This posting is a day late, but it is a great article. Are you familiar with this day in history?
I’ve always been fascinated by lighthouses. To me, they are giant candles that light your way in the darkness. These days, everything is so digital and high-tech that we sometimes can’t imagine how they managed in the good old day. On August 7, however, we honor human ingenuity as we celebrate National Lighthouse Day.
On August 7, 1789, the United States Congress passed the “Act for the Establishment and support of Lighthouse, Beacons, Buoys, and Public Piers.” It also marked the commissioning of the first Federal lighthouse in the United States. On the Act’s 200th anniversary in 1989, Congress again passed a resolution, this time designating August 7 as National Lighthouse Day!
Lighthouses are part of a heroic and industrious history that helped propel the United States to its status today. Lighthouses have swept their lights through storm, pounding waves, foul weather and fog, protecting our coasts and guiding our sailors, making sure that all were safe and secure for those on their journey as well as those safe in their beds. They’ve been impressive beacons calling our sea-faring loved ones home.
Unfortunately, a lot of our country’s famous lighthouses have fallen into disrepair, neglected over decades of technological development. Honoring them through the National Lighthouse Day encourages continued repair and restoration so that we do not lose their valuable legacy forever. Moreover, this day also shines its light on the many communities that have been built in the vicinity of lighthouses, the men and women who have kept them functioning, and those who make their livelihoods from the sea.
These days, there are still a number of functioning lighthouses around the country. Visiting these lighthouses with our families, students, colleagues, and peers can teach us a lot about their contribution to our society. In addition, local and national interest groups have been calling our attention to the preservation of lighthouses as grand examples of period architecture. Preserving them will provide architects, engineers, tourists, students and hobbyists living models as inspiration and focus of study.
If you are, however, just a simple fan like me (who is actually so fearful of heights that I can’t make it all the way to the top of a lighthouse), just LOOKING at one from the safe lower floors, or reading about a famous lighthouse, drawing or painting a picture of one will be enough to observe National Lighthouse Day. If this article has piqued your interest, think about what you can do on this day. Like me, you can either visit a lighthouse, read a book about them, or, you can find out more about your local lighthouse society and, even, volunteer!
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