Wedding Bells at Lighthouse!

On July 4 th, Sally Ward and Phillip Walker, both of Annapolis, exchanged their wedding vows at the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, in front of Reverend Pamela Shipley and a few family members and friends. To our knowledge, this was the first-ever wedding at the lighthouse, but hopefully not the last. Although the morning started with some drizzle, the sun befittingly broke through as we arrived and boarded the lighthouse. After a quick tour, the group headed up to the lantern gallery for the short and lovely ceremony. Congratulations to Phil and Sally! If you are interested in having a small wedding ceremony, a surprise engagement, or other type of special event at our special lighthouse, please contact Lighthouse Manager Henry Gonzalez at tpsl@cox.net for more information.

Amazing Lighthouse Replica

Gary Gillette, a model-making hobbyist who specializes in replicas of historic buildings, spent over 300 hours making an amazingly authentic 1/48 th scale model of Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, and then donated it to the U.S. Lighthouse Society. To support his efforts, Gary was given full access to our archive of historic drawings and photographs, and he visited the lighthouse a couple of times to ascertain certain details for the replica. The details he replicated are amazing: conduits and pipes under the cottage, every little U.S. Coast Guard junction box on the roof and dormers, the fog detector sensors sticking out of one of the 2 nd story windows, etc. Gary is both an architect and an engineer, so needless to say, he is very meticulous in his craft and hobby, and it shows! The replica sits in an acrylic case that measures 26 inches square by 20 inches high. Eventually, it will be on display at the Annapolis Maritime Museum, but for now it will be shown at special events. This was Gary’s first lighthouse, but probably not his last. He is currently working on a replica of a Frank Lloyd Wright house. Gary, thanks very much for your passion and for this beautiful donation!

IWIF: Screwpile Founding Sponsor for 5th Consecutive Year

Our friends and supporters at the Injured Worker’s Insurance Fund (IWIF) of Maryland continue to come through as our principal Screwpile Founding Sponsor, with their fifth consecutive $10,000 donation for the lighthouse. In the photograph, Lighthouse Manager Henry Gonzalez presents Donna Wilson, IWIF Vice President for Corporate Services & Strategic Planning, with a “piece of the lighthouse” (a six-inch section of a steel tie rod which was removed from the lighthouse in 2007) as a small token of our appreciation for their generosity. Words cannot express how thankful we are for their continued support and how important their donations are to our annual maintenance and operations activities. Thanks to Donna, to Jim Taylor, Director of Communications, and to all of friends at IWIF!

TPS Lighthouse Keeper Photos

These are the first photos we have encountered of a TPS lighthouse keeper actually on board of the lighthouse! The photos are of Assistant Keeper Earl C. Harris (standing alone by one of the boat davits) and of Principal Keeper Henry F.G. Bryant, Asst Keeper Harris and two friends. The two images, taken in 1939 or 1940, were given to the U.S. Lighthouse Society by Wayne Harris, a nephew of Asst. Keeper Harris. Previous news items on this website included a photo of Principal Keeper Bryant and his wife posing ashore for their 50 th wedding anniversary, which were provided to us by his grandsons, Bob & Bill Bryant. Asst. Keeper Harris was Principal Keeper Bryant’s son-in-law, which makes Wayne Harris and Bob & Bill Bryant sort of “related” by marriage, although they did not know each other until we connected them. Thank you, Wayne!

Roof Restoration Completed

Come see our “new” shiny roof with its distinctive red color! The roof areas were last painted in 2000/2001 by the U.S. Coast Guard, and the elements had taken their toll on it, with many areas showing the exposed metal roof, and most other areas very faded in color, and with lots of white seagull guano (see first picture, taken in March). It’s now so clean and bright, you need sunglasses to look at it, even when it’s not sunny! The work was done by Houck Specialty Contractors of Harrisburg, PA using elastomeric Acrymax coatings from Preservation Products, Inc., of Media, PA. Houck’s on-site team, led by foreman Don Long, pressure-washed the roof areas – this includes all of the standing-seam metal roof areas (red), as well as the sides of the dormers (white), and the lantern gallery (red), lantern pediment and dome (black) – and then applied one coat of primer and two coats of the finish products. These advanced coatings are designed to withstand the elements for at least 10 years with minimal maintenance. They worked four long days a week for four weeks in June, without a single day being cancelled due to weather. Daily transportation was provided by our own volunteer Captain Howard Lewis and project oversight by volunteer Tom McCracken; they were both very impressed with Houck’s work ethic, workmanship, professionalism, teamwork and can-do attitude. Houck and Preservation Products made a significant donation by reducing the price for us by roughly 25%. The contract was funded in large part by a $25,000 grant from the France-Merrick Foundation of Baltimore. Our sincere thanks to the folks from Houck Specialty Contractors, Preservation Products, the France-Merrick Foundation, Captain Howard and Tom for their efforts and support!

“Legacy of the Light” DVD Documentary

Be among the first to own a 12-minute documentary about the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse! Learn about the history of the lighthouse, its style of construction, its keepers, and its preservation, and hear the words of some of the keepers come to life! Please click here for more information on how to purchase the DVD!