About Me

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After retirement, for two summers I worked as a tour guide at the Umpqua River Lighthouse in Oregon. This opportunity enabled me to learn more about that lighthouse than any of the others I've seen. Although I have personally visited and photographed over 300 lighthouses in the United States and three Provinces in Canada, the Umpqua River Lighthouse has special meaning for me. That Lighthouse inspired me to write two fictional books with the characters working, living, and enduring the challenges of lighthouse keeping. All pictures posted in this blog were taken by myself, unless noted otherwise.

Book Info.

I hope you will find time to enjoy my books. Preview the book covers below at the right side of page.

Book #1: "The Wickie and the Umpqua Lighthouse." Detail: "The Wickie and the Umpqua Lighthouse" is an 1860's story about the lighthouse keepers and their families at the Umpqua River Lighthouse. It will stir your emotions and warm your heart. Discover the challenges they met but never expected, and their determination to maintain navigational aid to mariners on the Oregon coast. (Wickie is a nickname used by the early lighthouse keepers at the Umpqua River Lighthouse in OR.)

Book #2: "Spirit of The Lighthouse" is a sequel to The Wickie. Detail: Jesse Fayette, assistant keeper at the Umpqua River Lighthouse, finds himself alone to operate and maintain an Oregon lighthouse after the accidental death of his head keeper. After notifying the Lighthouse Board and requesting help, he is surprised but must deal with an acquaintance, Red Saunders, who believes the lighthouse is haunted.

Book #3: "Unexpected Moments" has a different theme than those of Book #1 and #2. Detail: Dan and Megan, as well as their old friends Jim and Anna, experience unexpected moments of hardships and tragedies in Arizona and California. Will they survive these unexpected moments and find any hope for their futures?

All of my books are available on Amazon.

01 June 2017

Civic Groups Saved This Second-order Fresnel Lens



The Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse sits between Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, FL at Hillsboro Inlet. Although not built until 1907, requests were made as far back as 1851 to have a lighthouse built at Hillsboro Inlet. The Lighthouse Board decided not to build a new structure, but instead acquired a steel skeleton tower which had been displayed at the 1904 Great St. Louis Exposition. The tower was disassembled and transported to Hillsboro Inlet where workers erected it alongside three wood-framed houses built for the keeper and his assistants.

The completed lighthouse is a 137-foot tall pyramidal structure. Its lower framework was painted white and the entire upper portion black. A central spiral stairway rises 175 steps from ground level to the watch room just beneath the lantern room. The lantern room was equipped with a second-order Fresnel Lens with light provided from a kerosene lamp. In 1932, the light was electrified. 
 
 In 1974, the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse was automated. Later, the keepers' quarters, except for the head keepers which was destroyed in a 1947 hurricane, were converted to vacation retreats for senior military personnel. 

Due to requests from local civic groups, the Coast Guard, in 1999, reversed a previous decision to have the Fresnel lens removed and placed in a museum. Instead, a historic relighting of the original second-order Fresnel lens was celebrated.

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