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                                             A BRIGHT LIGHT PASSES ON

CWO Kenneth Black (USCG Retired) passed away peacefully on Sunday, January 28, 2007, at the age of 83. Known fondly as “Mr. Lighthouse,” Ken began his lighthouse preservation efforts in the 1960s when he realized that many lighthouse artifacts were being discarded as automation changed the way that lighthouses had been operating since the late 1700s. Ken’s first exhibit was at the base of Boston Harbor Light, and that 1960s exhibit is still there today. His next maritime exhibit was at the Rockland Coast Guard Station, where he was the Commanding Officer, his last Command. At the time he retired, he was the official curator of the First Coast Guard District. When the collection outgrew its quarters, it was moved to the Shore Village Museum in Rockland, where it stayed until 2005, when the gigantic collection was moved by experts, assisted by many volunteers, to the new Maine Lighthouse Museum on One Park Drive in Rockland. 

Ken wrote and published the first national lighthouse newsletter and always ended each issue with a handwritten note saying, “Be Neighborly.” He coined phrase, “Lighthouses are like people; they come in many different sizes, shapes, and colors.” He made this phrase famous through his popular slide show, presented more than a thousand times, always promoting the importance of lighthouse preservation.

For 30 years after retirement, Ken traveled around New England searching out artifacts; people heard of his efforts and stepped forward and donated other artifacts. He left behind the largest single collection of lenses and other maritime artifacts. This collection was recently combined with the collection of the American Lighthouse Foundation at the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland.

His wife, Dot Black, totally supported Ken’s preservation efforts. Ken was proud of Dot in many ways, in particular that she serves as the President and guiding light of the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse.

150th ANNIVERSARY OF SEGUIN’S LENS

When the new granite tower was erected in 1857, it was crowned with brightest light on the Coast of Maine. Seguin’s majestic First Order Fresnel Lens, crafted and shipped from France, in situ is the only continuously shining First Order north of Norfolk, Virginia.

In September, the Friends of Seguin Island will have a display at Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland that featuring the lens 150 years of operation. If you wish to volunteer to assist with this display, please contact Museum/Education Committee Chair Ken Young at 442-8519.

On Sunday, September 16, 2007 there will be a lively presentation by the Friends of Seguin Island featuring the lens restoration of 2007 (see article below). The talk will begin at 1 p.m. with questions and refreshments following. At 3 p.m. participants are granted complimentary entrance to the Maine Lighthouse Museum.

A NEW BRIGHT LIGHT ON THE HORIZON THIS SUMMER

In June 2006, the USCG awarded the Seguin Island lens restoration contract to the Lighthouse Lamp Shop, Inc., owned by retired Chief Warrant Officer Joe Cocking. The primary subcontractor was Nick Johnston, owner of Carolina Lighthouse Lens Work. Both men completed the majority of work during July 2006 (see the Fall 2006 newsletter) and then subcontracted with a company from Baltimore, MD, to assist with the prism-replication process. A representative of this company spent a full day and a half to perform the necessary measurements of the central Dioptric prisms that make up the central focal plane of the lens.

In April 2007, Joe reported, “Things are going very well and replacement lens elements should be completed by June 1, meaning we’ll have them installed shortly afterward; hopefully the weather will cooperate.” He went on to say that he is “quite excited to know that the measurement process selected worked perfectly--it’s very exciting to know that this capability exists for future projects.” Joe called it “a very non-intrusive method of performing delicate work without exposing the object to any sort of endangerment.” 

MORTON-KELLEY CHARITABLE TRUST AWARDS GRANT

In December 2006, the Morton Kelley Charitable Trust awarded a $5,000 grant to the Friends of Seguin Island to assist with “operating costs of the restoration, preservation, and maintenance for the boat ways and the Light Station.” This grant is very welcome and the primary focus at this time is to help stabilize the areas at the bottom of the island, including the boat ways and walkway along the side, plus the supports of the boathouse. A spring inspection will determine final priorities of the work needed.

