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Port Washington
Historical Society Ozaukee
County, Wisconsin |
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Updates from
Lighthouse Linda 2007 Updates
from Light House Linda What's new in 2007 at the Light Station? 1) A hands on wooden Pilot House with
artifacts from S.S. Christopher Columbus, Tug Admiral, S.S. Cedarville was
added to the Light Station Museum. Children can play steamboat Captain! 2) New Port Washington Business
memorabilia 3) Historic Port Washington Sports
Uniforms 4) Wisconsin Chair Factory Display 5) Lamp Bulbs from 1st order - 5th order
electrified Fresnel lens. 6) NEW Gift Shop items : T-shirts,
sweatshirts, ornaments, postcards, etc. 7) Lantern open to the Public when
accompanied by a Light Station Tour Guide 2006 Light
Station News September 2006 With
the summer season comes a flurry of activity at the Light Station. Well over two thousand visitors have toured
the site on Saturdays and Sundays, the only days the Station is open on a
regular basis. Individuals and groups
have also been accommodated on weekdays, some by prior arrangement and others
by a chance encounter with Leroy Bley (only a phone call away) or Light
Station Directors Rick Smith and Linda Nenn.
A hearty thank you is extended to Ardy Ahsmann, Alyce Appleman, Leroy
and Joan Bley, Sharon Brown, John Enright, Alice Horton, Marianne Kartheiser,
Deveron Krueger, Elaine Nulph, Mary Kay Schuknecht and Geri Zehren for
donating their time as tour guides this year. Behind
the scenes Rick Smith has been painting, varnishing, window washing, planning
new displays, serving as curator for artifact preservation/acquisition and a
myriad of other daily tasks that keep the Light Station in good order. Jim Fowler cleans the museum once a week
and Norm Geisenheimer mows and trims the lawn. Linda continues to handle Light Station
correspondence and bookkeeping, historical research, arrange group tours and
seek out venues to publicize the Station. The
Generator Building needs a new coat of paint.
Any volunteers out there? Call
Rick at the Light Station, 1-262-284-7240.
A portion of the building still sports only a coat of primer applied
before the siding was nailed in place in 2002. Port
Washington Lightkeeper News A
conversation with Jeannette Lewis Dallmann, granddaughter of Charles (the
last lightkeeper of the 1860 lighthouse, 1880-1934) and Linda Teed Lewis,
provided some much needed information on the historical plantings that
decorated the Station grounds after the light was extinguished in 1903. From 1860 to 1903 no trees, bushes or
plants could block the view of the lighthouse from the lake. An 1884 photo of the Station confirms this,
with only some poplar or aspen trees visible along the West lot line. From 1903 to 1976, nothing was allowed to
impede the view of the harbor lights from the light station. Working within these parameters, Jeannette
said she remembered hollyhocks along the East foundation wall, Persian
violets near the oil house, currants along the walkway to the oil house and
an apple tree between the well and the oil house. Thanks to the Port Washington Garden Club,
Tom Hudson, Geri Zehren and Jackie Oleson, two apple trees and hollyhocks
have been planted and a variety of flowers add color to the cistern located
in the NW corner of the lot. Geri,
Jackie and Ardy Ahsmann planted geraniums and greenery in the seasonal
planters. This attention to details
help preserve the historical integrity of the Light Station site. David
Curran, Master of the Corps of Engineers tug that was in our harbor to
facilitate the moving and addition of the large limestone and granite stone
that protects the pierhead light, stopped at the Light Station in July. David lived at the Light Station during his
father's tour of duty in Port Washington 1964-1966. Copies of photos of Coast Guardsman BM1
John Curran (Ret.) that appeared in the Ozaukee Press in 1965 were given to
David to share with his Dad who now lives in Barefoot Bay, Florida. David
Hays, son of Coast Guardsman EN1 David D. Hays (Ret.), 1969-1970 stopped by
one weekend. The Light Station has the
complete military record of David D. Hays, provided to the Historical Society
10 years ago, and this was shared with his son. David D. Hays and his wife, Shirley, live
in Cullman, Tennessee. David, the
younger, and his sister Sharon attended Port's public schools while living
here. In
late August Virginia Drezdzon Smiddy of Milwaukee called the Light Station to
arrange a visit. Virginia's family
lived at the Light Station 1947-1956.
