Wayne Wheeler in 1983The name Wayne Wheeler has become synonymous with lighthouse preservation and education. He’s one of the pioneers of the lighthouse preservation movement and one of the foremost experts on lighthouse history in the U.S.

Light Hearted ep 273 – Edward Peppitt, author and host of the “Keeping Watch” podcast

12 days ago 1h 1m

Edward Peppitt is the southeast England representative for the Association of Lighthouse Keepers, or ALK, and he produces and hosts a podcast called Keeping Watch. He’s also a fundraising ambassador for Shift MS, a charity aimed at keeping mult

Light Hearted 272 – Gene Davis, director of Coast Guard Museum Northwest

19 days ago 46m 6s

Gene Davis with a fourth-order Fresnel lens from New Dungeness Lighthouse, Washington.The Coast Guard Museum Northwest, located on an active Coast Guard base on the waterfront in Seattle, Washington, opened in 1976. The museum serves as a s

Light Hearted ep 271 – Tony Ashdon, Coast Guard lightkeeper

26 days ago 46m 2s

Tony Ashdon (left) with Light Hearted host Jeremy D'Entremont. Photo by John LopezThe guest in this episode, Tony Ashdon, spent 22 years in the Coast Guard including some time as a lighthouse keeper. Tony spent some years on an aids to navi

Light Hearted ep 270 – Emily Straight and Vince Bailey, “The Lighthouse Lowdown”

Mar 25th, 2024 46m 1s

The podcast "The Lighthouse Lowdown" was launched in 2022 by two residents of Kansas City, Missouri, Emily Straight and Vince Bailey. To date they have published almost 50 episodes, covering history, spooky stories, and all the "things that mak

Light Hearted ep 269 – Buzz Hoerr and the Michigan Lighthouse Alliance

Mar 17th, 2024 1h 2m

Harbor Beach Lighthouse, Michigan (USLHS archives)The Michigan Lighthouse Alliance (MLA), founded in 2003, encompasses more than 50 preservation groups and lighthouse stakeholders from around the state of Michigan. The purpose of the Allian

Light Hearted Lite #2 – Joseph Smith & his portrayal of Augustin Fresnel

Mar 13th, 2024 19m 17s

This is an edited version of an interview that was featured in Light Hearted episode 44 in January 2020. Joseph Smith has been a theatrical performer based in New York City since 1995. His passion is to create excitement and curiosity about his

Light Hearted ep 268 – W. Scott Jett, Hereford Inlet, NJ

Mar 10th, 2024 46m 41s

Hereford Inlet Lighthouse (courtesy photo)Hereford Inlet, a break in the barrier islands along the east side of Cape May, New Jersey, was used by whalers as far back as the 17th century. Shifting sands and a strong current made the inlet da

Light Hearted Lite #1 – Sophie Blackall

Mar 6th, 2024 17m 24s

We've produced almost 300 episodes of the podcast Light Hearted in the past five years. Most of the interviews we’ve done have been a half hour to an hour. We realize that listening to an hour-long podcast is not something everyone wants to do,

Light Hearted ep 267 – Patrick Mont and Chelsea clocks; Guin and Dani talk lighthouses; Portsmouth Harbor Light, NH

Mar 3rd, 2024 57m 59s

Dani and Guin doing what they loveThere are three segments in this episode. First, 11-year-old Guinevere Porter and her best friend Dani, Kentucky residents, talk about their visits to some beautiful and very tall lighthouses in Georgia, Fl

Light Hearted ep 266 – John Zimmerman and Jen Lewis, St. George Reef, California

Feb 25th, 2024 55m 2s

The seas off the northern California coast are notoriously rough, and no area is more treacherous than St. George Reef, which is the tip of a submerged volcanic mountain about six miles offshore. Construction of a lighthouse on the reef began i

Light Hearted ep 265 – Whale Rock, RI, and the Hurricane of 1938

Feb 18th, 2024 1h 3m

Whale Rock Lighthouse (U.S. Coast Guard)Walter Eberle with his wife AgnesWhale Rock Light, a typical cast-iron “spark plug” type lighthouse, was constructed at the entrance to the west passage of Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay in 1882

Light Hearted ep 264 – Kristen Heather and Jeanette Rodriquez, Point Fermin, California

