Your First Purchase

For those who own more than 10 HL models - was your very first purchase a GLOW?

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/im

nope: Highland LE

There weren't any GLOW'S when I purchased my first HL. I believe (I may be wrong here) that the first GLOW was Cape Hatteras in 1994. So in order to have purchased a GLOW as your first purchase one would have had to start collecting sometime in 1994. Collectors for the first three years could not buy a GLOW and then only had one to choose from in the fourth year.


"TheLightkeeper"

Actually the first HL piece I saw was a GLOW and I wanted that one immediately. It was Alcatraz.

My actual first purchased piece was Roosevelt Island simply because it was much less expensive and I had to save for the GLOW. If it wasn't for the GLOW Alcatraz, I probably would not be a collector today. I still think it is one of the top 3 pieces as far as detail and beauty.

Joanne

I bought 6 pieces in my first Habour Lights purchase in July 1996. 5 of the 6 were GLOWs.

Well they were GLOWs at that time, anyway. I bought a Stamp Set and Tawas Point MI. I didn't know and didn't care whether they were limited or numbered. I liked the detail and size.

When they arrived in Arizona on my return from Michigan, I bought several more ["I'll just collect the Great Lakes ones."] They were limiteds (no GLOWS then of Great Lakes lighthouses).

I blame Jim Rutherford for my headlong rush into buying more limiteds ["While I could still find them at retail."] Then dove into the secondary market ["Better get those before they get REAL expensive."]

Jim's "Harbour Lights Survival Guide" still has that ability to turn casual buyers into addicted collectors. He should get Royalties from Harbour Lights.

[This message has been edited by JChidester (edited 11-16-99).]

No, our first purchase was the Thomas Point
Limited Edition. I liked the screwpile architecture so my wife got it for me as a 1st wedding anniversary gift.

Yes Tim, it was a GLOW Ponce and I didn't know the difference at the time. But it did bring me to 93 LE's, about 18 more "special" pieces (event, Christmas, Reunion, Member, etc.) and another 6 or 8 GLOWs. So for some of us, the GLOWs do draw us in to the others.
Jim
Johnson

PS-not to mention finding friends who can show us how to make those neat signatures

No My first purchase was Alcatraz LE back in 1996. It had just retired. Have been going strong since. I think the first glow I bought was Cape Hatteras.
Hal

My 1st was a LE, Barnegat - But I bet you guys knew that!
George

My first purchase was the LE Alcatraz in 1996. I have all the LE except one. I bet everyone can guess the one I am missing! I'm sure you all know what is now my first GLOW. Just picked up Coquille River last week. For the price, it is awesome looking.

My first purchase was Southeast Block Island, followed by Brant Point, Castle Hill, Beavertail, and so on. I don't think I even knew what a Glow was back then. I did buy the Stamp Series in the fall of '97 so I picked up a couple there. I think maybe the Cape Hatteras Glow was the first OE I actually bought as a Glow that same fall.

Bob

My first was Block Island SE. I've never purchased a GLOW.

My first one was the Canaveral LE, as a Christmas present. My second was Wind Point LE, bought for me the following Christmas as a present. OK, so I wasn't getting into it yet. Then I was given the Alcatraz GLOW for my birthday. That one did it to me! I went out and bout 8 more shortly after that!

>>5 of the 6 were GLOWs. Well they were GLOWs at that time, anyway. I bought a Stamp Set and Tawas Point MI. <<

HL originally tried offering the Stamp Set as Open Edition models - three of its members had not been previously issued as LEs. (Spectacle Reef, 30 Mile Point, and St. Joseph N Pier) At that time, the collecting community raised a large fuss and HL retracted. HL said they would not issue any Open Editions for which a Limited Edition had not already been offered and retired. They also turned the 3 Stamp Set OE pieces which had never been issued into LEs. Split Rock and Marblehead in the stamp set did have previous issuance as LEs so they remained OEs. This concludes our history lesson for today.

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/im

My first HL was Cana Island, but it was a gift so that doesn't count. My first purchase was indeed a GLOW. Old Mackinac Point. We were vacationing there and I noticed the piece in a gift shop. It looked so much like the real thing thatI just had to have it. Then when I got home the frenzy erupted and I just had to buy one after the other (no more glows though). So I guess you can say that it was a GLOW that sparked my interest in HL's.


Digger

Our first HL was Yaquina Bay, anniversary gift from my husband. The first one I bought was Highland Light a month later(10/98) because I vacation near it every year, it was retired and I wanted it and wasn't sure at that point how long retired pieces were available. Only have two GLOWs(Stamp Series).
Starts as a trickle and soon becomes a FLOOD.

