Connie, My Husband Ken and Myself.On Meeting Connie Small ----
Well, I am sure that read the thread about the Holiday welcome that we had at the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse on the 20th. Well, I had made a Christmas card for Connie Small and we asked everyone who visited the Open House that day to sign it for her. We got dozens of signatures and well wishes. I then took some of the photos of the day and put them in the card. Jeremy D'Entremont was nice enough to arrange a meeting with her so that we could present her with the card. What a treat it was! To go and see her on Christmas Eve! Well, she was just as amazing in person as she is in books or on tv. She was quick with the stories about her lighthouse experiences. She really is a person with rare qualities and a wonderful slant on things. She showed us this rock she found in Lubec that had these intricate markings on them and she showed us all the different ways to look at this "painted rock" and find various images and pictures. And it was fascinating to hear her talk about the simple things that she collected, it really showed that she had an artist's eye. Then of course her lighthouse stories were just a delight to listen to. She told a story about kittens that lived underneath mines at Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse, and their daily visit to her doorstep. She spoke of the thrill it was to be up in the tower of the lighthouse watching a little matchstick slowly come up on the horizon and watch it turn into a boat. She talked about the sad day she left the Portsmouth Harbor Light Station and how emotional it was. She talked about how important it is to pass the simple joys and history of lighthouses to future generations, too.
It was a truly wonderful experience meeting her, and I was happy to tell her what an inspiration she is to me, and how she is a legend in the Lighthouse world. Thanks again to Jeremy for making this possible.
Connie Small is an amazing person at her age to still have such good recall of her lighthouse experiences.