PODCAST

Light Hearted

Jeremy D"Entremont, U.S. Lighthouse Society

The official podcast of the U.S. Lighthouse Society

society & culture places & travel

All Episodes

53:40

Light Hearted ep 329 – Frank Sipkovsky and Dave...

Light Hearted ·

2025/11/02

Lorain, Ohio, on the south shore of Lake Erie, is known for its history as an industrial hub, and it’s also been an important point for the shipping of materials like coal, iron ore, and limestone. Lorain West Breakwater Lighthouse, also known simply as Lorain Lighthouse, began service in 1919,. The building consists of a square tower rising from the corner of a two-and-one-half story keeper’s house.Loran West Breakwater Lighthouse. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont. After it was decommissioned in

26:33

Light Hearted Lite #31 – Dianna Stampfler and...

Light Hearted ·

2025/10/26

This is an edited version of an interview first heard in May 2021. Dianna Stampfler has written countless articles for many Michigan travel and culture periodicals. In August 2004, she launched Promote Michigan to help market the people, places, and products of her home state. Dianna has also been researching Michigan’s lighthouses for many years. In 2019, she published her book Michigan’s Haunted Lighthouses through the History Press.Dianna Stampfler Michigan has more lighthouses than any

59:07

Light Hearted ep 328 – Don Ladolcetta and “Hannah:...

Light Hearted ·

2025/10/19

Don Ladolcetta Don Ladolcetta's new book, Hannah: The Lighthouse Girl of Newfoundland, tells the story of a young girl who doesn’t know what to expect when her family moves to an isolated lighthouse on the rugged Newfoundland coast. What she discovers is a life filled with adventure, wonder—and danger. SARAH Facing everything from the fury of Mother Nature to illness, the Great Depression, and World War II, Hannah must find the strength to follow her dreams. When a stunning loss upends her

11:04

Light Hearted Lite #30 – Russ Rowlett and The...

Light Hearted ·

2025/10/12

Russ RowlettToday's interview was first heard in episode 19 back in 2019. The conversation is with Russ Rowlett, webmaster of The Lighthouse Directory, one of the most useful lighthouse-related sites on the internet. When Russ was growing up in Richmond, Virginia, his only exposure to lighthouses was climbing the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse when his family vacationed at Virginia Beach. Russ earned a doctorate degree in math at the University of Virginia in the 1960s, and he taught math at

53:09

Light Hearted ep 327 – Therese Langer Woelfel and...

Light Hearted ·

2025/10/05

Therese WoelfelTherese Woelfel, who lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin, has held leadership roles in Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurial endeavors, and non-profit organizations. Her new book, Our Guiding Light, is her first non-fiction work. Therese’s grandfather, Charles A. Linsmeier, was a Lighthouse Service keeper at several stations on the Great Lakes from 1920 to 1953. The book tells the story of Linsmeier’s daughter Vivian, who was Therese’s mother. Here’s an excerpt from the book

22:04

Light Hearted Lite #29 – Dan Spinella and his amazing...

Light Hearted ·

2025/09/28

Dan Spinella created this replica third-order lens for Buffalo Lighthouse in New York.This is an edited version of an interview that first appeared in episode 107 in February 2021. The guest is Dan Spinella, a man who is known for creating amazing replica Fresnel lenses. Dan, who is employed as an engineer at Disney World, began his Fresnel lens research and restoration work in 1992 using both acrylic and glass prisms used to restore historic lenses. Dan’s company, Artworks Florida, began

26:13

Light Hearted Lite #28 – Elaine Jones, Burnt Island, ME

Light Hearted ·

2025/09/14

This is an an edited version of a conversation that was first heard in episode 62 in May 2020. The guest is Elaine Jones and the subject is Burnt Island Light in Maine. A lighthouse was built in 1821 on five-acre Burnt Island at the west side of the entrance to Boothbay Harbor in Maine, which was a center for shipbuilding, gristmills, and fishing going back to the 1700s. In 1988, Burnt Island became one of the last Maine light stations to be automated and destaffed.Elaine Jones painting the

48:33

Light Hearted ep 326 – Portsmouth Harbor Light, NH

Light Hearted ·

2025/09/14

Portsmouth Harbor Light Station, near the mouth of the Piscataqua River in the town of New Castle, New Hampshire, is one of the most picturesque and historic lighthouses in New England. The original wooden lighthouse on the site (1771) was the first lighthouse north of Boston. The present (1878) cast-iron lighthouse stands on the grounds of Coast Guard Station Portsmouth Harbor, neighboring historic Fort Constitution.Portsmouth Harbor Light, NH. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont. The American

50:40

Light Hearted ep 325 – Michael Skaling, Curtis...

Light Hearted ·

2025/09/07

The first lighthouse on Curtis island at the entrance to Camden, Maine, was established in 1836. For many years, the island served as a signal station for the large steamships that passed by. The 25-foot brick lighthouse tower that still stands was built in 1896, and the light was automated in 1972. Curtis Island Light Station, Camden, Maine. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont. The Town of Camden now owns the island and the lighthouse. In 2023, the Curtis Island Lighthouse Foundation was established

24:42

Light Hearted Lite #27 – Elena Hansteensen and...

Light Hearted ·

2025/08/31

This is a look back at an interview that was first heard in episode 122 back in May 2021. The interview is with Elena Hansteensen, who is the owner of Littleisland Lighthouse in Norway, which is operated as a small hotel.Litløy fyr, Norway. (Courtesy of Littleisland Lighthouse) Litløy fyr, or Littleisland Lighthouse in English, is on a small island off the northwest coast of Norway, inside the Arctic Circle. It was first lit in October 1912. For a time, it was the second most powerful

56:33

Light Hearted ep 324 – Darlene Chisholm’s lighthouse...