SEGUIN 2007 CARETAKERS

This year’s caretakers are no strangers to Seguin Island. Kate Power, Cyndy Carney, and Carney Hamilton have been volunteers on the island for at least 10 years. They have painted, mowed, spackled, hauled trash, helped open and close the island, and much more. Cyndy has served on the Board of Directors for the last two years and most recently served as the Board President. When not working for Seguin, Cyndy works for Coastal Enterprises, Inc., as the Housing Technical Assistance Coordinator. This spring, Kate Power graduates with a major in Journalism from St. Michael’s College in Vermont. Carney Hamilton is finishing her junior year at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, ME. She has a passion for photography and will be providing lots of great shots of their life on the island. There is no doubt these keepers have a long-time commitment to Friends of Seguin. They look forward to sharing their passion for Seguin with everyone this summer and hope to see you on island. Check in on marine channel 78 or call the caretakers this summer at 837-7279 between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

ENJOY SEGUIN

There are many points of interest when visiting Seguin. Tours of the lighthouse and museum are offered by Seguin’s summer caretakers. Or, if you want to go off on your own, there are five trails of varying length and difficulty to explore. Bring a picnic and enjoy the scenic view. If it’s a really clear day, you can see from Monhegan Island to Mt. Washington. And last but not least, visit our Seguin gift shop, which has a variety of Seguin memorabilia for sale. The best time to visit is from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Tuesday. Wednesdays are often the caretakers’ day ashore for groceries and mail.

CHARTER SERVICES TO SEGUIN

The first two charter services listed below offer regularly scheduled trips to Seguin. Also listed are others who offer individual charters for up to six passengers. All services include a $5 usage fee to help support the preservation of the Seguin Island Light Station. This fee is waived for members of the Friends of Seguin Island.

Please be aware that getting on the island entails disembarking on a rocky beach and that the climb to the top is more than a quarter-mile of steep trail. One of the five trails is a lower one to Cobblestone Beach. The only restroom facility is at the bottom of the island, so plan accordingly.

Atlantic Seal, Captain Tom Ring has been running trips to Seguin from Freeport for several years on his vessel, the Atlantic Seal, out of South Freeport on Thursdays, beginning mid-June through August 31. Captain Ring’s boat comfortably holds 28 people. Check-in time is 9:45 a.m. and the boat leaves at 10 a.m. There is a 2-hour stop on Seguin and then the boat returns to South Freeport at 4 p.m. The price is $50 for adults and $35 for children over two years of age. The Atlantic Seal will also offer a special cruise from Fort Popham on the day of Seguin’s Annual Meeting, July 21, at 10:15 a.m. If there is sufficient demand, another trip will leave Popham at 11:45 a.m. For further details, call Atlantic Seal at (207) 865-6112 or (877) 285-7325.

Fish ‘n’ Trips, Captain Ethan DeBery will be offering regular trips from Popham to Seguin this summer. Ethan grew up at the mouth of the Kennebec River and has more than 15 years experience lobstering and fishing these waters. He is very knowledgeable about the local scenery, history, flora, and fauna. He holds a U.S. Coast Guard Master Captain’s license and is a registered Maine Guide.  Fish ‘n’ Trips will offer frequent trips from Fort Popham to Seguin Island every Sunday (weather and tides permitting) at $30 for adults and $20 for children. Fish ’n’ Trips can accommodate six passengers. For more information, contact Ethan at 841-7977 or on the web at fishntripsmaine.com.

Mid Maine Water Taxi, Captain Gregg Clemens of Georgetown offers chartered trips on Sea-Wife, at an hourly rate for a maximum of six passengers, reservations required. For more information, call 371-2288 or email clemhand@aol.com.

Maine Maritime Museum will offer scheduled trips to Seguin this summer; however, the schedule was not confirmed at press time. For further information, call 443-1316.

ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR HIRED

In early February, the Board of Directors hired Connie Burt as the new part-time Administrative Coordinator for Friends of Seguin Island. She is working at the FOS office Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Connie most recently was the Office Manager/Bookkeeper for Habitat for Humanity /7 Rivers Maine, a position she held for five years, and is still active in the organization. She has a degree in social work from Florida State University and has had many varied experiences in her career. In 1992, she established TechEdit Services, a home-based freelance editing business that keeps her busy when not at the FOS office. Connie moved from Maryland to Maine in 1986 and recently relocated to Bath, which she is finding to be a very welcoming community. She is happy to be a part of the mission of Friends of Seguin Island and invites you to meet her and visit the office at 72 Front Street in Bath.

The Friends of Seguin is delighted to have Connie in the office keeping regularly scheduled hours. She is available to direct you to the historical resources in the office and to sell Seguin Island memorabilia. You’re welcome to browse or call ahead to see if the item you wish is in stock.

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SEGUIN MEMORABILIA & GIFTS

Thanks to Barbara Paiement, the Friends of Seguin have many new items for sale and have replenished many of the old favorites.  These can be purchased when visiting the Seguin Gift Shop on the island and at the Friends of Seguin Office, Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Merchandise is also available at the Annual Meeting, the Georgetown Working League Fair, and on our website, Gift Shop. 

TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES FOR SEGUIN ISLAND THIS SUMMER

Did you visit the island last summer on a clear and sunny day and hear the fog signal sounding every 20 seconds, night and day? Well, last summer’s keepers know the tone and characteristic very well: 2-second blast, 2-second silence, 2-second blast, 14-second silence, repeat. The problem was due to the failure of the “fog detector” located in the rear of the whistle house. This equipment constantly monitored the visibility:  when fog crept in and visibility dropped, it would automatically start the fog signal and then shut the signal off when visibility improved. These fog detectors are of 1980s technology and the Coast Guard was no longer able to get replacement parts. So, when Seguin’s fog detector failed last spring, the only safe alternative was to leave the fog signal operating continuously. The Coast Guard recently informed us that a new-style fog detector is being installed nationwide, and Seguin will have its system upgraded some time this summer. Look for it on the outside of the whistle house on the northwest corner. The 2007 keepers are hoping the upgrade is completed early in the season!

We have also decided to add a weather station to the displays inside the museum. The unit we selected has the ability to measure temperature, barometric pressure, rainfall, wind direction and speed, and humidity. Be sure to check it out when you visit the museum this summer and see how hard it really blew when you were trying to sleep in your boat on the mooring the night before!

NEW DIGITAL IMAGES GIVE "MULTIDISCIPLINARY" VIEW OF SEGUIN

On February 26, 2007, Geology Professor Mark Swanson gave the Seguin Board of Directors a first glimpse of extraordinarily precise, new digital images of Seguin.  USM's Swanson and geographer Matthew Bampton last summer brought in a team of geosciences students who were competitively selected from all corners of the United States.  They camped for a week and used professional equipment, such as 40-foot camera poles, GIS onsite laptop editing software, and survey-grade GPS with broadcasting base station--the tools needed to record—for the first time in history—Seguin's heavily layered folds of Appalachian rock and its sausage-like twists of molten granite that intruded 370 million years ago.

What the Board received was a multifaceted brochure combining Seguin's geology with other maps showing trails, contours, vegetation, elevations, navigation, and aerial photos, all of which placed the island in a broader context, complete with a 1607–2007 timeline marking off each significant historical event.  

Board member John Bliss, Sr., brought Swanson's National Science Foundation project to Seguin after agreeing to a similar mapping of his own Salter Island. "I hope this opens the door a little wider to new ideas and new funding sources for Seguin's preservation and future restoration projects," said Bliss.  "My grandmother used to tell me Seguin Island was the highest promontory of land this distance offshore, from Maine to Florida.  Her shipmaster father and two half-brothers sailed coastal schooners and 1,000-ton Downeasters, so I guess they would have taken that kind of geological anecdote seriously," he added.

ANNUAL MEETING & BARBECUE

Please reserve Saturday afternoon, July 21, 2007, for the Friends of Seguin Island Annual Meeting at the Popham Chapel. The festivities begin at 2 p.m. at the Chapel House with a Silent Auction and the sale of Seguin memorabilia. The main event, following a very short business meeting, will be a presentation by our 2007 caretakers, Cyndy Carney, Kate Power, and Carney Hamilton. The hamburger/hot dog barbecue is again under the direction of Dave Power. As always, contributions of salads and desserts are welcome. After all have eaten, a live auction featuring many special items will be conducted by a noted local auctioneer. Topping off the event is a raffle. If your barbecue ticket is drawn, you win a prize. Tickets are $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. They may be purchased from any board member or at the Seguin office, Suite 3 on the second floor, 72 Front Street in Bath, Maine.

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OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT SEGUIN ISLAND

Are you a member and want to do more? Friends of Seguin Island has plenty of volunteer opportunities both on the mainland and on the island. Please contact our Administrative Coordinator, Connie Burt, at keeper@seguinisland.org , 443-4808, to help out in the office, or call for referral to one of the committee chairs.

Work Party Day - On-Island Committee: The Friends of Seguin Island have scheduled two work-party dates for the upcoming season on June 23 and July 7, from about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.  We can provide transportation for up to 10 volunteer workers; if you have your own boat and can provide transportation for others, we would love to hear from you. Projects this summer include scraping and painting (as usual!), small carpentry projects, and some yard work. We need someone with drywall taping/mudding experience to help finish the hallway and bathroom areas above the museum. If you are interested in helping or have questions, please contact Connie Burt, at keeper@seguinisland.org or 207 443-4808.

