THE FLORIDA LIGHTHOUSE ASSOCIATION

-the ELA FLASH Vol. 1 No. 2

Letter from the President

We are now nearly one year old and things are progressing. The Internal Revenue Service has

acknowledged our request for Federal income tax exemption, and we should be notified of their determination within 120 days. 1 would like to thank Harold Bennett, CPA, who donated his time and efforts to complete the filing of our 501(C)(3) applica­tion. Also, thanks are due to Attorney Robert Reggio who donated his time to the FLA in checking over and approving our application last fall for state incorporation.

The general business basis for our new organization is nearing completion, and now we need to start spreading the good word about the FLA to more people. We need to begin developing strategies for contacting people and letting them know about us. We are grateful to Hib Casselberry and others who have shared with us their address lists of lighthouse enthusiasts. If you know of anyone who would be interested in joining, let us know. Our new website will be a great source of information. While surfing the web, check out www.netfuture.com/fla. Needless to say, if you have not gotten your membership dues in yet, they should be paid before the special luncheon and meeting at the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse on July 19th.

We've got a good thing started; let's keep the ball rolling.

Ann Cancer, President

July 1997

Quarterly Meeting Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse

The 5th quarterly FLA meeting will be held on Saturday, July 19,1997 at the prestigious Hillsboro Club in Hillsboro Beach. The club has played host to such dignitaries as FDR and Winston Churchill.

The day's agenda includes a tour of the lighthouse and club by the USCG from 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be served in the grand dining room of the club at 12:00 p.m. The cost is $20 and includes tax and tip. After lunch, Dennis Denver, USCG, will give a speech entitled "Boston Light, America's First Lighthouse." It will be followed by David F. Butler's "Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse." A progress report will be given on all of Florida's lights starting at 1:45 p.m. Following the report, all are invited to caravan in their cars for a tour led by the Ft. Lauder­dale Historical Society.

Both the USCG station and the Hillsboro Club are in a gated community requiring advanced notification for entrance. Please RSVP to Hib Casselberry, (953) 771-8921

N A T I O N A L L I G H T H O U S E N E W S

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• A national museum dedicated to the preservation of lighthouses is in the works, according to Wayne Wheeler of the United States Lighthouse Society. The steering committee met in Alexandria, Virginia in March. The committee is now in the process of select­ing a site to serve as a national maritime concern. "The idea," said Wheeler, " is to have a central repository for research in order to aid regional lighthouse groups." Wheeler said the committee is scouting locations and plans to meet in October of this year to pick a site. • Senator Frank Murkowski (R-Arkansas), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, would like to find a better way for the Coast Guard to transfer excess historic lighthouses out of government ownership and encourage their preserva­tion. Currently, the General Services Administration (GSA) handles the deaccessioning process which requires offering the property to state and local govem-ments and federal agencies first, before private sector offers may be considered. Problems have arisen when a public agency wants the property for purposes which conflict with the preservation of an historic lighthouse. The GSA has been unable to change its rules to permit a private preservation organization to take precedence over a public agency, even if it would mean the differ­ence between the preservation or destruction of the lighthouse.

Senator Murkowski is considering creation of a special procedure for historic lighthouses whereby there is a two or three year period before the property is turned over to the GSA, during which time, offers from any source for preservation of the historic lighthouse will take precedence. To accomplish this, the Coast Guard would transfer the lighthouse to the National Park Service, although the Coast Guard would remain responsible for maintaining the properties. The NPS and state historic preservation offices would be respon­sible for seeking sympathetic new owners for the light­house. I f no suitable offers are made during the two or three year period, the lighthouse would be turned over to the GSA and the deaccessioning process would begin.

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On June 5th Tom Taylor met with State Representative Evelyn Lynn (R-Ormond Beach) to discuss the possibility of legislative help for the proposed specialty license plate for Florida lighthouses. Although getting a license plate is still possible, Mrs. Lynn informed Tom that the legislature feels it opened Pandora's box when it authorized specialty plates.

Although several groups (including the Boy Scouts) did get plates this year, the legislature is not interested in helping us with the $30,000 fee that goes to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to defray the cost of reviewing the application and developing the specialty plate. A new petition form will be available at the July meeting, stating that signers intend to purchase a lighthouse plate. We would need to complete this before December 1st to get it before the 1998 legislative session. I f the legislature should turn down the request, the $30,000 would be refunded.

One thing in our favor is the unique appeal of lighthouses. Also, our license plate would be the first and only one in existence that aids in historic preservation.

Dr. Kevin McCarthy, author of Florida's Lighthouses, will be doing a benefit lecture for the project at the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, August 9th. For more information call the Ponce at (904) 761-1821.

"It is a hard person who has no soft place in his or her heart for lighthouses" —Philip W. Conkling, foreword to Lighthouse in My Life

Because District 3 covers an extensive area, from Sanibel Island along the Gulf coast to Pensacola, it has been suggested that the FLA create a fourth district. The proposed district would be from St. Marks to Pensacola. This new area could also create more incentive for increased participation in the FLA by Panhandle enthusiasts. The change would require a change in the by-laws and approval by a two-thirds vote of the members attending the July meeting.

D I S T M C T 1 R E P O R T FROM COMMISSIONER HIB CASSELBERRY

A M E L I A ISLAND: The lighthouse is seeking a grant to survey the station in order to determine the cost and feasibility of repairing the structure. Hal Belcher, President of the Amelia Lighthouse and Museum, Inc., said the goal is to open the lighthouse to the public. As of now, the grounds and the tower are private property. Belcher said he is working with the FLA to reach this goal.

