Where are the Fog Bells?
By Tim Harrison

One of the undocumented parts of lighthouse history is the location of the fog bells that were once used at lighthouses.

While some remain on display at the lighthouses they were made for, many more are scattered across the country at Coast Guard bases, town halls, historical societies, schools and libraries.

Out of the hundreds of times I been to West Quoddy Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine I've never noticed the fog bell in the parking lot of the Lubec Historical Society. Recently, on returning from a visit to West Quoddy I caught a glimpse of a fog bell out of the corner of my eye and immediately turned the car around to find out a little more.


What I found out is the bell was dedicated in a ceremony on July 4, 1978 at the Historical Society and it said it was the "Old Channel Fog Bell." The bell has the words U. S. Lighthouse Establishment on it with a date of 1890. On the reverse side it indicates it was made in Boston, MA in 1890. I'm assuming that the bell was once on the nearby Lubec Channel Lighthouse.

However this leads me to a project that would be fun for all of our readers to get involved in. Send us a photograph of a fog bell and as much information as you can about it. We would need to know:

The current location where the fog bell is displayed

The inscriptions on the fog bell and the year

The size of the fog bell

It would also be helpful if you can find out where the fog bell was originally used.

We will establish a national database with the photographs of the fog bells and their locations, plus we'll publish as many photographs as we can that are submitted to us.

Okay folks, the rest is up to you. Start submitting those fog bell photographs. Send to:
Tim Harrison, Lighthouse Digest, P.O. Box 1690, Wells, ME 04090. Photos can also be emailed provided they are on a JPEG file 300dpi or better at Timh@LHDigest.com.

Paul, thanks for printing Tim's request!

Some photos and locations have already been posted in response to this at Lighthousing.net.

Judy

Thanks, Judy!

I hope some members of the forums will send Tim some pictures and info on the location of the fog bells! It would be a shame for all of this history to be lost forever! It is just as important to save lighthouse artifacts and info about the keepers and their families as it is to save the lights themselves!

All my best,
Paul Conlin
Acting Secretary,
ALF

You're welcome, Paul!

It's mighty important to preserve as much as we can, the artifacts and the history. And it's important that we get all the stories down from the remaining children & grandchildren of the keepers.

John Gaskill, a son of a keeper at Bodie Island Lighthouse is one of these wonderful folks who is keen on relating this information, and he plans to again be on the back porch at Bodie next June to do just that!

Talking with him is like walking down the path of history hand in hand.

Sorry...I got off your subject a bit.

Judy

:rolleyes: ..........and you Judy - the let's stick to the topic lady! Just kidding!

I know just what you mean about John Gaskill and walking down the path of history hand in hand - I get the same feeling when talking with Connie Small - "the First Lady of the Lights"! Every time she speaks it is like reading from a history book. So much to share!

Best,
Paul

Gee Paul...could you be referring to a post I made on another board?

Yes...all kidding aside, we've got to work to preserve & record the history of our lights.

Judy

That's good news about John Gaskill planning to be back at Bodie this year!

The request for info on the fog bells is in the December issue of LHD. Mine arrived yesterday. I have some photos of some fog bells. I didn't measure them but could probably find out the requested info with a phone call. In order to avoid duplicated efforts, do you know if the fog bell data is going to be posted on the LHD's website as it's received, Paul?

I have photos of Piney Point...only problem is you have an 11year old and a 6 year old banging it with the provided hammer... :rolleyes:

The info about the Fog Bells will be posted to the American Lighthouse Foundation website, probably every ten days or so. Check out the site: http://www.lighthousefoundation.org/

All my best,
Paul Conlin