American
Lawn
Lights
Donates
Lighthouse
Models
to Museum
of Lighthouse
History
One of
the new exhibits that was unveiled at the Museum of Lighthouse History during
the grand opening festivities in August 2005 was a display that honors the life
and contributions of the "First Lady of Light" Connie Small. The
exhibit, which includes a quilt that Connie hand-stitched during the 1930-46
period of her lightkeeping years with her husband Elson, pays tribute to this
very special woman - the likes of which the lighthouse community will not see
again.
Thanks to the generosity of American Lawn Lights, the Connie
Small exhibit also includes a wonderful model of Portsmouth Harbor
Lighthouse. "American Lawn Lights was honored to donate our
first replica of the Portsmouth Harbor light to the American Lighthouse
Foundation's Museum of Lighthouse History in memory of Connie Small, the first
"Lady of Light," says Steve Wright, owner of American Lawn Lights.
Wright went on to say, "Portsmouth Harbor, New
Hampshire, was the last light station that Connie and her husband Elson served
at (1946-48) and went on to become an inspiration to lighthouse enthusiasts and
preservationists. We are deeply honored the Museum was willing to accept
our donation for their new exhibit honoring her life."
Connie Small spent most of her adult life recounting the
stories of lighthouse life through her many lectures and media interviews.
But each time she also stressed how important it was to keep alive those stories
and memories for future generations. She felt that saving the stories,
memories and the photographs was just as important, if not more important, than
saving the actual towers.
The model of the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse donated by American Lawn Lights
will serve as a "guiding light" to attract Museum visitors to Connie's
fascinating quilt - an artifact that Timothy Harrison (President, ALF)
believes is one-of-kind. "To the best of our knowledge, the quilt of her
life at St. Croix Island Lighthouse is probably the only item of its kind in
existence anywhere. Every time she was interviewed by a reporter, she
would take the quilt out of storage and show it to the reporter and then
carefully explain that each scene on the quilt was a memory of lighthouse
keeping in another era that will never again be repeated in history and why
those memories must be preserved for future generations."
Connie's last visit was shortly before her death at
103. One of Connie's wishes was that the quilt be put on display in the
museum after her death. She was an inspiration to any one with a love of
lighthouse history as well as United States history. Her stories will now
live on forever in her book as well as the permanent exhibit in the museum of
Lighthouse History.
Also donated was a replica of the Little River Light Station
in Cutler. One of ALF's lighthouses without a locally supported chapter,
raising funds for this lighthouse is a little more difficult. Seeing this
dilemma Steve Wright thought that this replica could be used as part of ALF's
fund raising efforts for the lighthouse.
To learn more about American Lawn Lights, contact them at:
American Lawn Lights.
Email: info@americanlawnlights.com
Web Site: www.americanlawnlights.com
Visit the American Lighthouse Foundation for news and products
on the web at:
www.LighthouseFoundation.org
Reprinted by permission of the American Lighthouse Foundation, Tower Notes. Fall 2005