Alabama Lightkeepers
Caring for Alabama’s Lighthouses
Spring 2015
Board of Directors
A publication printed by The Plot Shop, Daphne, AL
A Message from the President
~ Dan Dealy, President of ALA ~
Dan Dealy, President
(251) 510-7143
Carl Black, Vice President
(251) 490-6309
Marie Bidney, Secretary
Executive Director
(251) 517-9003
Dot Finnegan, Treasurer
(251) 476-2220
Committee Chairs
Middle Bay Lighthouse
Steve Quinlivan
(251) 533-1623
Sand Island Lighthouse
Mobile Point Lighthouse
Johnny Newman
(334) 277-1081
Finance
Hal Pierce
(251) 626-4743
Membership
Peter Tanner
251-454-2590
2015 is opening up with a whole slew of Alabama
lighthouse activities. Most importantly, we want our
members to become engaged and enjoy some time
actually doing something with our lighthouses! There
are a lot of opportunities, so get ready.
Three project activities are being readied for Sand
Island Light, but we need to try and solve access issues first. There is the potential for RESTORE fundDan Dealy
ing to support using Sand Island as a feeder location
for depositing dredge materials that will help mitigate Dauphin Island’s
ongoing loss of beach sands.
We will be supporting the Alabama Historical Commission for the Mobile Point Light at Ft. Morgan. Middle Bay Lighthouse is going to be in the
bay for quite some time and the ALA will always continue our volunteer
support working alongside the AHC, monitoring her condition, doing repairs, scraping and painting, replacing decking and whatever else is needed.
We have NEW PROJECTS we want to advance about Battery Gladden,
Battery McIntosh and Choctaw Point Lighthouse. As always, we will be
participating in the Mobile Boat Show to showcase our Association’s efforts and Alabama’s Lighthouses.
In 2015, we want our members and volunteers back out on the water
having fun and doing good work on our lighthouses no matter what! ALL
THESE THINGS REQUIRE FUNDING AND ATTENTION. We have our
work cut out for us.
This newsletter has articles and notes about these opportunities, along
with a reprint of a great article about times long past and adventures with
Middle Bay Lighthouse. All we can say is – enjoy the article, but please
– don’t reenact the adventure!! We’re slowly getting better with social
media, so like us on Facebook©. You can always E-mail us your thoughts
and comments.
Please stay in touch !
If you have not renewed your
membership or sent in your E-mail
address, please do so!--It’s important.
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ALA Welcomes a New President
As a member of the ALA for at least 10 years, Dan grew up on the waters and beaches of Mobile Bay, Gulf Shores and Dauphin Island. He attended Auburn University and the University of
South Alabama, earning a B.S. in Marine Biology in 1979. As Naval Aviator from 1979 through
1992, Dan logged over 2,700 flight hours and more than 700 carrier landings in the A-7E Corsair II and the FA-18 Hornet. His Naval service took him around the world three times.
In 1992, Dan came home to a new career with Thompson Engineering. From 1992 to 2003,
he provided strategic business planning, federal contracts management, marketing and business
development, as well as multi¬disciplinary project management and planning.
From 2003 to 2007, Dan was the Special Projects Director for Watermark Design Group,
Dan Dealy
Thompson Holdings’ architectural firm, planning and managing projects with significant regional impacts. Examples include the Michael C. Dow Mobile Landing, a $50+ Million municipal
waterfront development in downtown Mobile, Alabama featuring the Alabama Cruise Terminal, and “GulfQuest” -the
National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico. Dan was also PM for planning, design and construction of the $12
Million “5 Rivers Delta Coastal Resource Center”, an 80-acre nature complex on the Mobile Bay Battleship Parkway.
Presently Dan operates his own consultancy, providing executive program management, economic development
project management and government affairs services. He provides specialized consulting support for a variety of issues, including all RESTORE Act related activities, regional and municipal economic development, transportation and
environmental affairs, and restoration of Gulf Coast passenger rail service. He was the Program Manager to the City
of Mobile for the “New Plan for Old Mobile” master plan which provides a new vision for midtown and downtown
Mobile, Alabama.
Dan is a regional community representative, living in Daphne, AL, with his wife Linda, and family, Justin (Auburn ‘08), Melissa (Auburn ‘07), Jessica (Mississippi State ‘09), and Connor (Daphne HS 2013).
