From the Keeper’s Desk – July 7-11

I am playing catch-up this week. Root Beer Festival was all-consuming last week, so I’m combining all the daily updates from last week into one post. Enjoy! – Amy

Greetings,

I was only around this morning until 10:30 am because we had a lighthouse committee meeting in the afternoon down in Sturgeon Bay. Lots happened in the morning while I was there and probably a whole lot more in the afternoon. Looking forward to tomorrow morning to see what I missed.

Deion was busy painting in the privy. He joined Chuck, Frankie and Mateo in the lighthouse tower to confer on how to get the lighting conduit up the tower wall and get behind the cast iron steps. Deion said the plaster on the wall is about 2 inches thick before hitting brick. That should leave enough room to get flexible conduit behind a step to connect to the metal conduit.

Frankie and Mateo were working on installing additional outlets in the lighthouse keepers quarters. They are making amazing progress.

Mike and Billy started on the porch on the west side of the barn before Mike had to make a materials run. Billy installed the hinges on the hayloft door before going upstairs to the hayloft to install window trim.

The inside of the summer kitchen is looking fantastic thanks to Jeanne’s “whitewashing” work.

Out on the bay at 9:45 were lots of what appeared to be gulls. Not so, they were pelicans. Never saw so many pelicans in one place at the same time. It pays to look around.

Ed

Greetings,

It was a day of Deion fixing a small water leak in the lantern, Frankie and Mateo installing conduit and boxes in the tower, Deion painting in the privy and oil house, Jeannie painting in the summer kitchen and Beth painting in the barn hayloft. Chuck installed more electrified oil lamps. Mike and Billy finished the barn porch and Mike installed deadbolt locks on the barn and summer kitchen doors.

I am amazed that installing electricity generally was much easier in the lighthouse than we thought it would be. Much of that was due to how well Frankie and Mateo handled the job. They met the challenge of working in a structure that was built in 1868.

Ed

Greetings,

Work continues with painting inside the summer kitchen and on the outside of the barn. Privy restoration is proceeding with the rebuilding of the two hole throne. The inside looks terrific after three coats of paint and the new paint on the floor. For a privy it is actually inviting on the inside. When the holes get cut in the top of the throne they will be well rounded. We do not want any cases of slivers.

Lighthouse author Sue Jarosh was at Eagle Bluff today with her captivating books.

John Hippensteel, noted wind and solar energy guru from Lake Michigan Wind and Sun, joined the team of illustrious painters. He was helping Beth put another coat of paint on the barn. Even though the face of the siding had two coats of paint it was determined that it needed a third coat. Window and door trim also needs another coat of paint.

The tower lighting was completed yesterday by Frankie and Mateo. Super job! It is going to be so nice not to have to hang battery lanterns anymore for nighttime events. That goes for the whole lighthouse.

Ed

Greetings! Pictures of work from today.

Ed

Greetings!

Mike and Billy installed paneling and trim in the barn. Jeanne continues painting in the summer kitchen. Getting closer to being done in there. Mike and Billy finished up at 10:30 this morning so I left at 11 am today.

Chuck sent me another picture that his neighbor took of EBLS from the water. It captures the very narrow view of the lighthouse that is not blocked by trees. Why the concern of only seeing the lighthouse from a small area on the water? In the daytime lighthouses are identified by their unique daymark. At night they are identified by their unique light characteristics.

A lighthouse daymark is a unique visual identifier, usually a specific paint scheme or pattern on the lighthouse tower, that helps mariners recognize the lighthouse during the day when the light itself might not be visible. This allows sailors to determine their location and the dangers nearby, aiding in safe navigation.

Lighthouses are identified at night by their unique light characteristics, which include the color, flash pattern, and duration of the light sequences. These patterns, known as the lighthouse’s “characteristic,” help mariners distinguish between different lighthouses, allowing them to determine their position and course.

Our daymark at EBLS is the color of the cream city brick and the square shape of the tower. This is important because in close proximity is the Chambers Island Light, an almost identical twin of EBLH. They both are made of cream city brick. The key to differentiating the two lighthouses is that Chambers Island Light has an octagonal tower.

So how does one find out information about lighthouse daymarks? It is in list of lighthouses maintained by the Coast Guard. The US Coast Guard maintains a list of lighthouses and other aids to navigation in their Light Lists. These lists are published in seven volumes, each covering a specific geographic area. The lists include details on lights, sound signals, buoys, and other aids to navigation maintained by or under the authority of the Coast Guard.

The bottom line is that we need to have some trees cleared so the Eagle Bluff Light Station daymark is visible from more than one small location on the water.

Ed