ST. JOHN'S R I V E R : Another victory for light­houses everywhere. The lighthouse was re-dedicated on June 30th. This is phase one of a three part project to include a park around the lighthouse as well as a small maritime museum. Congresswoman Tillie Fowler graciously attended the dedication.

ST. AUGUSTINE: Watch for an invitation to the grand opening of Living and Working a Lighthouse. Blending both modern and Victorian aspects, the exhibit explores a keeper's life. Highlights include a working 1904 Victrola, talking pictures, new exhibits in the tower, and an opportunity to use an interactive CD-ROM program. Our guests can now see the first-order Fresnel lens through the View Port at the top of the tower.

Continued on next column...

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Living and Working a Lighthouse has been financed in part with Historical Museums Grants-in-Aid Program assistance provided by the Bureau of Historical Museums, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, Sandra B. Mortham, Secretary of State. The museum also received a grant from the Florida Humanities Council for educational programs.

PONCE DE LEON INLET: Dr. Kevin McCarthy, author of the book Florida's Lighthouses, will be giving a lecture on Florida's lighthouses at 2:00 p.m, Saturday, August 9th in the conference room of the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse.

There is some exciting news for "Fresnellians." Thanks to a twenty-year effort by the Ponce de Leon Historical Preservation Society, the Coast Guard is transferring the 1867 first order Barbier et Fenestre lens from Mystic Seaport in Connecticut to Ponce Inlet this summer.

This particular lens is very unusual as it includes three concave silvered (mirror) glass panels on the landward side of the lens to reflect the light back through the ocean-facing belt prisms.

HILLSBORO INLET: On July 19, 1997 the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse and Hillsboro Club will host the 5th quarterly FLA meeting. Activities are planned throughout the day. RSVP to Hib Casselberry, (953) 771-8921.

Our hearts go out to the family and

friends of Arnold Shore, who passed

away June 2nd, 1997. Arnold was the

secretary of the Florida Lighthouse

Association and a man with a soft spot in

his heart for lighthouses. He will be

deeply and sincerely missed.

D I S T R I C T 2 R E P O R T FROM COMMISSIONER G E O R G E BORN

K E Y WEST: The Key West Art and Historical Society has located the original first order Fresnel lens, (yet another coup for Fresnellians). The exist­ing third order is a replacement. The Society is now looking for funds to build a structure to exhibit it.

CARYSFORT: Chief Warrant Officer Arizmendi from USCG Base Miami Beach says the $700,000 restoration of Carysfort Lighthouse is complete.

FORT JEFFERSON: While repair work is being done at the fort, visitors are not prevented from getting close to the light. The base is accessible; however, the upper levels of the small tower need repair work.

NOTE: Recent research shows that of the three lighthouses built by George Gordon Meade before the Civil War, Sand Key and Carysfort Lighthouses are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, while Sombero Key Lighthouse is not. None of the other reef Lights (which were built in the 1870s and 1880s) are listed.

On the Dry Tortugas, Fort Jefferson is listed on the National Register, while Loggerhead Key Lighthouse is not, even though it is as historic as the fort itself. Meanwhile, the Key West Lighthouse is located in the Key West National Register Distinct as well as in a city-designated historic preservation zon­ing district.

From this brief survey, it appears that some of our lights are securely protected and well recognized.

DISTRICT 3 REPORT FROM COMMISSIONER RICHARD JOHNSON

CAPE ST. G E O R G E LIGHT: The good news is that the 'leaning tower of Cape George" is not leaning more than before since the weather has been cooperating. John Lee from Cape St. George said the tower actually leans 7 or 8 degrees, and not the often quoted 12 degrees. Some new stress marks have appeared, and over time may grow larger since the Lighthouse is not intended to lean.

District 3 Report Continued... Page 4

Commissioner Bom reports that the USCG is close to outleasing the light to the local lighthouse group. Lee sends out a call for any civil or structural engineers who would volunteer their time to help develop a plan for stabilizing the Gulf Coast's leaning tower.

LIGHTHOUSE FUN FACTS

• The shortest lighthouse in Floriclq is Ce4qi' Key, stqn4ing qt 25 feet. The tqllest, you qsk( Ponce 4e Leon stqn4s qt 175 feet

• Bgck in the eqriy '40s Crqcker Dqniels tosse4 his sister's cqt, with pqrqchute, from the top of the St. Augustine Lighthouse. The experiment wqs q complete success. However, Smokey wqs less thqn thrille4 qn4 tqn qway.

• Flori4q's "Traveling Lighthouse;" The 1901 St. Joseph's Bqy Lighthouse wqs 4iscontinue4 in 1960 when 3 mo4ern steel skeletal tower wqs built. Soon qfterwqr4s, the ol4 house-style situciuYc wqs move4 to Overstreet Highway for use qs q bqrn. In 1979, the lighthouse hit the roq4 qgqin, this time to q new locqtion in Simmons Bqyou, qboutIS miles south, to be use4 qs q privqte resi4ence.

• The first lightship wqs the Aurora Bore^lis, stq-tione4 off Pensqcolq from 1823-1825.

• The first Fresnel lens instqlle4 in q Flori4q Lighthouse mqy hqve been qt Cqpe St. George in 1852.