Great American Lighthouses at the Morris Arboretum

Here's something cool for anyone who might be visiting Philadelphia this summer (May 23 - October 13):

Great American Lighthouses returns as the 2009 theme for Morris Arboretum's Summer Garden Railway display. With a changing theme each year, the Garden Railway is featuring historic buildings and Great American Lighthouses, some of the guardians that embody America's long relationship with the sea. These are the lighthouses that will be displayed this year: Boston Harbor Light, Brant Point Light, Cape Hatteras Light, East Brother Island Light, Fort Thompkins Light, Mukilteo Light, Old Point Loma Lighthouse, Pass A L'Outre Light, Race Rock Lighthouse, Sandy Hook Light, St. Joseph North Pierhead Lights, Whitefish Point Light, Thomas Point Shoal Light, Whaleback Lighthouse, Whitehead Light Station, Yaquina Bay Light.

All structures are created entirely of natural materials, each meticulously detailed with leaves, bark, vines, twigs, mosses and acorns. Hollow logs, branches and old railroad ties are also used to create unique tunnels, with a cascading waterfall completing the magic and drama to the already-exciting exhibit.

Nestled in this landscape are more than 1,000 feet of track, with ten G scale trains, representing various railroads throughout history. Two trolley car lines, Three cog lines. There is a constant flow of these wending their way across the terrain among woody plants, colorful annuals and perennials. One train passes over a giant trestle that visitors stroll beneath. The finished product is an enchanting landscape that never ceases to delight visitors both young and old.

The lighthouses and the display itself were designed by landscape architect and set designer Paul Busse of Applied Imagination -- http://www.appliedimagination.biz -- in Alexandria, Kentucky. He and his staff spent many hours painstakingly constructing the lighthouse models. Busse has always been interested in lighthouses, and he realized that their popularity made them a natural focus for the garden railway display.

The Morris Arboretum is located in the Chestnut Hill Section of Philadelphia PA. at 100 E. Northwestern Ave.

Adult $14.00, Senior (65+years) $12.00, Youth (3-17 years) $7.00.
Student (must have ID) Children less than 3 Free. & Members Free

For more information call 215-247-5777 or http://www.morrisarboretum.org

Outdoor Dining service is available at the Café Morris under the spacious tent located in back of the Widener Visitor Center, for hours of operation call http://www.morrisarboretum.org
215-247-5777

Getting Attention

I launched this new blog site yesterday (April Fools Day) with a silly story about plans to move Whaleback Lighthouse from its offshore ledge near Kittery, Maine, to the site of the old Yoken's restaurant on Route 1 in Portsmouth, NH. The story may or may not have made you laugh, but I hope it got your attention. If it at least did that, I consider it somewhat successful. I hope some readers also caught the underlying intent.

Much of my time these days, as the operations manager of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse and the first vice president of the American Lighthouse Foundation, is occupied by the need to bring attention to the cause of lighthouse preservation. I've been sending out press releases and posting on the social networking sites. Sometimes I feel like I'm shouting into a void, but I've got to keep trying.

In these tough times, donations are down and every dollar is vital. With economic turmoil and troubling international affairs, there's no doubt that a cause like the preservation of historic lighthouses is far down on the list of priorities for many people. In fact, I'd say it's not even close to making the list for most people.

There are so many hands out pleading for our dollars, and human service organizations like the Red Cross and the United Way will always come first for most people. And rightly so.

Meanwhile, the lighthouses aren't healing themselves. The job of keeping these treasures in top condition never ends. Wind, waves, and salt air continue to do their worst; they don't take a break because of a recession. In fact, if you believe the scientists that the weather is getting more severe because of global warming (as I do), the situation is growing more dire all the time.

It's not so dire for those lucky lighthouses that are fortunate enough to 1) be accessible by car, and 2) have adequate facilities for a museum, gift shop, and/or b&b. It's an entirely different story for the organizations managing offshore, hard-to-access lighthouses.

In the situations where you can't bring people to the lighthouse, you have to bring the lighthouse to the people. That was my underlying message in the April Fools Day post about Whaleback Lighthouse being moved to Route 1. Believe me, if it was feasible to actually move Whaleback Lighthouse, we'd have to consider it. Desperate times call for innovation. But not only would the cost be astronomical; it would destroy the historic fabric of the lighthouse to remove it from its perch on a treacherous ledge.

It was built there because Portsmouth was a leading port, and the dangerous ledges at the mouth of the Piscataqua River caused significant losses of life and property before the lighthouse was built. Having the lighthouse where it is serves as a constant reminder of those facts. Its location lends drama to its appearance. It also stands as a memorial to the brave keepers who lived inside it through storms and high seas for so many years.

We'll continue trying to get the word out about lighthouse preservation, and we'll hold events that will raise funds and awareness. It will be frustrating at times, but we plug on because we believe in the cause.

Lighthouses symbolize many things to many people, all of them positive: strength, steadfastness, hope, faith, and guidance among them. I often think that if every person who has derived at least a moment of pleasure from lighthouses would donate even a small amount to lighthouse preservation, we'd have more money than we need.

Historic Lighthouse Will be Moved to Route 1

Whaleback Lighthouse, a granite tower built in 1872, is perched on a wave-swept ledge just offshore from Fort Foster in Kittery, Maine. It’s a beloved icon of the Seacoast, but very few people have the chance to experience it first hand. “It’s hard to raise funds for a lighthouse that people can’t visit,” laments Ross Tracy, chairman of the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse (FPHL). FPHL is a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation, the organization that was awarded ownership of Whaleback Lighthouse last November.

To solve the dilemma, the directors of FPHL have devised a unique plan. The lighthouse, which is about 60 feet tall, will be carefully dismantled by volunteers, block by block. Volunteers will be expected to bring their own crowbars, and must be capable of lifting 4,000 pounds. "This should be a perfect project for local senior citizens and schoolchildren," says Yvonne Zemotel, treasurer of FPHL.

Each block will be carefully numbered with a waterproof marker. “We’ll most likely use a black Sharpie,” says Tracy. The blocks will be hauled to the vacant lot on Route 1 that was once home to Yoken’s Restaurant, and the tower will be re-assembled in its new home. “We figure the lighthouse will make a nice companion piece to the old Yoken’s ‘Thar She Blows!’ sign,” says Joanne Yeaton, vice chairperson of FPHL.

Asked if the lighthouse will retain any navigational importance so far from the sea, Sharon Mills, secretary of FPHL, replied, “The light and foghorn will be a boon to late night drivers finding their way home from the bars in downtown Portsmouth. To replace the lighthouse off Kittery, we’re thinking of painting the rocks day-glo orange for the benefit of the fishermen.”