhead and Conneaut WestBreakwater in OH. If any of these light-houses cannot be given away, then theywill be auctioned off to the general pub-lic.

The LightshipOverfalls, lo-cated in Lewes,DE, will betowed to a ship-yard on theMaurice River

in Dorchester, NJ, 35 miles up the Dela-ware River for repairs to exterior hull.The lightship has been sitting at muddyberth in Lewes-Rehoboth Canal since1973. The 3/8" steel plates for the hullare half the thickness that they were in1973 and need replacing. The cost ofthe repairs is estimated to be $200,000.While the lightship is out of the water, anew three-sided berth will be built. Themove is planned for early 2008, with afall return to Lewis.

The Toledo Lighthouse PreservationSociety received the deed to the ToledoLighthouse on Lake Erie on April 27. The102 year old lighthouse needs to be re-stored on the inside and a dock builtbefore tours will begin a year later. Fund-ing for the dock will come from grantmoney.

The city of Pascagoula, MS wants tobring the Round Island Lighthouse to themain land. The 1859 brick lighthouse,located on an island just off shore, wastoppled over in 1998 by Hurricane

George. Once the remains were stabi-lized, a coffer dam was built aroundthese remains, and then filled in withcement. Sand was then piled aroundit. Hurricane Katrina created a newchannel across the island but did notdamage to the remains. Pascagoulawants to rebuild the waterfront withFEMA money and include the rebuiltRound Island Lighthouse in the plan.The base will be moved and rebuilt us-ing similar type of bricks to completethe project.

Friends of Oak IslandLighthouse in NC havemade arrangements tohave the lighthouseopen for tours twice aweek. Regular tourswill only go up to thesecond level. For thetrue lighthouse buff, anappointment can bemade and a climb tothe balcony gallery is

available—with a catch, a 100 step lad-der to the top. The Friends of Oak Is-land are responsible for the mainte-nance of the 155 cement tower sincethe town of Caswell Beach became thedeeded owners in 2004.

A little over a year after it was removed,the refurbished lantern room has beenplaced back on the Cape CanaveralLighthouse. The tower was completelyrefurbished—a first for the 113 year oldtower. Work was started after two hur-ricanes struck the area and the light-

house showed signs of deteriorating.This lighthouse is the only lighthouseoperated by the US Air Force. Based atCape Canaveral, the tower will beopened to the public in the future, AirForce officials said.

The Cockspur Light-house in the Savan-nah River was extin-guished in 1909 andwas relit in March ofthis year. The NationalPark Service put asolar powered deco-rative light in the toweron the night of March18. The tower was put

in service in 1857 when the south chan-nel was in use. Today, most ships usethe north channel, and bypass the light-house.

The Tongue PointLighthouse in Bridge-port, CT was taken offthe list of availablesurplus lighthousesthat the Coast Guardwas offering to thepublic. No group put infor tiny black light-house and the CoastGuard retained own-ership of the light. Thelighthouse is locatedon the grounds of twopower plants and

would cause a security risk to the powerplants.

THE RECIPE CORNERMarty Hudspeth

2 lbs, red skin potatoes, cooked2 sm. onions, chopped1 tsp celery seed½ lb. bacon (chop raw, then fry),reserve 2T bacon grease1 T flour2 T sugar (3 if needed)1 tsp. salt¼ tsp. pepper½ cup water1/3 cup vinegar

Slice or dice potatoes, quarter onions,then slice thin (real thin). Add celeryseed. Mix in bowl. Add cooked bacon ;mix gently.

German Potato SaladBetty J. Smith

SAUCE: In frying pan combine bacongrease, flour, sugar, salt and pepper. Inseparate saucepan, combine water andvinegar; bring to a boil. Slowly and care-fully add water and vinegar to sauce.Mix well. Pour over potatoes; mix wellwith wooden spoon. Make day of serv-ing; serve at room temperature, Do NotRefrigerate. Makes 6 servings.

The NJLHS cookbook is availablefrom Ways & Means. The cookbookincludes 150 recipes from NJLHSmembers, family & friends. $8.50ea.,S/H $3.00, ea. add. book $1.50.