Michael Drezdzon and his family lived in the second floor
apartment. Virginia remembers taking
the Greyhound bus into Milwaukee every day for work and getting on board at
the Greyhound Station on Franklin Street.
The Drezdzon family is one of the families featured in a new
lighthouse book authored by Barb and Ken Wardius, Cana Island Lighthouse. Jim
Graham and Julie Carufel (Society Past President) stopped briefly at the
Light Station. Their father, Charles
W. Graham, was the Officer in Charge of this Station 1958-1962. Charley, as most of us knew him, later
served as Port Washington's Harbor Master. By
meeting and speaking with these former Light Station residents we're better
able to record the full story of the Lighthouses of Port Washington. Fresnel
Lens and Restoration Fund The
Light Station Restoration Project has surpassed the halfway point in raising
approximately $30,000 to purchase an exact acrylic replica of the 4th order
Fresnel Lens that created the beacon that shone from the Light Station
1860-1903. The new lens will replace
the ship's light that currently illuminates the lantern from dusk to dawn
every night. Just as was the case in
1860, the lens will be the single most expensive component of the lighthouse. The 4th order beehive lens will be
approximately 28" tall. The
individuals prisms that comprise the lens will be affixed within a brass
frame. The frame and prisms are hinged
on one side, allowing access to the interior where a 4th order lamp stood
upon a brass base. The lens and lamp
will top a cast iron pedestal, bringing the lens level with the nine panes of
glass that create the lantern room configuration. As
of this writing, the Light Station Restoration Fund contains just over
$18,000 according to Society Treasurer, Mark Schowalter. The
funding for the Restoration Project continue to come from a variety of
sources including Light Station visitor admissions, donation boxes in several
local businesses, commemorative brick orders and direct contributions to the
Restoration Fund. The rental income from the Light Station apartment covers
the utilities and upkeep of the site and operating expenses for the
Historical Society in general. No
unrestricted donations to the Historical Society support the Restoration. Rather, these contributions such as your
memberships dues, sustain all the other Historical Society endeavors. Please
consider a donation to the Historical Society. If you wish the contribution to be
restricted to a particular use, i.e. the Restoration/Fresnel Lens Fund or the
Research Center, Historical Society operational expenses, clearly indicate
your preference. Fresnel
Lens Donations Received
at the Light Station $25
- $99 Marjorie
Wiedeman: Milwaukee Sir
James Pub Donation Box: Port
Washington Drew's
True Value Hardware Donation Box: Port
Washington Arlene
Schroeder: Mequon $100
- $250 Marianne
Kartheiser: Fredonia Alice
Horton: Port Washington Jim
Fowler: West Bend $250
- $499 Linda
Nenn $500-$999 Harmon
Smith: Madison Daniel
Smith: Punta Gorda, FL The
Face of our Visitors Every
visitor that comes to the Light Station is considered a special guest. Having said that, some of our guests stand
out from the crowd. Mario Mutsch, the
Luxembourg contractor in charge of rebuilding our tower and lantern in
Luxembourg and rebuilding it on site, came calling with his mother and son,
Tom. Madeleine Simon, of Morton Grove,
accompanied them. Ms. Germaine
Goetzinger, Director of the National Center for Literature in Luxembourg, and
her husband Charles Berg visited the Station while in the area for Luxembourg
Fest. A tour group of 17 Luxembourgers
were greeted in mid August. And, most
special of all, the children. Every
one of them is a potential historian and it will be their hands that carry
our present day preservation efforts into the future. Besides that, their smiles and enthusiasm
are infectious. Light
Station Receipts: May 1 through
September 6, 2006 Historical
Society Income resale
items $711.00 Restoration
Fund Visitor
Admissions: $3,901.65 Restoration
resale items: $275.30 Restoration:
Fresnel Fund Only: S2,744.73 |
The Port Washington Historical Society is a volunteer, non-profit organization