Feb 11th, 2024 1h 1m

The area in Southern California known as San Pedro saw Spanish use dating back to the 1540s. Once a separate township, it’s now part of Los Angeles. After the Mexican-American War, San Pedro’s harbor was expanded and improved. Congress appropri

Light Hearted ep 263 – Joanne Mulloy and Jerry Arnold, Mukilteo, Washington

Feb 4th, 2024 59m 50s

Mukilteo Lighthouse, photo by Jeremy D'EntremontOn the east side of Washington’s Puget Sound, Mukilteo grew as a port in the late 1800s, with salmon canning and lumber as leading industries. Funds were appropriated by Congress for a lightho

Light Hearted ep 262 – Old Point Loma, California

Jan 28th, 2024 47m 45s

Old Point Loma Lighthouse, photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.Congress authorized lighthouses at several California locations in 1850, including San Diego. Construction began in 1854 on a lighthouse on a high bluff at the end of Point Loma, more t

Light Hearted ep 261 – Cornelia Cesari, Baker island, Maine

Jan 21st, 2024 1h

Cornelia CesariMaine's Baker Island is about four miles southeast of the much larger Mount Desert Island. A lighthouse was established on the highest point of the island in 1828. The early history of the light station is very much tied into

Light Hearted ep 260 – Julie Barrow, Pigeon Point, CA

Jan 14th, 2024 1h

Julie Barrow at Pigeon Point Light Station, California. Courtesy of Julie Barrow.California’s iconic Pigeon Point Lighthouse, located on the central coast between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, has been guiding mariners since 1872. Today, t

Light Hearted ep 259 – A look back at the career of lighthouse technician Harry Duvall

Jan 7th, 2024 59m 56s

Harry Duvall and Dan May. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.Harry Duvall enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in the 1960s and trained as an electronics technician. After graduating from college, he returned to the Coast Guard as a civilian employee

Light Hearted ep 258 – Bob Trapani Jr.: New England’s fascinating day beacons

Dec 31st, 2023 56m 19s

A day beacon (or daybeacon) is defined simply as an unlighted nautical sea mark, serving to aid navigation during the day. The U.S. Coast Guard maintains many modern day beacons around the country, but the subject of this episode is the histori

Light Hearted ep 257 – Ford Reiche, Little Mark Island, Maine

Dec 24th, 2023 48m 42s

Little Mark Island—about one acre in size—is in Maine’s Casco Bay, near the town of Harpswell. On the island is a 50-foot tall, stone, pyramidal tower that was built in 1827. It’s known as the Little Mark Island Monument. It wasn’t built as a

Light Hearted ep 256 – Boston Light Keeper Sally Snowman and the end of an era, part 2 of 2

Dec 17th, 2023 47m 25s

Sally Snowman and her husband Jay Thomson on the occasion of Sally's retirement on December 15, 2023. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.At the end of this year, Sally Snowman will retire after 20 years as keeper of Boston Light in Massachusetts,

Light Hearted ep 255 – Boston Light Keeper Sally Snowman and the end of an era, part 1 of 2

Dec 10th, 2023 55m 4s

In 2003, the active duty Coast Guard personnel that had been assigned to Boston Light on Little Brewster Island, America’s oldest light station, were reassigned to meet the needs of Homeland Security. Sally Snowman was named the new keeper. She

Light Hearted ep 254 – Laurie Perkins, Tawas Point, MI; Dan May’s new book “Preserving America’s Lighthouses”

Dec 3rd, 2023 1h 4m

RADM Dan May, USCG (ret.) Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.Daniel R. May graduated with a degree in ocean engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, in the class of 1979. During his time as the ocean engineer for t

Light Hearted ep 253: Gary Kalan, Stamford Harbor, CT; Judianne Point, Pomham Rocks, RI

Nov 26th, 2023 52m 58s

Stamford Harbor Lighthouse in May 2023. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.The entrance to Stamford Harbor in Connecticut, on Long Island Sound, is obstructed by treacherous ledges. One of them is known as Chatham Ledge. The construction of a ligh

Light Hearted ep 252 – Alysa Hardin-Lapp and John Havel: Cape Hatteras, NC

Nov 19th, 2023 58m 32s

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, North Carolina. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.Alisa Hardin-Lapp andi "Light Hearted" host Jeremy D'Entremont. Photo by John Havel.Cape Hatteras Lighthouse on North Carolina’s Outer Banks is one of the most visite