Judy Stephens from Andulusia,
joins the ALA Board
The Plot Shop
Judy Stephens was born and
raised in North Central Pennsylvania. She later moved to Andalusia, Alabama where she joined
the staff of Covington County
Bank, now CCB Community
Bank. She has been in banking
for approximately 50 years, 35 of
them at CCB.
Judy Stephens
She is an active member of the
Andalusia Area Humane Society and was one of the
founding members 27 years ago.
Judy had been subscribing to the “Lighthouse Digest” magazine since 1999. In 2010, she saw an ad for
“Support the Gulf Coast Lighthouse Tour” by the U. S.
Lighthouse Society. She went on her first tour in April
of 2011. She has been on four additional tours since
then, including Australia this past spring. She enjoys
photography and of course, lighthouses and traveling.
Her son, Darrell and his wife Beth, live in Stroudsburg, PA (in the Pocono Mountains), and her nephew,
Neil and his wife Karolina, live in Pensacola, FL.
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Mobile Point Update
by Johnny Newman, Chair
Meet Peter Tanner
Board Member
Alabama’s historic Mobile
Point Rear Range Lighthouse
will soon be headed home to Fort
Morgan!
Dr. Stephen McNair, Director
of Historical Sites for the Alabama
Historical Commission, reports
in a story that appeared in the
December 24, 2014 edition of the
Press Register that the revenue
generated from a Baldwin County
lease tax will be used to pay for
Mobile Point,
Ft. Morgan as it was necessary repairs to the lighthouse
and foundation work. Dr. McNair
many years ago
also informed that the goal is to
have the light resurrected on site during the first quarter
of 2016.
The Alabama Lighthouse Association paid for the
repair specifications which were developed by Alexander
City based Robinson Iron Corporation, the company that
has stored the Mobile Point light for the Historical Commission since 2003. The light, upon restoration, should
appear nearly identical to the original light, and include
some of the historic elements that were omitted in a previous restoration.
The Alabama Lighthouse Association appreciates the
efforts of Dr. McNair and the Historic Commission in
working to repair and return the Mobile Point Light to its
Fort Morgan location.
Peter was born in Mobile and
has been a lifelong resident. He
says, “I’m proud to share the
love of my hometown and that
I am a fifth generation Mobilian. I have been involved in the
building industry from my young
adult life to present in “handson” construction to sales of
Peter Tanner holds his
building products.” Peter is very
hat that he used taking
much a boating/water person
care of Middle Bay
having lived on Dog River, Fowl Lighthouse
River, Rabbit Creek and currently Dauphin Island.
He relates that his visits to
Middle Bay Lighthouse began as
a pre-teen (46 years ago) and as he
matured so did his efforts to preserve Middle Bay Lighthouse.
Peter is a Founding Member of
the Mobile Middle Bay Lighthouse
Centennial Commission (33 yrs.
ago) and also is an active board
member of the Dauphin Island
Heritage and Arts Council. Now,
Peter works on
he and his wife, Leisa Boney joyMiddle Bay a few
ously are involved in and support
years ago
the preservation of Middle Bay
Lighthouse, Sand Island Lighthouse and Mobile Point Light through the ALABAMA
LIGHTHOUSE ASSOCIATION!!!
What’s going on.....
Visit us at the
2015 Mobile Boat Show
By Dan Dealy
This year, we’re working to join the information age to
help advance our mission, better manage our costs and stay
in touch with you – our membership. Here’s some of our
progress:
Like us on Facebook for updated information about our
lighthouses and our maritime heritage:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/
Alabama-Lighthouse-Association/829748170379680.
Check out our website at www.alabamalighthouses.com
as well. There you can renew your membership or make
donations in support of our ongoing preservation efforts.
In the near future we will be going digital with our
communications and we need to have your current E-mail
address. Please provide us with your preferred e-mail
address and any other informational changes that you may
want to share by contacting us at: [email protected].
Printing donated by The Plot Shop, Daphne, Al
Mobile Convention Center
Friday, March 13, 2015 through
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Show Times:
Friday: 12:00 pm - 8:00 pm Saturday: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Sunday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Admissions: Adults: $8.00
Children (12 and under): Free with
purchase of adult ticket
Prices are subject to change.
