Light Hearted

Joy and Patrick Tubby, who live in England, have both been passionate about lighthouses for a long time. In fact, they were engaged and married at lighthouses. Joy wrote the first edition of her book Lighthouse Accommodation Britain and Worldwide back in 1999, and the book has been updated several times. Joy is an active volunteer and Trust secretary for the Happisburgh Lighthouse , the UK’s only...

In 1988, Burnt Island Light in Boothbay Harbor became one of the last Maine light stations to be automated and destaffed. In February 1998, the station was transferred to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Keepers of Burnt Island Light (KBIL) is a non-profit organization that was formed in 2009. Its mission is to support the restoration, preservation and maintenance of Burnt Island and its...

Rick St. Pierre Rick St. Pierre, originally from New Bedford, Massachusetts, had a 20 year career in the Coast Guard that included some time as the officer in charge at Boon Island Light Station in Maine. He was the officer in charge 1973 to 1975. In this interview, he remembers the daily duties on the island as well as the station’s resident ghost. Boon Island Light Station, U.S. Coast Guar...

This is the audio from the live streaming podcast episode of March 26. The complete video can be seen on the USLHS YouTube channel . Joining host Jeremy D’Entremont is co-host Sarah MacHugh, along with producer Ralph Krugler. Graves Light and the Boston skyline, photo by Jeremy D’Entremont. Dave Waller Boston businessman Dave Waller, founder of a special effects company, bought Graves...

Point Vicente Lighthouse, photo by Jeremy D’Entremont. The Palos Verdes Peninsula is located within southwestern Los Angeles County, California. With increasing maritime traffic into the harbor of Los Angeles, a lighthouse was built on a high bluff in Rancho Palos Verdes in 1926. The light station buildings were built in the Spanish revival style that’s prevalent in the area. The 67-foot con...

Currituck Beach Lighthouse, photo by Jeremy D’Entremont This is an edited version of an interview that was first heard in August 2021. Our guest is Meghan Agresto, manager of the Currituck Beach Light Station  in Corolla, North Carolina. Currituck Beach Lighthouse—the northernmost of six light stations on the Outer Banks—began service on December 1, 1875.  It was the last of the ta...

Old Baldy Lighthouse, USLHS photo by J. Candace Clifford There’s been a lighthouse standing on Bald Head Island at the entrance to the Cape Fear River in the southeast corner of North Carolina for more than two centuries. The original lighthouse began service in 1795 and was the first lighthouse in the state. The Old Baldy Lighthouse that stands today—officially known as Bald Head Island Lighthous...

This episode consists of audio from the first live streaming edition of our podcast, broadcast live on YouTube on February 26, 2026. The complete video of the live stream can be seen on our YouTube channel. The guests are Colby Thomas and Billy Simmons, who are historic interpreters at Old Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia – the first lighthouse commissioned by the federal government. Old Ca...

Knotbrook Taylor Knotbrook Taylor is originally from England and now lives in Scotland. He has been writing poetry for more than 25 years. His first published collection of poetry,  Beatitudes , was launched in 2007 by Blue Salt Publishing. In 2014 he won the Erbacce prize for his collection Ping-Pong in the Rain . Erbacce is a publisher that holds an annual worldwide poetry contest. The Muse...

Bar Harbor Whale Watch’s lighthouse cruise on September 5 will be aboard the Friendship V. This episode focuses on two very special experiences available to lighthouse lovers and lovers of the rocky coast of Maine. The first segment highlights an all-day “Mid-Coast & Monhegan Island 19 Lighthouse Cruise” with Bar Harbor Whale Watch this coming September 5. Interviewed in the...

Helena, founder of Thoughts with H In this episode, we explore the power of positivity, reframing life’s inconveniences, building community, and how small reminders of encouragement can create a butterfly effect of gratitude. Sarah is joined by Helena, Licensed Mental Health Clinician and Founder of Thoughts with H, which is a daily inspiration platform rooted in mindfulness, connection, and showi...

Bob Napolitano is from Everett, Massachusetts, and now lives in Londonderry, New Hampshire. “The Lighthouse Keeper,” which was published last year, is his seventh book. The main character, John Russell, takes a job as the keeper of the Willamette River Lighthouse in Oregon at the age of 27 in 1923. He sees the lighthouse as a place to heal from unfortunate decisions he’s made in his life, but he e...