The BeamPage 18

Answer to the flags on Page 16“New Jersey Lighthouse Society”

Tucker’s Island in its hayday

WHAT’S NEW IN WAYS & MEANS

Marty Hudspeth

Lighthouse at AtlantisContinued from Page 1

the light than ever did without it. In 1855,the lighthouse was fitted with a fourth-order Fresnel lens fabricated by HenryLepaute of Paris, displaying white andred flashes. But according to the 1855Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board,this was a temporary solution.

“When the first class light is lit atAbsecum, the Tucker’s Beach Light willbe unnecessary and inconvenient forpurposes of general navigation. Indeedit will be of small local importance, asvessels cannot safely enter Little EggHarbor at night. It will be quite sufficientto reduce it to a small harbor light, per-haps distinguished by a red or greencolor.” The board never had to make thisdecision. By the dawn of the Civil War,sand had built up between Long BeachIsland and Tucker’s Island. The old inletseparating the two islands was blocked.Tucker’s Island was now Tucker’s Beachand had joined to Long Beach Island,longshore drift made the lighthouse ob-solete as a marker for the old inlet.Absecon Lighthouse commenced op-eration in 1857, and two years later theTucker’s Beach Lighthouse was discon-tinued.

However, now that mariners andbaymen were used to the light of theFresnel lens, complaints resurfacedabout eliminating the navigational mark.

Rethinking its drastic move, the Light-house Board decided to reestablishTucker’s Beach Light. In 1867, withCongress approving funds for repairsand the relighting of the station, LittleEgg Harbor Lighthouse was recondi-tioned and Tucker’s Island Light becameoperational once again. Captain EberRider of Tuckerton was the first keeperassigned to the lighthouse after it wasreestablished. He served his role aslighthouse keeper from 1865 through

1904. His son, Arthur Rider, becamethe lighthouse keeper until the light-house washed away in 1927. But thelighthouse that was destroyed wasn’tthe one from 1848. A new lighthouseand keeper’s dwelling were built in1879, with the lantern room on the roofof the dwelling. The old tower was dis-assembled and converted into an oilstorage shed. The two-story lighthousewas erected with the tower integral tothe house, painted black and rising 50feet above sea level. The light sent abeam of six red flashes, followed byone short white flash and was visibletwelve miles out to sea. This wasTucker’s Island Lighthouse.

As the 1900s commenced, NewJersey’s Atlantis started to slip backunder the waves. On the night of Feb.4, 1920, a nor’easter blew so hard intothe Little Egg Harbor Inlet that the bayfilled to overflowing and could not dis-gorge its tides. When the raging snow-storm subsided, the tides cut a new in-let between Tucker’s Beach and BeachHaven. It also removed a 200-footstretch of beach east of lighthouse. Thebeginning of the end had come for ourlighthouse.

In 1924, an effort to stop the beach ero-sion that was occurring on Tucker’s Is-land—experts installed jetties. Theywere initially successful in halting theerosion, but the jetties worked so wellthat the currents of Beach Haven Inletbegan to wash in the other direction—toward Tucker’s Island. As the inletbegan to widen, the island then beganto erode very quickly. By 1927, justthree years after the jetties were in-stalled, waves and longshore driftwashed away most of the beach.

In February 1927, a storm did exten-sive damage to the dwelling’s founda-tion, causing it to lean toward the sea.The sea had eroded the sand awayfrom brick pilings of Tucker’s IslandLighthouse. By fall, surge tide watersurrounded the building during everystorm. In only three years, the light-house went from being a half mile awayfrom the breakers to sitting on the hightide mark. It finally fell to the sea, Oc-tober 12, 1927 because of a bad storm.Even with the weight of the structureand forty burlap bags filled with sandon the main floor, the lighthousecouldn’t endure the tension of the rag-ing ocean. Paul Rider captured thatmoment for us all.

The remains of the lighthouse wereburned on October 14 since it had be-come a hazard to anyone entering thebuilding. By 1940, shorebirds were theonly residents of the small patch of re-maining land. The entire island had dis-appeared by 1952. The effects of timeand tide have on the Jersey Shorestands testament on the ruins ofTucker’s Island Lighthouse. Someoneonce said “Man would build upon thecreations of the sea only to be devas-tated when those entities were calledback to the waters. Like a slow whirl-pool sucking everything into itself, thetimeless sea has no care whether some-thing is its own or of man. In the end, allthings are pulled back into the sea. Itspower is ultimate.”

