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.

11 December 2014

A Michigan Beauty - Point Betsie Lighthouse

The Point Betsie Lighthouse is located at the southern end of Manitou Passage, MI. This lighthouse was built in 1858 at a cost of $3,000. Its original name was "Pointe Aux Becs Scies." This was such an important light that the original 37-foot tower was replaced with a new 100-foot structure. The cylindrical light tower is surmounted by a 10-sided cast-iron lantern and produces a lens focal plane 52-feet above the main water level of Lake Michigan. The lantern room contains a fourth-order Fresnel lens with flash panels. The crystal lamp originally burned coal oil, then kerosene, and now electric. In 1983, the US Coast Guard automated Point Betsie when it was the last staffed light station on the east shore of Lake Michigan.

At the time of my visit here in 1998, this lighthouse was owned by the US Coast Guard and used for Coast Guard family housing.

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