November 2011 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 7. Waterfront News LITTLE RIVER LIGHTHOUSE SEEKS HELP


It hasn’t been done in the 164 year his- tory of the lighthouse. But volunteers from Maine’s Little River Lighthouse, located off Cutler, want to change that. They want to have a lone caretaker live on the island in isolation during the brutal winter months, as well as year ‘round, as part of a unique edu- cational program that has never been done before. So, the Friends of Little River Light- house have launched “Lighthouse En- deavor.”


Their plan is an ambitious undertaking, especially since there is no heat in the keeper’s house; the Coast Guard ripped out the heating system decades ago. A wood pellet stove will need to be purchased and installed. Also, the fair-weather dock and floats for safe access to the island must be removed in the winter months to avoid being destroyed by the winter storms that are so prevalent in this area.


This will require the modern-era light- house keeper to have a small boat that can easily be brought up the boat ramp and into the boat house. The group does not have a small dory or inflatable with an outboard, but hope to have one donated. Years ago the ramp into the boat house was removed when the lighthouse was abandoned by the Coast Guard and the old winch is no longer usable. So, a new hand-operated winch will have to be obtained.


No longer do government lighthouse tenders deliver food, fuel, or other supplies. The modern day lighthouse keeper will need to have a supply of food on hand, perhaps for


long periods of time when it is not possible to safely travel to the mainland. This modern era lighthouse keeper will also require a sti- pend to pay his bills. There will not be a government paycheck like the lighthouse keepers of yesteryear received.


The lighthouse keepers of yesteryear who lived on the island never lived there alone and always had family or other keepers with them. However, the modern day keeper will be there alone, by himself. Although having a modern day keeper living at the lighthouse in the off-season will help deter vandalism, and the heating of the house will prevent the plaster from cracking and falling off the walls and having to be repaired each spring, this is not the primary mission of the Lighthouse Endeavor.


In fact, the Lighthouse Endeavor has been designed as a unique platform. Its pri- mary mission is to be an on-site and distance- learning program that will address a wide range of subjects from technology to ecol- ogy and math to preservation, as well as history.


In order to make the program universally accessible to educators, organizations, and the general public, the Lighthouse Endeavor will also provide a multimedia chronicle of the daily life of the modern day keeper and the life of the island through the seasons. However, in order to be able to get the Lighthouse Endeavor off the ground, the project required access to the Internet. A satellite dish on this island would not be practical for a number of reasons, mainly


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because historic regulations do not allow one to be attached to the keeper’s house and, in an area known for its, days on end of, thick fog, would not be reliable.


So the friends group turned to Axiom Technologies of Machias, a company that specializes in getting wireless broadband Internet services to remote areas. When pre- sented with the Lighthouse Endeavor pro- posal, the president of the firm, Susan Corbett, made a personal visit to the island to get a better understanding of what the Friends of Little River Lighthouse was trying to accomplish. Apparently she was im- pressed. Soon she had her company’s tech- nicians busy at work to find a way to get wireless access to the island in a way that would not interfere with the historical integ- rity of the property. Within a few weeks, the technicians were able to make Internet ser- vice available to the island.


More help then came from the Machias Savings Bank, which stepped forward with the necessary funds to repair the chimney atop the keeper’s house. This was followed by a generous offer from Dave and Cheryl Corbett of Massachusetts, whose grandfa- ther Willie W. Corbett, was the last light- house keeper of the U.S. Lighthouse Service and the first Coast Guard lighthouse keeper to serve at Little River Lighthouse. He served there from 1921 to August 1, 1944, having joined the Coast Guard in 1939 when it took over the duties of the old U.S. Lighthouse Service. The Corbett’s offered to underwrite the full cost of insulating the water pipes. Just who would want to undertake this arduous task of living on a remote island lighthouse, by himself, in isolation?


That task goes to Bill Kitchen, who has been a volunteer at the lighthouse for the past three years. He and his wife, Deb, first visited the island lighthouse as paying overnight guests. The couple immediately fell in love with the lighthouse, the island, and the area. They have returned every summer as volun- teers and caretakers. But this will be differ- ent. Bill’s wife Deb, who is a school teacher, will stay in Massachusetts and Bill will be at the lighthouse by himself.


The Friends of Little River Lighthouse still need to raise a minimum of $9,500 in a combination of cash and in-kind donations. And they need to do it now, before the winter months set in.


In exchange for a donation and while supplies last, the Friends are giving a free Little River Lighthouse Christmas ornament for all donations of $50.00 to $250.00 and a free Harbour Lights collectible replica of the light- house for donations over $250.00.The group is also offering corporate sponsorships and they hope that companies will be excited in supporting a educational project such as the Lighthouse Endeavor at Little River Light- house.


To learn more about Little River Light- house and the Lighthouse Endeavor at Little River Lighthouse or to make a highly needed on-line donation you can go to www.LittleRiverLight.org or call 207-259- 3833. A link on the Little River Lighthouse web site to the Lighthouse Endeavor will also bring you to daily posts with photos, updates and more. Donations can also be mailed to the Friends of Little River Lighthouse, P.O. Box 671, East Machias, ME 04630.


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