In this episode we revisit an interview that was first heard in 2021. Our guest is Jen Lewis, Fundraising and Outreach Manager for the Point Cabrillo Light Station in northern California. Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, California. Photo by Jeremy D’Entremont. Jen Lewis Point Cabrillo is about midway between San Francisco and the border with Oregon. In 1908 a combined lighthouse and fog signal building...

There are two guests in this episode. The first, Bjorn Karlstrom, splits his time between Florida in the and the beautiful island of Gotland in Sweden. After developing a substantial lighthouse-related library, he decided to start a website that might be useful to others looking for information. His site Lighthouse Reading, at lhreading.com , now has listings for more than 3,800 lighthouse publica...

Pater Noster Lighthouse Pater Noster is a small archipelago off the west coast of Sweden. The island group’s name, which means “The Lord’s Prayer,” is said to come from the tradition that mariners would recite the Lord’s Prayer as they negotiated their way around the dangerous reefs in the vicinity. The 105-foot-tall, red, cast-iron lighthouse was constructed in 1868. Erik Nissen Johansen A comple...

Fairport Harbor Light Station, photo by. Jeremy D’Entremont. Fairport Harbor, on the south side of Lake Erie at the mouth of the Grand River, is considered part of the Cleveland, Ohio, metropolitan area. The first lighthouse in the harbor was a 56-foot brick tower built in 1825. The lighthouse that stands today is a 60-foot stone tower that began service in 1871. After a new lighthouse was b...

In the first episode of Be the Light, host Sarah MacHugh sits down with Averie Shaughnessy-Comfort, Executive Director of Presque Isle Light Station in Pennsylvania, for a powerful conversation about what it truly means to serve a community with heart. Averie shares how she and her dedicated team of volunteers work to remove barriers and create access for their surrounding community, transforming...

Nantucket Lightship LV-112. By Arnold Reinhold, Creative Commons license. Today we look back at an interview that was first heard in October 2020. Our guest is Bob Mannino, founder and president of the United States Lightship Museum. The USLM is the steward of the Nantucket Lightship LV-112, the largest lightship ever built in the United States. Bob Mannino The Nantucket South Shoals were a great...

The 1846 and 1902 lighthouses on Ile Vierge. Photo by Jeremy D’Entremont. Ile Vierge is a 15-acre island off the northwest coast of Brittany in northwest France. The first lighthouse on the island was a 108-foot-tall square tower that began service in 1845. It was considered too short, and a new tower was built between 1896 and 1902. The new lighthouse tower is built of granite blocks and st...

In this episode we revisit a conversation from June 2022 with Mike Vogel, who at that time was the president of the U.S. Lighthouse Society. Mike Vogel retired as editorial page editor of The Buffalo News in 2011, after a 43-year journalism career. He was the organizer and founding president of the Buffalo Lighthouse Association, which carried out the restoration of Buffalo, New York’s historic 18...

Jim Lammers, who lives in Minnesota, was educated as an architect back when freehand sketching was an integral part of the curriculum. His writing and sketching has been published in a number of professional journals and on websites. His most recent book is “Lighthouses of the Great Lakes: An Architect’s Sketchbook.” The illustrations in Jim’s book are not precise architectural r...

Lee Radzak Split Rock Lighthouse, on a 127-foot-high cliff on the northwest shore of Lake Superior, began service in 1910. The light station is now the centerpiece of 2200-acre Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. Lee Radzak became the lighthouse site manager in November 1982. Over the next 36 years, he and his wife Jane raised a son and a daughter, marveled at the lake’s beauty, endured gigantic sto...

Ashtabula, Ohio, is a community of about 18,000 people at the mouth of the Ashtabula River on Lake Erie. In the late 1800s the city was a major port for the shipping of coal and iron ore. The first lighthouse in Ashtabula Harbor was a small wooden tower built in 1836. When the channel into the harbor was widened and a breakwater was constructed in 1905, a new lighthouse was built at the end of the...

Light Hearted  host Jeremy D’Entremont with Annamaria Mariotti in 2010 at Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse in Maine This is an edited version of an interview from September 2020. The guest is Annamaria Mariotti, an author and lighthouse historian in Italy. Lilla, as she’s known to friends, is the author of many books, articles, and stories related to the sea. Many of her articles have appeared...

Dunkirk, New York, is on the south shore of Lake Erie, about 35 miles southwest of Buffalo. Dunkirk, with its natural harbor, got one of the earliest lighthouses on the lake. The first lighthouse at Point Gratiot in Dunkirk began service in 1827. The lighthouse that stands today was completed in 1876. The 61-foot square limestone tower stands next to a brick gothic revival keeper’s house. The ligh...