Looking Back on 2022 – Wood Island Lighthouse

By George Bruns, Chairperson for ALF’s chapter, Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse

The 2022 season was a welcome return to full operations with beautiful summer days, many happy guests and financial success.  Some notable accomplishments for the year included:

• 

  FOWIL’s “Light Runner”
  (Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.)

  Our multi-year project to have Light Runner inspected by the United States Coast Guard was completed and the boat was piloted by three captains with master’s licenses.

• We were able to change our mode of operation from “donation only” to fee-paid trips, with guests paying by credit card at the time of reservation.  The new fee schedule produced both additional revenue, partially offset by increased staffing and card processing costs, and also more predictable and stable funding for the tours. Despite the increase in fees, we operated at very nearly 100% of capacity all summer.
• We operated four mornings a week, as compared with three days in the past, with almost no cancellations due to weather or seas during July and August.  We had over 40 docents and boat crew volunteers to lead the trips.
• 

  Wood Island Lighthouse: Stories from the Edge of the Sea” by Richard Parsons

  As a result of strong summer cash flow and the support of our Friends, we were able to spend over $22,000 on restoration and maintenance activities.  The “connector” between the Keeper’s House and Tower was restored as our new History Corridor utilizing funds provided by Tom’s of Maine.  Our contractor, House of Windsor, repainted the living room and the tower stairs and floors.

• Our merchandise sales were the highest ever through our online store operated by ALF and local outlets, Between The Tides and F. O. Goldthwaite’s stores in Biddeford Pool. Sales were led by the newly-released book, Wood Island Lighthouse: Stories from the Edge of the Sea by our historian, Dick Parsons.
• Light Runner was in the water at the end of April, giving our Woodchucks and contractors a head start on maintenance and repairs.  On several days, our own volunteers were aided by the generous support of corporate volunteers from Roxy/Suger, Tom’s of Maine and Idexx. Corporate volunteers repainted the boat house.
• 

  FOWIL has obtained a bell striker that will be on exhibit at Wood Island Lighthouse.
  (FOWIL photo)

  We have initiated a new project, The Salt Water Farm Initiative. Through the entire period that the U. S. Lighthouse Establishment operated Wood Island Lighthouse, the keepers effectively had two tasks – maintaining the aid to navigation and farming on the eight acres of the light station to help support their families. Several barns existed over the years up until the 1930’s.  We plan to highlight this aspect of the keeper’s family life by rebuilding the 1906-era barn in its original location near the present flagpole.  We will begin the project in 2023 by reconstructing the old platform over the 1808-vintage dug well and a new walkway toward the future barn location.  We have recently purchased an antique hand pump, made in Saco, Maine, that is identical to – and might actually be – the one pictured with Keeper Burke’s family and their cow in a period picture.

The Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse continue to “keep a good light!”
(Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.)