West Quoddy Head Light Keepers Association

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Fall / Winter 2003

Greetings to members and friends of the West Quoddy Head Light Keepers Association!

Take a moment to look at the photographs of West Quoddy Head Light! The top one, taken in September, when the primer coat was being painted, is a rare shot indeed. The bottom one taken on October 14th shows the finished paint work. The tower now has a fresh, clean look and in the last four days of the season it brought exclamations of delight from all who came to the Visitors Center. Thanks to Tim Hall, Regional Manager of the Bureau of Lands and Parks, for his help in getting this work funded.

The Visitors Center closed on October 18, 2003, a day earlier than expected, due to a power outage caused by a storm that blew through on the 15th. No power on Thursday, Friday or Saturday proved to be a chilling factor, though volunteers still came in to greet our Fall visitors. We had a high of 49° on the 19th, our planned day of closing, making it just too uncomfortable for the volunteers to work that day.

Before - 'Primed' tower
© H. B. Reed 9/03

Freshly painted tower
© H. B. Reed 10/03

Speaking of which, a heartfelt THANK YOU from the Officers of the Association, to the twenty-five volunteers, who contributed 882 hours, working in 3-hour shifts, to staff the Center 6 hours a day, 7 days a week, from opening day to closing. Thanks also to the many individuals, families and business members, for their behind-the-scenes support.

Thanks go also, to the 18,177 visitors who signed in at the Center. They came from every State in the Union and from 9 Provinces of Canada - Ontario, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta and New Brunswick, and from 43 far-away places. Namely - Africa, Australia, Armenia, Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Holland, India, Israel, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Puerto Rico, Peru, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, U.S. Virgin Islands, United Kingdom, Uruguay, United Arab Emirates and Western Samoa. The Visitor Center volunteers are proud to have hosted so many diverse people from around the globe.

Activity at the Center was brisk throughout the late Spring, Summer and early Fall. Our June 28th, First Anniversary Celebration was well attended and enjoyed by all. The Coast Guard was on hand to open the tower for just that day and to supervise those wishing to climb the 50 cast iron steps, and the short ladder through the bulkhead, to reach the lamp deck.

Throughout the season, each day found visitors satisfying their endless curiosity browsing the Art Gallery, Displays and Exhibits, and by asking the volunteers countless questions about the history of the WQH Lighthouse, and for information on Where To Stay, Where To Eat, What (else) To Do/See, and Where To Shop, in Lubec and the surrounding area.

Turns out our website has proved to be of real benefit to local business members, who have their listing on our website under one of those four categories mentioned above,

- Where to Stay etc. We called a few of them to see if they could tell us if being listed on www.westquoddy.com and placing their brochures at the Visitors Center made a difference to their business this year. Here are some of the comments we heard:

Tim Roy, who owns the One Room Inn on Water Street, said, “About half of the reservations I had this year were made through www.westquoddy.com. Especially when the name of my business rotated to the top of the list!”

Vinny Gartmeyer, who owns Bold Coast Smokehouse on Rt. 189, commented, “Being listed on the website has made a difference to our business and we’re proud to be members of WQHLKA.”

Eugene Greenlaw, one of the owners of Seaside Chocolates, also on Water Street, remarked, “Lots of people came to Seaside Chocolates from the Lighthouse Visitor Center this year. Having our brochures in the rack at the Visitors Center did make a difference.”

No doubt, this Spring will see WQHLKA volunteers targeting renewals of current business memberships, as well as seeking new business members in Lubec, and the surrounding communities. Level 2 and Level 3 Business Members get instant on-line visibility, offering various options to website visitors when they are planning Where to Stay, Where to Eat, Where to Shop and What to Do/See in our area. Renewed and new memberships will also support the ongoing operating costs for 2004. If you would like to find out more about becoming a member of WQHLKA go to: http://www.westquoddy.com/membership.html and read about the benefits.

Displaying works of art, placed on consignment in the Art Gallery this season, by local artisans and school students, proved to be very successful. Eighteen local artists and twenty-six local school students delighted visitors with their art work, to the extent that 101 pieces of art were purchased. Monies realized by the Association through these sales, added to the sale of memberships, raffle tickets and visitor donations, contributed to the Center's 2003 operating costs.

Fourteen local artists and eighteen local school students delighted visitors with their art work, to the extent that 101 pieces of art were purchased. Monies realized by the Association through these sales, added to the sale of memberships, raffle tickets and visitor donations, contributed to the Center's 2003 operating costs.

The fund-raising raffles held this Season were won by:

Lighthouse Rug drawn on July 15th - Waltrud McCaslin of Cutler, Maine.

Lighthouse Rug drawn on October 18th - George Place of Raymond, Maine.

Lighthouse light - Marion Ellis of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

You still have a unique opportunity to participate in the raffle of Lubec artist James O’Neil’s representational painting of West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. Go to http://www.westquoddy.com/raffle.html to see this splendid piece of art and read about Jim. The winning ticket for this item will be drawn when a minimum of 600 tickets have been sold. Tickets for this raffle item ($5.00 each) may be purchased during the winter months, by calling 207-733-2180. Should we happen to be away when you call, leave your number on the answering machine and we will get back to you!

On closing day, President of WQHLKA, Diana Wilson commented, “The success of the Visitors Center is attributed to the individual, family and business members of WQHLKA and the wonderful volunteers. The volunteers are friendly, courteous and willing to answer any questions the visitors might have. The visitors feel welcome and seem to enjoy spending time in the Center. It has been a wonderful Summer for all of us and we are looking forward to another banner year in 2004.”

Stay healthy and safe this winter and come back and see us again next year!

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