Donna

Digger, since that Cana Island doesn't count, why don't you donate it to the Door County Maritime museum. :-)

My first HL purchase was Pemaquid Point, quickly followed by Saugerties. I didn't even know thee were GLOWS at that time.

Barb

My first HL was Bald Head (it was a gift). The first purchase was the LE of Assateague.

My first HL wasn't a GLOW, but only by accident. I bought Fire Island, since my family had a summer home there for years. It was one of the GLOWs that had never been an LE, so they turned it back into an LE. Since, I have bought many more!

Dixie

Nope, no GLOW here for the first purchase. The first one was Jupiter, FL. The first GLOW didn't come until 87 LE purchases. I got a Tybee GLOW to go with the LE.

-Todd

My first purchase was LE Cape Canaveral in Aug. 1997. No GLOWs here & I'm well over 130 pieces.


Richard Weaver
One of the Smoky Mtn. Flame Keepers

My first was a GLOW, Thomas Point.

My first purchase was Currituck LE and Society membership. I didn't know at the time, but my wife Sue was purchasing Hatteras OE, Bodie Island LE & Lookout LE for my birthday and Christmas presents at the same exact time in the Lighthouse Gallery & Gifts store on the Outer Banks.
I guess that could mean it was my second lighthouse or Sue's first or it could have been Sue's third and my fourth or I guess it could have been my third or Sue's second, but then I did buy the Society kit which included the gift of the 4 original spyglass series, so is that considered a single purchase and I add one or is that four lighthouses purchased or since it was a gift from Harbour Lights it doesn't count in the total.

Short answer: Cape Hatteras OE was my second lighthouse because I had it down to a choice of either buying the Currituck first or the Cape Hatteras OE first. Or............

SaintWackoPaul '
Keep the Flame

Cape Blanco, OR and the rest of the available Malaysian-made Oregon pieces back in early 1995 before I knew what GLOW's were and what the differences between countries meant...I have since totally lost it and acquired a Coquille.

Yes my first purchase was a GLOW, Nubble Light. Think initially I was suffering from "sticker shock" and wanted to get the most for my money. Then when I.O. was in Florida last year I went back and scarfed up a whole bunch of LE's, trying not to think about the amount of money I was spending and what else I could be doing with it!

My first was Beavertail back in August of 1997. I've tried to stick to just New England, but you all know how that goes. I do have a few glows and I think they're great. Hopefully some day I'll have at least all of the New England LE's (Only 4 to go) How about that!

My first purchase was a matched flag number Stamp Set, so it was a combination OE/LE deal.

Dave

My first HL was Old Point Loma, I bought it in March of 1994.

My first purchase consisted of two pieces - Edgartown event piece and Boston Harbor GLOW.
Both are home state lights hence the attraction.


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Ken T

Our first purchase was Sunken Rock in 1996. That was quickly followed by the LE's of Marblehead and Split Rock.

Tom & Diane

My first purchase was a LE Key West in 1993 followed shortly by an Ocracoke. I started first with the idea of collecting only those I visited but now the plan has been twisted around to me trying to visit all the lighthouses I've collected
I have not purchased any true GLOWs...like others who have been collecting for awhile, I did buy a Cape Lookout and original Alcatraz before they were designated "limited". When the GLOW line began in earnest, I made the decision to stick with collecting just the LE pieces.

Doc John

Uh-uh. . .it was Mukilteo LE. We "innocents" didn't even know HL's were collectibles at that time in Fall of '96. Early on in collecting, though, we decided to buy what we liked - the LE/GLOW thing is not an issue to us. LE's = 88 GLOW's = 22 Society's = 13

Seattle Sailors

Quite by accident, yes; my first was a GLOW. I was looking to add a little bit of ambiance to my office, and began looking for a replica of the Point Loma lighthouse. The best I found was of course the HL GLOW. Since then I have added about 24 more, some of those GLOW's. I buy what I like to look at every day, and these includes GLOW's, as well as Society pieces, LE's etc.

First was Scituate LE, mostly because of frequent visits to the real one. Probably would have bought it first even if it were a GLOW. Since then, I've bought LE's, Society Editions, a couple Anchor Bay lightships, and just recently, a couple GLOWS: Portland Head (revised) and Sandy Hook. My "want list" includes other GLOWS as well as LE's.