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Meet Steve Quinlivan
Thank you to our Sponsors,
Benefactors, and Special
Friends at the time of printing
for 2015!
Middle Bay Lighthouse Chair
The Alabama Lighthouse Association Board of Directors is
pleased to announce its newest
member, Stephen Quinlivan.
Stephen was born in Mobile
and currently lives in Daphne
along with his wife Cali and sons
Trip (4) and Jackson (1). He
attended Auburn University and
studied Mechanical Engineering.
Today, being a fourth generation Iceman, Steve serves as Vice
President at the Crystal Ice Company, which was founded in 1900.
Steve Quinlivan
He enjoys woodworking, metalwith family
working, boating, and lighthouses.
Steve says, “I was born and
raised in Mobile. I spent my summers on the Eastern
Shore. Middle Bay Lighthouse has always been my favorite place, so much so that I proposed to my wife there.
I love taking visitors out to see it and telling them it’s history. In my opinion, no other attraction epitomizes the
history of Mobile Bay better. As an adult, I realize how
important it truly is and how fragile it is as well. I am
committed to preserving it for my sons to enjoy as much
as I have.”
Welcome aboard Steve as a Director of the ALA!
A. S. Mitchell Foundation
Mobile, Alabama
Wind Creek Casino
Atmore, Alabama
Eichold Family Foundation
Mobile, Alabama
Austal USA
Mobile, Alabama
Page and Jones
Mobile, Alabama
Committee Chairs (continued)
Marketing
Frank Brown
(251) 591-6482
Mobile Bar Pilots
Membership
Peter Tanner
251 454-2590
Beth Walmsley
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Newsletter/Website
Marie Bidney
(251) 517-9003
Mobile Point Light
soon to be
restored at
Fort Morgan!
Speaking Engagements
Jack Granade
(251) 342-5719
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Alabama Lighthouse Association
Caring for Alabama’s Lighthouses
Application for Membership
Please Print
Name
Spouse Name
Last Name
Address
Phone (
City
)
○
○
○
State
Bus. Phone (
E-mail address:
□
First Name
New Member Status
Zip
)
Amount Enclosed $
Please select your Member
Status and Category
Member/Individual......................$ 25 per year
Watch Room (Family)................ $ 35 per year
Keeper (Individual/Family)........ $100 per year
○
○
○
□
Renewal Status
Inspector (All classes).... $200 per year
Grand Keeper................. $300 per year
Corporate.........................$750 per year
When mailing this application, use the address below and please include your check.
The Alabama Lighthouse Association is a 501(c)3, non-profit organization. We thank you for your
support to assist us in our mission of preserving Alabama’s Lighthouses.
Sand Island Lighthouse
Middle Bay Lighthouse
Mobile Point Lighthouse
P.O. Box 250 • Mobile • Alabama • 36601
P. O. Box 250 • Mobile • Alabama • 36601
Phone: 251-517-9003 • E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 251-626-7742 • Fax: 251-626-7742 • E-mail: [email protected]
Visit us on the web at www.alabamalighthouses.com
www.alabamalighthouses.com
Visit us on FaceBook
A Night at Middle Bay Lighthouse
An overnight camping trip turns, once again, into a harrowing tale of adventure –
this time in a rickety old cottage right in the middle of Mobile Bay.
Text by Watt Key (Reprinted courtesy of Watt Key and Mobile Bay Magazine,
copyright February 2015 and mobilebaymag.com.)
A
few miles off the end of our family wharf and a little to the left lies Middle Bay
Lighthouse, a famous Gulf Coast landmark since the late 1800s. We’ve been there many
times, fishing the structure and climbing into it. Sometimes we jumped from the roof into
the mysterious, spooky depths of the Bay, where fear of your feet touching whatever was
down there spiked white-hot up your spine.
One night I was fishing in our old Boston Whaler at Zundel’s pilings with two of my
younger brothers, Reid and David. The Bay was glass calm and the sky full of stars. Middle
Bay Lighthouse glowed softly, beckoning us from the ship channel. “Let’s spend the night
in it,” I said.
They agreed. We’d discussed it before but never done it. I had a suspicion that it wasn’t
A boat docks at the famed Middle Bay permitted, but it was always open and seemed a harmless act. Besides, we planned to be out
of there by daylight.
