The New England Harbour Lights Club held its second meeting on Sat. April 24 in Groton, CT; and one of its actions was to change its name, out of necessity, to The New England Lighthouse Lovers (see previous posting explaining why).
The chairman of the CT planning committee, Ron Foster, made an inspired decision when he chose the U of CT at Avery Point as the place to meet. It was previously a huge estate, and the owner had built a memorial tower to honor all lighthouse keepers. During WW II, the Coast Guard took over the property and bulldozed the lovely gardens into the ocean. The tower has suffered from neglect ever since, until today it is in really bad shape. The property passed to the state, and today the mansion and ex-Coast Guard buildings house classrooms, two of which we were able to use, in exchange for making a donation to the U which will go towards the restoration project of this one-of-a-kind memorial. (See additional information on preceding posting). From Avery Point, 4 or 5 lighthouses can be seen out in the harbor. Can you think of a more inspiring location to hold a meeting of a lighthouse club, which is striving to raise funds to donate to lighthouse restoration projects?
Our club has grown in leaps and bounds, from 30 in early Nov. to a current 63 members, many of them new members joining at the meeting. A good promotional effort on the part of CT member Penny Patch and her colorful posters; and the many invitations sent out by Membership Chairman Valerie Patnaude, resulted in this large response. Ron's selection of a well-known lighthouse book author, Elinor de Wire, to speak that day also contributed to many attending. Elinor gave a tremendous talk and slide program, which couldn't help but motivate us to want to learn more about our maritime heritage and think of ways to help save the sites. Elinor gave us a compliment by turning around and joining the club!
Money was raised from several raffles, thanks to the generosity of dealers and friends in donating items; and many door prizes were awarded. There were many colorful display boards on lighthouses in general, Harbour Lights specifically, and Portland's opportunities for our trip. A new member, Tom Moriarty, walking in that day to join, treated us to a display of several of his photographs of CT lights.
Our club is made up mainly of Harbour Lights collectors; but there are a few members who collect other brands. Herb Carpenter, Ron Foster, Penny Patch, and new member Paul Juneau each brought in the same named lighthouses, but by different artists, so that we could see differences in artistic interpretation, and each discussed their particular brand.
Besides good educational programs and speakers, one of the best ways to learn about lighthouses and other maritime sites, is to go visit them; and this is the core of location selection for both business meetings and Outings, as we rotate from state to state, being a 6 state club. This Oct. we will have a 3 day Outing and meeting in Portsmouth, NH, with probable cruise and visits to several lighthouses. The spring Outing of 2000 will see us sailing off to Block Island to see its 2 lights. Oct. 2000 has been scheduled for Columbus Day weekend for Burlington, VT and the Shelburne Museum, now home of Colchester Reef Light. And spring 200l the Outing will be on Cape Cod, to take advantage of the Maritime Week when all of the lighthouses are open for tours and special lighthouse cruises are available.
So---- if you are reading this and you live in New England and love lighthouses, how about becoming a lover along with us --- a New England Lighthouse Lover that is! Contact our membership chairman, Valerie Patnaude at
Patnaude@worldnet.att.net for more details on how to join the club; and look us up also on our club website
www.lighthouse.cc/neharbourlights Our webpage sponsor is Jeremy D'Entremont, who has gorgeous lighthouse photography and fascinating history to go with it. He now has a wonderful CD ROM for sale on Maine Lighthouses. Check him out also please at
www.lighthouse.cc MEMBERSHIP SALE: Because our club's fiscal year is now half over, we have lowered the dues until the end of Oct. to $10 for one adult (age 2l and over); and $15 for two adults living at the same address. Members benefit by getting lower rates for Outings. Support lighthouses ---- join the club ----and help Keep the Flame burning.
Barbara Hupp, Chairperson
The New England Lighthouse Lovers
previous name, The New England Harbour Lights Club.
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[This message has been edited by JChidester (edited 04-28-99).]
