Who is This?
This is Keeper David Katon
(1957-1959).
This photo was recently donated to F.O.W.I.L by Mr. Del Jakeman who was a reporter for the Biddeford Journal in the 1950s. He wrote an article about Keeper Katon and fortunately had a professional photographer with him.
From the EC
We are looking forward to a busy summer on the island. The EC met with Architect Ed Theriault and stone expert Scott Whitaker - both are very interested, capable and ready to help us in moving ahead with restoration plans and work.
National Historic Stewardship Act of 2009
Bill number s715
This bill will complement the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. It would create a three year pilot competitive $20 million grant program to help restore many of America's endangered lighthouses. It would allow nonprofits and local government agencies that now own a lighthouse to apply for direct grants to help restore and preserve their respective lighthouses for future generations. It is sponsored by the Senators of Michigan and Maine. You can help by contacting your US senators and members of the House of Representatives and encourage them to vote for this bill Senate Bill number s715.
Lightrunner was prepared to go to sea and is now happily bobbing around on her mooring.
After a long winter in the Pope Family's back yard (Thank you for yet another year of storage), Lightrunner has received all kinds of care to prepare her for our summer tours.
Aaron Fox paints the underside.
Caryn Firebaugh and Sheri Poftak
paint the sides.
Tom Craven and Aaron Fox
remove the old gasket.
Mal Stallings, Anne Bassett and Chuck Delong replace battery and add the new gasket. The boat is in good shape especially as Sean Murphy took her to the carwash last Fall ~~ those barnacles didn't have a chance!!!!
She looks good doesn't she?
What are those barrels?
In our last newsletter we asked our readers
what they thought these barrels were used for.
Many good answers were received - fresh water, moorings, pirate booty. We confered with a maritime antiques expert James Claflin www.lighthouseantiques.net and he said they were most probably floats for fishing nets called Sein nets. Sometimes they floated free of their net and washed up on shore where people picked them up and took them home. A FOWIL member searched the web and found the photo shown below. It is a John Collins photograph. Sure enough the caption said that it was a fisherman throwing a float overboard for a sein net in the 1940s. Perhaps someone on Wood Island painted Wood Island on his floats and then went fishing with his sein net ~~ maybe it was the lighthouse keeper.
History Group
The History Group met in May and discussed their ongoing project of writing booklets (which are currently on sale in our online store) Eventually each booklet will become a chapter in a book. Iona Desmond displays her storyboard for an up and coming booklet about the Murder Suicide whice occured on Wood Island in 1886. She shows the group many beautiful black and white drawings which will be part of the booklet. The group is also working on an educational program for fourth graders. They have approached St. James School in Biddeford.They also are planning a trip to
Burnt Island Lighthouse sometime in August. They will publicize the date and information in the July Newsletter in case some of our readers would like to attend.
Keeper Cliff Trebilcock and his wife Linda
come to Biddeford Pool to meet and talk with the Senior Lighthouse Class ~~ All 30 of them were thrilled!
Senior Lighthouse Class ~ Augusta Maine
Duane Prugh's class on Lighthouses learns about an amazing number of lighthouses. In May they visited Biddeford Pool for a talk and then a rainy walk out to East Point to view Wood Island Light ~~ What an enthusiastic group!
The Friends of
Wood Island Lighthouse
is a chapter of the
American Lighthouse Foundation.
It was formed in the Spring of 2003 specifically to
preserve and restore the Wood Island Light Station.
Please visit our website.
Keeper David Katon and wife.