Lighthouse.
We went back to the house to get sleeping bags, pillows and a few snacks. Finally, we
woke Mom and told her what we were doing. She was still half asleep when she mumbled,
The George F. Landegger Collection
“Have fun.”
of Alabama Photographs in Carol
We made the run to the ship channel and approached the lighthouse. Reid let David
M. Highsmith’s America, Library of
and
me off on the ladder with the gear. Then he anchored the boat out and swam over. We
Congress, Prints and Photographs
helped
him onto the ladder and started up.
Division
I’ve often thought the structure belongs to seagulls more than people. The first thing you
notice when standing on the deck is the overwhelming stench. The boards are coated with
white, chalky bird droppings that stick to your bare feet like bits of wet clay. Inside, the lighthouse is eerily clean. There’s none of the
graffiti or trash or dust you would expect in an abandoned building. You’ll find a couple of bare rooms with a spiral staircase leading
to a small second floor and finally a ladder leading up to the roof where the old light was originally mounted.
We spread our sleeping bags in one of the bottom rooms. Then we stayed up for a while, lying on our sides and fishing through a
hole in the floor. We eventually went to sleep a little before midnight.
In the early morning hours I woke to the sound of thunder. The temperature had fallen a few degrees and the sweet smell of a
squall hung over me. Before long, rain tapped at the windowpanes.
At first, the storm was a soothing addition to our adventure. But as the rain came harder, water ran across the floor and wicked into
our sleeping bags. We were soon backed against the far wall, listening to waves crashing into the supports below and wind whistling
over the building.
“Sounds bad out there,” I said.
My brothers agreed. We took turns peering out the window, trying to check on the boat. But it was pitch black outside. We couldn’t
see a thing. Wet and cold, we waited helplessly for daylight.
As dawn crept over us, we saw Mobile Bay whipped into 10-foot seas. I had never seen it so rough. Fortunately, the boat was
where we’d left it, rising on the wave crests and crashing down into the troughs. Relieved as we were, it seemed impossible that it
wouldn’t drag anchor. If we didn’t get out of there soon, it was likely we’d be stranded.
We decided to go for it. On the deck the rain blew at us so hard it stung our faces like lead shot. We finally gathered our courage
and leapt out into the waves. After a brief struggle, we made it to the boat and climbed into the back. Somehow we managed to get
the anchor up. Then, Reid and David sat on the deck and used towels and life vests to shield themselves from the rain. Meanwhile, I
started the engine, pulled my shirt over my head, and put my face up to the compass on the console.
‘East,’ I thought. ‘Just keep the arrow on East.’ I kept my face pressed to the compass, running blind, plowing through the storm. It
was too rough to go more than a fast idle. Part of me was terrified, and another part of me felt like a hero. I gradually came out of the
storm to find myself about a half-mile offshore and a few miles south of our house, near Mullet Point. The water before us was calm
and gently rippled with an east breeze, as though the storm had been our private punishment. “They’ll never believe what it was like
out there,” I said.
We pulled up to the wharf, thoroughly beaten. I saw my mother running out. She hugged us all. She had seen the storm on the news
that morning, checked on the boat, then called the Coast Guard. Apparently, we’d missed the Coast Guard cutter and the flotilla of
locals that had gone out looking for us. Inside, while we were eating a big breakfast, the phone rang. Mom answered it. She listened
for a moment and held it out to me.
“It’s for you,” she said smugly. “It’s the Coast Guard.” Officer Thomas cleared up any questions I had about camping in the
lighthouse. So you’ll know, it was illegal back then, and it is still illegal today.
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US Lighthouse Society will
Visit Alabama Lighthouses
Shining a Light on
More Opportunities
Members of the The
US Lighthouse Society
along with tour guides
Mike and Judy Boucher,
will visit Alabama for a
tour of Sand Island and
Middle Bay Light on
March 18.
Two members of the US Lighthouse Society toured Middle
Meeting on Dauphin
Bay a couple of years ago.
Island, the tour group
will board the schooner
Joshua, a gaff rigged sailing schooner, for a sailboat tour
of our lighthouses.
