Yes, it’s just in time for Christmas and it is red and white, just like a Canadian lighthouse. It is the new LEGO model # 5770, called Lighthouse Island. Any child would love it; any adult who collects lighthouses will want it too! Just ignore the sign on the box that says ages 8 – 12.
This is a promotion for my friend Frank Statham’s website Rough Radio – Wireless on the British Columbia Coast.
As I started off collecting lighthouse keeper names for genealogy records, Frank started with a collection of photographs, and with his past work as a radio operator, his interest was sparked into creating a website to help people remember the early days of radio on the BC coast. He also has been keeping a list of station personnel which you will find here.
The quotes below from Frank’s website show that lighthouses came first, but with the advent of radio, the two worked closely together, in fact sometimes so close together that they were on the same station – e.g. Estevan Point or Pachena Point.
“At the end of the 19th Century, the west coast of Canada was dangerous place for the movement of vessels. There was little European settlement along the coast north of Victoria. The only navigational aids for vessel traffic consisted of a scattering of lighthouses.”
“The 1907 Canadian Dominion Government, in an effort to provide some measure of safety for mariners, implemented a plan to provide a life saving trail along the Juan de Fuca Strait Vancouver Island, lifeboat stations, and wireless radio stations. The first five wireless stations, Vancouver, Victoria, Pachena Point and Estevan Point were all operational by January 1908.” Continue reading →
Some photo samples from Frank’s website below:
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Images and Voices of Lighthouse Country – A pict/oral history of Deep Bay, Bowser, Qualicum Bay, Horne Lake by Rita Levitz and Leah Willott
Local authors Rita Levitz and Leah Willot have captured the heart of Lighthouse Country. Packed with interviews, news clippings and over 150 black and white photographs, the unforgettable stories of life on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia in the early to mid-1900’s, come to life.
See never before published photos of Mike, Bowser’ s remarkable bartending dog. Read accounts of the Wild Man of Horne Lake and the Cadborosaurus of Qualicum Bay. Listen to the compelling fist-reminiscences of people who lived through the Cannery Fire of 1937, the earthquake of 1946, and the boom and bust cycle of the fishing and logging industries. They are all woven together in the in this fascinating local history which traces the development of the unique communities of Vancouver Island’ s Lighthouse Country. Continue reading Book – Images and Voices of Lighthouse Country
This film on DVD was a new release in 2010. It does not appear to be available in the PAL format for Europe and other countries.
A must see if you love romance and the idea of romance near a lighthouse, then I guess the film is for us. If you have seen it, tell us what you thought of it in comments.
See the excellent website for this film here. Continue reading Video – The Lightkeepers
Lighthouse Chronicles – Twenty Years on the B.C. Lights
These are the first-hand stories of Flo Anderson and her husband Trevor and their four children as left left the city life in 1961 for a life on the British Columbia lighthouses.
They worked as lighthouse keepers for the next twenty years at Lennard Island, Barrett Rock, McInnes Island, Green Island and Race Rocks.
The book is interesting as it is written from a woman’s point of view.
Many B&W photos give illustration to the narrative.
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Harbour Publishing (1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 155017181X
ISBN-13: 978-1550171815
Product Dimensions: (9″ x 6″) 22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm
Availability: Used (Out of Stock)
In the early days women were not listed as lighthouse personnel, even though they often did the work of a second man. A lady in the US has written a book about the “Ladies of the Lights” on the Great Lakes. The following quote from the Great Lakes Echo will explain more:
However, the people who operated the lighthouses, often in bleak and isolated conditions, are less known – especially the 52 women who served as keepers and assistant keepers for more than a century on lakes Michigan, Superior and Huron and the Detroit River. Continue reading Book – Women on a Lighthouse? You Bet!
OK, I don’t play it, but Facebook says that 35, 566,567 people play it! Anyways, for those of you included in that 35, 566,567 Farmville is releasing a new farm in the Fall called appropriately Lighthouse Cove, so get your playing fingers ready, and go for it! As for me, I have no idea how to play the game, but maybe I might get interested in this part. Anybody going to tell me how you play? Continue reading Coming Soon to Facebook!
Iconic lighthouses lead the way to The Bahamas from the Caribeean News Now
Built in 1863, the famed Hope Town Lighthouse on Elbow Cay, Abaco still guides boats and ships today. Boating remains a way of life in the Abacos and throughout The Bahamas and the lighthouses are treasured even if modern captains navigate by satellite. Continue reading Travel – Bahamas Has Two Dozen Lighthouses!
I do not usually promote Facebook, but I discovered today a page for lighthouse enthusiasts – Maine Open Lighthouse Day. The Facebook page is located here. The notification of this event was from the Sun Journal website:
Open Lighthouse Day set for Sept. 17
Published on Saturday, Sep 3, 2011 at 12:12 am | Last updated on Saturday, Sep 3, 2011 at 12:12 am
AUGUSTA — The third annual Maine Open Lighthouse Day will take place rain or shine Saturday, Sept. 17, with many of the state’s coastal, island and river lighthouses planning to welcome the public.
Eighteen thousand people visited 25 open light stations during last year’s event, and 5,000 people climbed up light towers for the lantern room view. The event is coordinated by the U.S. Coast Guard, in partnership with the Maine Office of Tourism and the American Lighthouse Foundation. It is the largest event of its kind in the country.
What is particularly interesting are the large number of lighthouse photos to view (click on “photos” on the left of the Facebook page). Enjoy!
OK, what is it? Check out this Youtube page to see it in action!
From the webpage, it says:
It’s not a lamp in the shape of an evil toad. It’s a lamp that mimics the behavior of todais, a.k.a. Japanese lighthouses. Prior to today, I thought that todai meant all you can eat sushi. The Evul Todai Lighthouse Lamp brings color, aroma, and motion to any space and captures the serenity and handsomeness of white Japanese lighthouses.
I like it it! neat idea! But the price is a little steep for me. See the webpage here. Another site with more photos and story is located here.