Light Hearted ·

2025/08/24

Tom and Darlene Chisholm on a Texas trip in 2022. Photo by Carol Nettleton.Darlene Chisholm of Albion, Michigan, is a veteran of many U.S. Lighthouse Society tours, both in the U.S. and abroad. In the course of her travels, she’s photographed well over 4,000 lighthouses. Darelene was a longtime librarian in the public school system in Albion. Her husband, Tom, was president of the education association in Albion. They met at a teachers’ meeting, and they were soon attending basketball games

29:55

Light Hearted Lite 26 – Greens Ledge Light...

Light Hearted ·

2025/08/17

Tim Pettee at Greens Ledge Light, photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.Greens Ledge Light, which was built in Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1902, is a cast-iron lighthouse tower on a cylindrical cast-iron concrete-filled foundation. It’s typical of offshore lighthouses built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Male keepers lived inside the lighthouse tower. Under the provisions of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, the lighthouse was auctioned in 2016. The high bid was placed by a group of

1:01:04

Light Hearted 323 – Moses Calouro, Portia Calouro:...

Light Hearted ·

2025/08/10

AIS (Automatic Identification System) has been used for years to monitor the movements of ships and aircraft in real-time, helping to ensure safe and efficient operations. The company MotionInfo provides second-by-second data accuracy using an extensive network of stations. A North Atlantic right whale and calf. (NOAA Photo Library) Bob Trapani, Jr., American Lighthouse Foundation Executive Director, working on installing MotionInfo's AIS StationKeeper inside the lantern of Little River Light

30:11

Light Hearted Lite #25 – Elanie Bruton, lightkeeper’s...

Light Hearted ·

2025/08/03

Jim and Evelyn Bruton, courtesy of Elanie Bruton. This is an edited version of a conversation with a lighthouse keeper’s daughter in British Columbia, Canada, first heard in episode 104 of Light Hearted. Jim Bruton was born in Wales in 1926, but his family relocated to British Columbia in Canada when he was just one year old. He started working in the logging industry as a boy. In a light keeping career spanning several decades, he served at light stations around Vancouver Island: Lennard

48:24

Light Hearted 322 – Greg Goldstein talks about his...

Light Hearted ·

2025/07/27

Frank Schubert - a native of Staten Island - spent 43 years as a keeper and caretaker at Coney Island Light Station in New York. When he passed away in 2003, he was the last person who had served as a keeper under the old U. S. Lighthouse Service. He originally joined the Lighthouse Service as a seaman on the tender Tulip in 1937. Coney Island Light Station, New York. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont. Frank Schubert He moved in as keeper at Coney Island in 1960. Frank, along with his wife and

30:36

Light Hearted Lite 24 – Ian Duff, Scottish lighthouse...

Light Hearted ·

2025/07/20

This is an edited version of an interview that first appeared in episode 79 in September 2020. Ian Duff worked as a keeper at 13 Scottish lighthouses between 1976 and 1992. He spent about five years at Skerryvore, a remote station off the west coast of Scotland. He also spent about five years at Duncansby Head Light Station at the most northeasterly point of the British mainland.Ian Duff at St. Abbs Head Lighthouse in Scotland. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont. Ian remained involved with

58:46

Light Hearted ep 321: Nancy Beye, David Smith, and...

Light Hearted ·

2025/07/13

With foreign trade blossoming from Newport, Rhode Island, local merchants petitioned for a lighthouse at Beavertail Point at the southern tip of Conanicut Island in the town of Jamestown, and a 69-foot-tall wooden tower was first lighted in 1749. It was the third light station in the American colonies. The 45-foot square granite lighthouse that stands today was built in 1856. The lighthouse is located within Beavertail State Park, and the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association (BLMA) preserves and

26:27

Light Hearted Lite 23 – Don Terras, Grosse Point,...

Light Hearted ·

2025/07/06

Grosse Point Light Station. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.Grosse Point Lighthouse, located at the southern end of Lake Michigan in Evanston, Illinois, was established in 1873 as the primary lighthouse marking the approach to Chicago. Since 1983, for an amazing 42 years, Don Terras has been chief administrator of the Lighthouse Park District, a unit of local government in Evanston. He is also the live-in manager of the Grosse Point Light Station museum, essentially serving as the modern-day

42:08

Light Hearted ep 320: Lorna Pierce and Gloria Coder:...

Light Hearted ·

2025/06/29

This is part two of a two part interview with Lorna Pierce and Gloria Coder, the daughters of Seamond Ponsart Roberts (1940-2023). Seamond was the daughter of the longtime Massachusetts lighthouse keeper Octave Ponsart, and she was the author of the book Everyday Heroes, The True Story of a Lighthouse Family. Seamond's childhood was spent at Cuttyhunk Light and West Chop Light in Massachusetts.Seamond Ponsart Roberts in 2001, tossing a wreath into the waves at Cuttyhunk Island in memory of her

43:09

Light Hearted ep 319 – Lorna Pierce and Gloria Coder:...

Light Hearted ·

2025/06/22

Young Seamond in front of the keeper's house at Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts.The guests in this episode are Gloria Coder and Lorna Pierce. Gloria and Lorna are the daughters of the late Seamond Ponsart Roberts (1940-2023). Seamond was the daughter of a longtime lighthouse keeper in Massachusetts, and she was the author of the book Everyday Heroes: The True Story of a Lighthouse Family. Seamond's father, Octave Ponsart, began his lighthouse keeping career at Great Point on Nantucket. He

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