Why are so many
people drawn to lighthouses? There are
probably a lot of different reasons. Maybe it is because lighthouses are found
in some of the most beautiful places on earth, many on rugged coastlines
dotted with trees, others along the sandy beaches, still others on reefs or
rocks out in the ocean. To some, lighthouses appeal to their nostalgic or
artistic senses since many of the lighthouses are some of the most historical structures
to be found in the United States today. Yet it may be that they are drawn to
the lighthouses due to the multitude of heroic rescues associated with them. It
does not matter, whether warning mariners of danger or aiding them in finding
safe passage into the harbour, lighthouses today as in the past, stand as
beacons of safety and security. The lighthouse mystic is a part of our past,
present, and future. Let their lights forever shine.
Many years ago,
people lived in a primitive way, hunting and growing their own food.
Eventually, they decided to explore the water in a boat in search of what the
sea had to offer for food. During the day it was easy for them to find their
way home, maybe by a pile of rocks they had left on the shore or some other type
of sign. During the night it was a different story since much of the shore looked the same.
Friends would often help them out by building bonfires on top of a high point
to guide them safely home. Sometimes, nature even helped by providing a glowing
volcano as a guide in aiding the sailors to find their way home. As bigger
ships were built and mariners sailed further from home, many were wrecked as
the waves pushed them into rocky shores or dangerous reefs. So the need for
some type of warning signal arose. The lighthouse came into being.
The first the lighthouse was built in Egypt around 280 BC. Records tell us that the Pharos of
Alexandria, Egypt was the tallest lighthouse ever built - 450' (about the size
of a 45-story skyscraper today). The source of light was an open fire at the
top. Pity the poor keeper who forgot to bring the matches, or whatever they
used, after climbing all the way to the top of the lighthouse. The Pharos
lasted for 1500 years before it was destroyed by an earthquake in the 14th
Century.
A lighthouse is a
structure with a light at the top which is located in a place which is
considered to be important or dangerous to navigation. The two main purposes of
a lighthouse are to serve as a navigational aid to help sailors know where they
are and to warn mariners of dangerous areas. A lighthouse is to a sailor what a
seeing-eye dog is to a blind person.
While we often
think of lighthouses as a tall cone-shaped tower, lighthouses come in many
colours, shapes, and sizes. Depending on where the lighthouse is built, it may
be tall, short, or squat. Lighthouses can be square, octagonal, conical,
cylindrical or even skeletal. While many lighthouses stand-alone, some have a
building attached where the keeper of the lighthouse stayed. As a general rule,
lighthouses were built of whatever materials were readily available. This could
be stones, wood, concrete, steel, cast-iron, or even a mixture of shells, lime,
water, and sand. Therefore, lighthouses tended to be unique.
Lighthouses are
found in a variety of locations; rocky cliffs, sandy shoals on land, on water
swept reef at sea, and at entrances to bays and harbours. They are there to warn
sailors of dangerous reefs under the sea, rocky coasts on land, and to guide
ships to the entrances of bays and harbours. The lighthouses message has always
been; stay away, danger, beware or come this way. Every lighthouse, no matter
where it is, tells every mariner, this is exactly where you are. So, to always
avoid the hazards, navigate to a safe harbour, and to always know where you
are, let your lighthouse beacon forever
shine.
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