I just got an email from Tim Harrison of the American Lighthouse Foundation.
HELP RESTORE WOOD ISLAND LIGHT
If you have an interest in preserving Wood Island Light, please join us at the Biddeford Pool Fire Barn, Biddeford Pool, Maine on Saturday, April 5, 2003. The American Lighthouse Foundation (“ALF”) will hold an organizational meeting with interested community residents to form the “Friends of Wood Island Light” Chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation. The meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. Here is the background.
As many of you know, Wood Island Light has been leased to the Foundation by the Coast Guard under a national program to turn over the preservation and public use of these national historic places to public interest groups. Two of the primary conditions of the lease are, first, that the Lighthouse be restored and maintained to preserve it, and second, that it be put to educational, research or recreational uses.
ALF has extensive experience with the restoration and operation of lighthouses under the Coast Guard’s program. They currently are responsible for 14 lighthouses in New England and around the country. They try to work closely with the community in taking on a new lighthouse property and one way of doing so is through the formation of a chapter of the ALF, usually styled as a “Friends” of the lighthouse organization.
A number of area residents attended an informational meeting with the ALF in February to discuss how a Friends of Wood Island Light chapter might operate. At that juncture, there had been expressions of interest by existing community groups that they might themselves lease the lighthouse and assume responsibility for its restoration and operation. Those who were at that meeting came to the conclusion that the ALF Friends Chapter had many advantages over any other organization’s interest or ability to take on the task.
This meeting will be for the purpose of forming the Chapter, electing officers and creating a structure for it to move ahead with the restoration. Topics for discussion will include the following topics and the possible formation of committees take responsibility:
Membership,
Fundraising,
Public Relations and Government Relations
Lighthouse Historical Research,
Architectural Research and Restoration Design,
Construction/Restoration and
Operation Use - Education, Research, and Recreation.
If you have talents or interests in any of these areas, your involvement will be not just welcome, but needed.
The preservation of this piece of Maine’s heritage is a goal that has been talked about for years. With the ALF’s lease, there is now a sensible framework for it to become a reality and for this lighthouse to return to its rightful place as one of Coastal Biddeford’s most important sites of natural beauty and history.
If you can attend, please come.
If you cannot attend but would like more information or to become involved, please call or send an e-mail to: Brad Coupe, Tel: 207-284-1273; e-mail: bcoupe@maine.rr.com or Tim Harrison, President, American Lighthouse Foundation, Tel: 207-646-0245; e-mail: timh@lhdigest.com.