Bruce

My first HL was Currituck Beach, NC. I ordered it when Bill made an appearance at the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, Va. It was the first Harbour Lights piece I had looked at and was immediately impressed with the quality and detail. Needless to say, I am hooked.

My first HL was the LE Old Point Loma. I saw it in a shop in Clarksville, TN. I thought it would be nice to have as a reminder of my visit there. Hatteras OE and Alcatraz LE were the next two...Then I realized that HL company existed and my money began to be shared with my dealer and HL.

Derith

Yes my first was a GLOW. It's Sea Pines. i was in Hilton Head earlier this year and was surfing the web and found it for sale on a site and bought it. I now have a varied collection- LE, Soc, Event, Ornaments, Redemption and GLOW's. I also started by buying LH's I had visited and it just mushroomed. I have over 50 already. Dennis

Our first Harbour Lights piece was an Old Point Loma LE. This was a gift to my wife for Christmas in 1995. It wasn't until the next Christmas, that we purchased 2 more LE's, Alcatraz and St. George's Reef. After that 3 more for her birthday in Feb. of 97. That's when we were hooked on Harbour Lights and all of the LE's, GLOW's, Society pieces and such became fair game.

Foggy






[This message has been edited by 1 Foghorn (edited 11-29-99).]

My first purchase was in 1994. I had been scoping out lihgthouse figurines for about 2-3 weeks prior to visiting this particular store. At the time I wasn't totally sold on collecting Harbour Lights at all... Lefton's had temporarily caught my eye with their luminated towers. Anyway, I was in this store gazing endlessly into the cabinet which housed the Harbour Lights collection when someone from behind me spoke, apparently to anyone listening, "Have you made your decision yet?", he asked. He was talking to me and I replied "No, I'm still not sure between Harbour Lights or Lefton's..."
He proceeded to give me the details of Harbour Lights and their value as a collectible, which really didn't mean much to me, I personally just love lighthouses.
Anyway, to make a longer story not so long, I was influenced to purchase Harbour Lights and chose "Thirty Mile Point" as my first piece.
Since then I have been collecting, just trying to keep up with all the pieces Harbour Lights produces.
It is fun though, isn't it?

My first HL purchase was not an le. In 1993 I was doing the west coast lighthouse drive with my parents. We stayed a night in Bandon, Or., right in view of Coquille River. The next day as we were getting ready to continue our excursion, I went to the Station Gift Shop for a souveneir. I know all of you will get a big kick out of this, but anyway...I saw the HL models, and out of all of them I thought that the Coquille River piece looked the most like the actual light, so I bought it only to find out 1 1/2 years later that it was made improperly and missing 2 sides. I obviously had the same problem that HL did, because I had done the entire walk around of the light and still did'nt notice that my piece had 2 less sides.

The first HL I bought was St. Augustine back in '95. Bought it, ironically enough, in St Augustine since we live not too far away. Didn't know a thing about the HL line at the time.

My first was Marblehead LE about 2 years ago- I had visited it many times. Didnt know what HL's were. Nothing but LEs since. Easy

Yes, my first was Old Point Loma. I had visited there while a San Diego resident and was looking for a scale model. I happened across a HL merchant on the internet. After that I began to get more and more interested in HL's and began collecting. I now have approximately 30. The latest was also an 'A' prefix - Coquille River - that 'Santa' brought. I buy GLOWS as readily as LE's just because I love looking at them! End of story.

Yes. Thomas point Glow signature series.

No, We (now that I'm married) first bought Bald Head, NC., Then we join the society and got Stonington Harbor, Ct
-----------THE R---------

The first one was a gift (30 Mile Point). Then I went and bought Marblehead.

I now have 11. (& one on order)

My first purchase was of 2 Hillsboro's.

I knew very little about HL and was getting a Hillsboro for a work associate as a wedding gift. The retailer took it to the back to get the box and instead she came back with an unopened one in another box saying she didn't realize she had two. I then decided to stop procrastinating and kick off my collection and I told her I would take both of them!

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JB




[This message has been edited by JUL (edited 01-07-2000).]

My first purchase was Sand Island. I had been collecting the Danbury mint Great American Lighthouse Series and they didn't have Sand Island. I purchased it in 12/92. My second was Minot's Ledge. After that I bought them so fast I lost count.

My first HL purchase was the Portland Head GLOW. My son bought me a Cat's Meow Portland Head and I didn't know what to do with it, so when I saw that GLOW, I figured it would be neat to put in front of the Cat's Meow. That was about 130 HL's ago.