During our recent jaunt to Door County Wisconsin for the 7th Annual Lighthouse Walk, we attended a meeting of the Harbour Lights Collectors Club, Great Lakes District. BY was in attendance for the club meeting, and he also gave a talk at the
Door County Maritime Museum . HL donated several models to the club which were given out to attendees through a ticket drawing. A complete set of LLOM was donated for use in a club raffle in support of the club's lighthouse restoration efforts.
Harbour Lights once again demonstrated their generosity and support for all things lighthousey by donating
a complete set of Harbour Lights models to the Museum. No strings attached. The museum curators were stunned - having no advance knowledge of the gift. Kudos to Bill and HL for this wonderful gesture of support for a great museum.
We also heard two speakers, one was the son of a Great Lakes lighthouse keeper, the other who's father rescued the Dunlap Reef light by purchasing it from the gov't. and moving it to a safe spot in the town of Sturgeon Bay. Each of these speakers received a gift model from BY.
Cruise Director Shorkey also got a nice tip 'o the hat for his recent generosity.
Jim Johnston (KeeperJJ) and I had a chance to chat with Bill later in the evening. Among the tidbits we gleaned is the fact that SOL is the biggest seller of all time for HL. Obviously a smart business decision on their part.
Another piece of HL arcana that came to light - the LLOM series has a variation, albeit an odd one. Owners of these small models will note the name of the series and model is printed or stamped directly on the bottom of each piece. It turns out the ink used on the earliest production runs didn't adhere well and smeared easily. To deal with this, HL covered the bottom of these with a thin clear plastic like covering. Subsequently they changed the ink and the models no longer required the protective covering. So you can tell if you have the earliest original LLOM pieces by the clear cover on the bottom. (Don't remove it - the ink may come off!)
Reunion info? Of course we had to ask. According to BY, as of this time no decision has been made. They are still looking at venues and the Great Lakes is still in the running - both Green Bay and Traverse City were mentioned as possibilities. Bill acknowledged the issue is one of finding accomodations for 1,000 people - apparently that's their target number. According to KeeperJJ new convention facilities that can handle that size of group are under construction in Green Bay and should be ready by Fall 2001.
The weather was perfect for our 6 hour boat trip that took us to see the oldest of Door County's lights - the Pottawatomie lighthouse on Rock Island. We also tooled out into Lake Michigan for up close views of the obscure lights on Saint Martin's Island and Poverty Island. Then through the Port de Mortes to see the lights at Plum and Pilot islands. (I'll have some snapshots in a few days).
Btw, there will an HL Regional Event in Milwaukee on July 16th. Y'all come!
Rgds,
__
/im (P.S. - the LLOM aren't numbered, but the large shipping boxes which hold complete sets are.)
[This message has been edited by JTimothyA (edited 05-28-2000).]
