Minutia: A Little This & That

Happy New Year to all, and especially to those who love lighthouses!

I ask your indulgence and forgiveness that I have made no blog posts for months. A lot has and is happening in my office and on my desk. (Including a new novel!) From the stack of things on my research table, come the following snippets. Enjoy!

From the Custom House Museum in New London, Connecticut comes this lovely fan of postcards of local landmarks, including New London Harbor Lighthouse in the center. For more info about the museum email nlmaritimedirector@gmail.com. .

From "The Beacon" newsletter of the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse in California come this neat article about working in a lighthouse lantern. No author was given. The Piedras Blancas Lighthouse Association can be reached at 805.927.3719.

This is an interesting article about a pandemic not too different than Covid-19. The Point Fermin Lighthouse Society carried this in their Summer 2020 newsletter, "To the Point." Contact the group at 310.241.0612.

Here is a fun poem by Mary Lou Fourtane at Point Fermin Lighthouse, California, sharing the disappointment of a pandemic year at the lighthouse. I think most of us can relate, especially if we volunteer at lighthouse.

Looking for something to get your sweetie for Valentine's Day?

As the chair of the Education Committee for the U.S. Lighthouse Society, I have begun reaching out to kids (of any age) with some fun inserts in the society's quarterly journal, "The Keepers Log." Here is some of my handiwork free for the taking. Print it out and hand it out, or share it with your favorite kid or teacher. Squirrel it away for a rainy/snowy day when you hear "I'm bored!" Please be respectful of authorship. If you wish to share "Lighthouse Fun4Kids" in your newsletter or other publication, do give me credit. The two stories below, written by me and my cohort on the Education Committee--Cheryl Shelton Roberts--already have bylines. We truly want to get kids interested in learning about lighthouses and growing up to be a lighthouse docent or preservationist. We are thankful to Rich Gales of the U.S. Lighthouse Society for his fun and clever designs on the stories pages.

Do you know a kid who loves to draw or paint or sculpt? I have a sweet little place on the U.S. Lighthouse Society website where kids' art can be displayed. I use first names only, to protect kids' identities. If you would like to send scanned images of kids' art, I accept it at elinor@uslhs.org.

Go to https://uslhs.org/fun/kids-corner/kids-artwork to see more kids' art. And send me those scanned images!