Like the legendary Atlantis of myth,Tucker’s Island may yet be reborn. To-day, Beach Haven Inlet is slowly clos-ing and new shoals and sandbars arebuilding up at the south end of LongBeach Island to reform Tucker’s Beach.But the lighthouse, it will never return.Fortunately, we have TuckertonSeaport’s recreation to remind us ofwhat once stood.

I hope to have new shirts in time for theJune 30th meeting. I also have new light-house items: clocks, coasters, and pic-ture frames in two sizes. Ways & Meansnow has credit card capabilities for Mas-ter Card & Visa.

The Society Christmas ornament hasarrived and I hope everyone likes it aswell as I do—they will sell for $16.00each.

Thank you to Elinor Veit for the 12 signedcopies of her book “The Colors of theLighthouse” donated to the Society.

The Society Outreach season is here!We need everyone’s help and supportto make these endeavors profitable tothe Society. If you can lend a hand, seeAnthony Albence at the June meeting.

Hope to see you at the June meetingand have a great summer.

The Beam Page 19

Description & Item # if given Color/Size Quantity Postage Cost

Total postage

State Zip Phone ( ) Email

City

Address

Name

Make check payable to: NJLHS

Mail check & order form to:Email: njlhsways_means@verizon.net

Feel free to call or email for color/sizesand availability.

Total check

NJLHS T-ShirtHanes Beefy Tee’s

S-XL $15.00, 2X $17.00,3X $19.00 S/H $3.00 ea.

add. shirt $1.50Call for sizes & colors

NJLH Bookmarks

Visit the New Jersey Lighthouse Societyweb site to see many other items for sale

www.njlhs.org

Phone: 609-877-1393

#1(top),#2 (Bottom) $2.50 ea., S/H .41¢

(On taxable items, tax is included in the price stated.)

SUPPORT THE GOALS OF YOUR LIGHTHOUSE SOCIETY

New Jersey Lighthouse Society Order Form

Marty Hudspeth15 Petunia Lane

Willingboro, NJ 08046

80 Piece PuzzleAvailable: Absecon, Barnegat, Twin Lights & Hereford Inlet

Art work by Donna Elias $2.50 ea. S/H $2.00

Nail Files $2.00 ea.& S/H $.75

(the design doesn’t wear off)Assorted NJ lighthouses

Design on the front of a gray T-Shirtwith navy or maroon neck & sleevesor white with light blue or green neck

& sleeves. $20.00 ea. S/H $4.00,$2.50 ea. add.

Matt Laverty Artwork Shirts

Scramble Squares 3 puzzlechoices Great Lakes, OuterBanks or Mixed Lighthouses$8.00 ea $2.00 S/H ea. add

$1.00

Lighted Lighthouse#345

$38.00 & S/H &6.00

Lighthouse Candle Holderorder by #

15" #339 $24.00 & S/H $7.0014 ½” #340 $20.00 & S/H $7.0011½” #341 $16.00 & S/H $6.00

Tiffany-StyleLighthouse#343 $50.00

S/H $7.00

Lighthouse Clock(battery not included)

$16.00 S/H $5.00 Lighthouse Coaster Set#331 $12.00 S/H 5.00,#332 with Psalm 43.3

New Jersey Lighthouse SocietyThe BeamP. O. Box 332Navesink, NJ 07752-0332

PresortedFirst-Class Mail

U. S. Postage PaidEast Hanover, NJ

Permit No. 41

In This Issue * Calendar of Events * CommunityOutreach * From the Editor’s Desk *

In the Newspapers * LighthouseDetective * Lighthouse News From

Around the Country * MarylandChallenge Bus Trip * Membership *

NJ Lighthouse Challenge * NewLighthouse Postage Stamps * PhotoContest Winners & Report * Preser-

vation Issues Update * ProgramSignals * Recipe Corner * Thank

You * The Power Of Light–Part 2 *Tucker’s Island Lighthouse * Ways& Means * West Coast Road Trip *

Who’s Who in NJLHS * WordSearch Puzzle *

DEADLINE FOR THE SEPTEMBERISSUE IS AUGUST 11th