Being a member of an HL club often gets you lighthouse experiences that you can't get as an individual lighthouse enthusiast. An example of this will occur on our club Outing June 4-6. The Portland Head Light and Spring Point Light foundations are opening up the lighthouses especially for our group to see the interiors and climb up to the top, with hopefully some good views of the coastline, if it is a clear day. It is very rare for anyone to be able to go into these lights; and it has come about because we are a group of serious lighthouse enthusiasts who are working to preserve lighthouses in general through education of the public and eventual public fund raising. I congratulate all HL clubs throughout the US who are working towards this same goal. If you are an HL collector out there, why not join your local lighthouse club, or start one if none is available, and contribute your time and talents towards educating the public to treasure and preserve the lighthouses in general, or in your area if you have lights. If you start a club, remember to register it not only with John Chidester for the club register page; but also list it here on the Club News section for everyone to see.

Barbara, chairperson
New England Lighthouse Lovers
formerly NE Harbour Lights Club
(name changed due to non-profit filing restrictions on using previously trademarked names.)

Mary Jane and I did climb Portland Head Lighthouse with the New England Lighthouse Lovers (NELL). Thank you Barbara for working so hard to plan a terrific outing.

When we got to the top of Portland Head my new digital camera decided not to work. I thought that it was the batteries, so I headed back down the tower to the parked car and replaced them with another set (which should have been in my pocket to begin with). I started back to the tower and noticed that the camera still wasn't functioning correctly, so back to the car I went.

This time I grabbed the trusty old 35mm with film and headed back for the tower. After the second climb I took pictures with the 35mm and the digital (which decided it was going to cooperate after all).

We also climbed Spring Point Ledge Light during this outing, took a boat cruise around the harbor (seeing four lighthouses by boat), enjoyed slide presentations by Rusty Nelson (head of the efforts to save Spring Point Ledge Light), and ate wonderful Maine seafood, all in the company of lighthouse lovers like ourselves.

If you are interested in lighthouses you should consider joining NELL. There are some wonderful people who already did and who are having a great time trying to make a difference.

Ron
(CT Keeper)

Great trip.
Great club!
Great members!
Great time!
Great climbs!
Extraordinary planning and leadership!
Thank you
Barbara and Henry Hupp
and everyone else that made this a memorable
trip for Mary Ann and me.


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Long Island BOB





[This message has been edited by rscroope (edited 06-15-99).]