The Lighthouse lovers will arrive in New Orleans and
then travel to Biloxi, MS, Fairhope, AL, Panama City,
FL, Crawfordville, FL, Cedar Key, FL, Ellenton, FL,
and Fort Myers, FL
Some past spots they toured were the CN Tower Canada Lighthouse Tour, Niagara Falls - Lake Ontario
Lighthouse Tour, Arizona Memorial - Hawaii Lighthouse Tour, Statue of Liberty - New York Lighthouse
Tour, Notre Dame - French Lighthouse Tour, Malbork
Castle - Poland Lighthouse Tour, Meijer Gardens Michigan Lighthouse Tour, and the Hearst Castle - California Lighthouse Tour.
Board directors will be meeting the group at Dauphin
Island before their tour. More information about the tour
can be found at the US Lighthouse Society’s website.
The Alabama Lighthouse Association is initiating a
series of new projects and we hope that you will participate. One is to develop and provide interpretive information about the civil war port protection and navigational
aides Battery Gladden and Battery McIntosh; and, the
piling supported lighthouse that was later built on the
site of Battery Gladden. Our initial concepts include developing informational wayside locations on Battleship
Parkway (the “causeway” for locals in Mobile and Baldwin Counties), and possibly creating interpretive exhibits
for future use at area museums and visitor locations.
Another of these upper bay lighthouses that the ALA
wants to bring to the public’s attention is the Choctaw
Point lighthouse. It provided navigation support for the
Port of Mobile at Choctaw Pass south of the mouth of
Mobile River. Our hope is to have interpretive exhibits
and information placed perhaps at Arlington Park in
Mobile for the public to enjoy and share in our maritime
heritage.
Many thanks to Warren Lee for sharing images from
his late Aunt Mignonette Lambert McDonald’s collection on the web at his Sand Island Lighthouse web page
http://www.sandislandlighthouse.com/pictures/gallery3.
html Johnny Newman also has shared many images on
Warren’s web page and ours.
We’re looking for more information and materials
on these lighthouses! If you have collected or inherited
photos, news articles, magazines - we’d love to hear
from you! Contact us on our Facebook© page or through
www.alabamalighthouses.com
Dangerous Light
Need a speaker?
Through the pitch-black night,
the captain sees a light dead
ahead on a collision course with
his ship. He sends a signal:
"Change your course ten
degrees east."
The light signals back:
"Change yours, ten degrees west."
Angry, the captain sends: "I'm
a Navy captain! Change your
course, sir!"
"I'm a seaman, second class,"
comes the reply. "Change your course, sir."
Now the captain is furious. "I'm a battleship! I'm not
changing course!"
There's one last reply. "I'm a lighthouse. Your call."
Printing donated by The Plot Shop, Daphne, Al
Did you know that the ALA
has a speaker to speak to your
organization or school about
Alabama’s Lighthouses? Jack
Granade is the person you want!
Contact us at [email protected] to get in
touch with Jack to schedule your
program.
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Alabama Lighthouse Association
P. O. Box 250
Mobile, Alabama 36601
Visit us on our Website at www.alabamalighthouses.
Please keep us current and save us money. Check
the relevant boxes, indicate (print) any name or address change and mail this page to the address shown
above. Or send your information via e-mail to: [email protected]
Change name/address as shown on the
enclosed label
I receive duplicate copies. Please
remove enclosed label.
I am not a member or choose to
discontinue my membership with the
Social Events coming soon
ALA Annual Meeting
Summer Tour to Middle Bay
We have not selected a date or venue yet, but come
mid summer, we will have another great meeting of
the ALA! We are looking forward to having a speaker
and visiting with other members. Attendees will learn
about upcoming activities that the Association will
be doing, enjoy a great meal, and socialize with other
members. So stay tuned for more details.
Last year, the ALA hosted a trip from the Grand Hotel
Marina to Middle Bay with a full complement of passengers on board. The boat used was from Five Rivers
and had comfortable bench seating, toilet facilities,
plenty of wine and snacks, and a smooth ride out to
Middle Bay Lighthouse. On the way back, passengers
were treated to a great sunset. Numerous requests to
repeat this adventure have been made so we are planning one. Non members of the ALA are invited to
come along...so if you are coming as a member, bring
a friend or two. You will have a great time and don’t
forget the camera!