In Memory

The Pensacola Lighthouse is located on the Pensacola Naval Air Station, FL on Pensacola Bay. In 1825 the first lighthouse built by the U.S. on the Florida coast was constructed about 1/2 mile from the one pictured above. The light in that original lighthouse was provided by a series of lamps and reflectors until after the Civil War when a first-order Fresnel lens was installed.

Because the original lighthouse proved to be inadequate as aid to coastal navigation, in 1858 the current lighthouse was built and it towers 191-feet above sea level. The beacon from its first-order lens can be seen at a distance of 27-miles out to sea. A new keeper's dwelling was built in 1869. Responsibility for the tower was transferred in 1939 from the Light Service to the U.S. Coast Guard. The light was automated in 1965 and therefore no longer required full time keepers. The first-order lens still operated as an active light at the time of my visit here in 2000.

By now, you know this blog post is very different than any I've done in the past, but I want to share with you the special meaning of  21 April for me. This date is also the anniversary of my late wife's birthday. I don't remember a time since I've been posting my blog that her birthday fell on the same date of my blog post. You may be wondering what the Pensacola Lighthouse in FL has to do with my memory of Rose. Except for one thing, it would make no difference what lighthouse picture I posted in memory of her, because she loved all the lighthouses we saw together.

The keeper's dwelling at the Pensacola Lighthouse is leased to the Pensacola Lighthouse Association and serves as the museum. Approximately two years ago, I discovered museum officials use a procedure to help raise money to support the museum. That procedure enables individuals to purchase a brick which would be used to build a walkway to the lighthouse. I felt moved to purchase a brick in memory of my late wife, Rose. Her memory brick is pictured below. (This post is not made with the intention of promoting sales for the museum, but only to spotlight a memory of my late wife.)