Recent months have seen great losses to the lighthouse movement with the passing of lighthouse historians. Among those were Ken “Mr. Lighthouse” Black and Donald Nelson. In recent years, we also saw the loss of all who were keepers at lighthouses during the days of the Lighthouse Service and even those children of those keepers are now starting to fade into history. With their passing also goes the first hand memories of life at the lighthouse and the knowledge of the now outdated lighthouse equipment and machinery associated with the old lighthouses.

It is vital for our nation’s history that people continue where others left off to pursue this effort of the preservation of the history and the structures with even more vigor. We need to also instill this enthusiasm for history into our younger generation, as they are truly the Keepers of Tomorrow.

You may ask, just how can I help? We can think of a few ways:

1. Ask your children’s teachers to begin teaching lighthouse and maritime history in your school district.

2. Ask your local and state government representatives to begin a campaign to get a bill passed for your state to teach our children lighthouse and maritime history as part of the regular curriculum.

3. Encourage your children to read a lighthouse book for a school book report.

4. Suggest that your children write a research paper on lighthouse history for a school project.

5. Make your next vacation an historical vacation. You might be surprised how much you fun you and your family will have, all while learning!

6. Become a volunteer at your local lighthouse. Landlocked? Plan a vacation around volunteering at a lighthouse.

These are just a few; we are sure you could come up with more. The main thing is to have fun while helping to save lighthouse history. There is no easier way to instill that love of history into the next generation of lighthouse keepers than by making it fun. And nothing (in my opinion,) is more fun that preserving lighthouses and learning and saving the history associated with them!

Yes, each and everyone of you really can make a difference.

Timothy Harrison

Editor & Publisher

This story appeared in the April 2007 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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