Museum/Education Committee: The museum is on the island, but there is significant historical material in the office that needs to be updated and catalogued. Researching new historical information is always valued, as is the development of new exhibits. In addition, we need educational volunteers to bring established lighthouse curriculum to local schools for 4^th- through 6^th-graders. This is a fun “job” and well suited for those who like working with grade school students. Please contact Connie Burt, at keeper@seguinisland.org or 207 443-4808.

Publicity Committee: Assistance is needed for mailing the newsletter, writing articles, contacting media, manning memorabilia tables at various fairs, and assisting with the Annual Meeting and Barbecue, including setup and  cleanup for the event, memorabilia sales, and live and silent auctions. Please contact Connie Burt, at keeper@seguinisland.org or 207 443-4808.

MEMBERSHIPS AND OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS

Memberships to the Friends of Seguin Island are a major source of revenue for the preservation of the Seguin Island Light Station, commissioned in 1795. Your membership expiration date is at the top of your mailing label on all mailings sent. Please check the date and, if not current, please consider renewing your annual membership. Categories and amounts are Individual $25, Family $50, Best Friend $100, Lightkeeper $250; and Life Member $1,000. Consider a gift membership for someone no longer residing in this area but for whom Seguin used to be a shining light.

Life Memberships are deposited into the Webster Endowment Fund, the principal of which is to remain intact with interest only being used for operational expenses if necessary. There is currently $9,370 in the Endowment Fund. A Life Member who inadvertently was not acknowledged in the Fall Newsletter is Meredith Smith. Please accept our apologies for the omission and our sincere appreciation for your primo level of support.

Memorial Contributions also help grow the Endowment Fund. We thank those who gave in memory of two former board members, Nat Chandler and Sewall Webster, who provided sage guidance during the early years of the Friends of Seguin.

Stocks and Bonds may also be contributed and designated by the donor to be used for operating expenses or to be deposited in the Endowment Fund.

VICE PRESIDENT ASSUMES DUTIES OF PRESIDENT

The Friends of Seguin’s Board Vice President, David Platteter, will assume the duties of President Cyndy Carney as she assumes her role as 2007 Seguin caretaker. David is formerly from Bath and currently is a resident of Phippsburg, where he lives with wife Petra and their two small children. David has been a lifelong observer of the majesty of Seguin and seeks to continue the lofty achievements of his predecessors. David also uses his handyman skills to assist the On-Island Committee with its preservation efforts.

GRAND OPENING OF GHS

The Georgetown Historical Society is holding the Grand Opening of its new facility on the Bay Point Road in Georgetown on Sunday, June 24, 2007, at 1 p.m. The Annual Meeting will follow from 2 to 4 p.m., featuring Eve LaPlante, author of American Jezebel, as the keynote speaker. Eve will focus on her new book to be released this fall: Salem Witch Judge Samuel Sewall’s Journey to Arrowsick. A note of interest is that the vessel, the H.M.S. Squirrel, grounded on the Point, which has since been known as Squirrel Point in memory of the event. (The accident was not serious and the boat was floated without damage.) All are invited to attend free of charge. For more information, please call GHS at 371-9200.

RETIREMENT CELEBRATION FOR ANNE WEBSTER

On Monday, December 18, 2006, the Board of Directors of the Friends of Seguin hosted a celebration in Bath to honor Anne Webster as she retires after 20 years of leadership in the preservation of the Seguin Island Light Station. Anne became Seguin’s guiding light in 1986, when she initiated a petition in Georgetown to see if there was interest in forming a group to save Seguin. The response was overwhelming and, within a month, she and her father had formed a non-profit organization called the Friends of Seguin Island. She was elected as its first president and served in that office until 1996, when the organization celebrated the 200^th anniversary of the light’s commissioning by George Washington. She was vice president until 2002, when she became president again. Her last position was as Executive Director.

While she was still an active Friends of Seguin officer, Anne became the Director of the Maine Lights Program for the Island Institute. The successful program oversaw the transfer of light stations from the U.S. Coast Guard to local communities and organizations, leading to the passage of the Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, which allowed similar transfers of lighthouse ownership throughout the country. Seguin’s ownership passed to the Friends of Seguin through this process. During the same period, Anne was elected vice president on the first board of the American Lighthouse Coordinating Committee, a national position she still holds today.

Seguin is Anne’s special lighthouse. Wearing different hats, onshore Anne has been visible selling Seguin memorabilia and giving presentations at local, state, and national conferences and events. On-island, she’s been more behind-the-scenes, helping with work parties, stocking and supervising the gift shop, closing down the museum and gift shop at season’s end, and providing visitor information and tours.

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