Sager was one of the final bidders for Graves Lighthouse in 2013 and acquired Maines Boon Island Lighthouse earlier in 2014 from its private owner. * Newburyport Harbor Range Front (relocated) 1873. People named Bobby Sager. Saugerties Lighthouse on the Hudson River, in upstate New York, offers overnight accommodation. He plans to knock down one ceiling to combine two floors into one, transforming it into a panoramic conference room sort of a majestic aquatic meeting space. A few years ago, the mooring was ripped out of the ocean floor by a gale, and a breaker dragged Dave Wallers boat, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter he bought used, into the shoal below the lighthouse. The light from six lens-lanterns was displayed from April 22 to May 1, while the old lens was removed and the new one installed. Christopher Sager, Age 41. aka Chris Sager. Fortunately for Graves, we really care a lot about it.. The GSA says theyre a symbol of the strength and longevity of our countrys trading practices and communal spirit. In less governmenty terms theyre markers of a kind of simplicity and purposeful adventure, which is now all but obsolete. Pigeon Point Lighthouse, Pescadero, California. To have the waves, like a pack of hungry wolves, eyeing you always, night and day, and from time to time making a spring at you, almost sure to have you at last.. The new lights characteristic was fixed white, and a fog bell mounted on the gallery encircling the lantern room, was tolled once every thirty seconds as needed. Approximate Weight of Assembled Lens (lbs.) In winter, ice covered the stone buildings, even capping the chimney of the dwelling on one occasion. He and his partner made their fortune by transforming a small Boston jewelry liquidator into a worldwide financial advisory company. For the past 150 years the lighthouse has warned boaters about the shallow, shipwrecking rocks close to shore, but recently the Coast Guard decided it wasnt relevant anymore, and this fall the light became private property. Keeper Williams and his assistants saved the six crewmembers, though afterward, the keepers and the crew were almost equally incapacitated by exposure. In 1919, Keeper Harry Smith and his two assistants rescued seven men aboard the schooner Hazel E. Ritcey, after it struck a rock and sank near the island. In 1847, a crew began working from a schooner anchored next to the ledge, and over two years and $39,000 later, on January 1, 1850, Minots Ledge Lighthouse was illuminated for the first time. On May 16, 2012, Boon Island Lighthouse was made available under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 to eligible federal, state, and local agencies, non-profit corporations, educational agencies, and community development organizations to be used for educational, recreational, cultural, or historic preservation purposes. In 2000, the GSA, the Coast Guard and the Department of the Interior passed The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, an amendment to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The other occupants of the island at the time were Head Keeper Williams and his wife, and S. H. Sawyer, who was filling in for Assistant Keeper Seaward, who was ashore taking care of his wife. Established in 1873, Yaquina Head Lighthouse, in Newport, Oregon, is the states tallest at 93 feet. In addition, a supply shed, measuring twelve by twenty feet, and a brick oil house were erected on the island. Breathing the salty clean winter air, out in the middle of the harbor, we stand in front of his time machine. I sincerely hope Sally will play a role in its next chapter, says Waller of his longtime neighbor. He studied economics at Brandeis and has a masters degree in management from Yale. Lighthouse fanatics have reached out to tell him theyre glad hes renovating it, and that they can see the good parts of private ownership. For the Graves lighthouse, Waller dove in again, pinching pennies. which houses part of a third-order Fresnel lens used in the lighthouse can be seen at Government Island in Cohasset. It hits deeper, because it draws back to when you could get lost in the ocean, when you needed a beacon to bring you home. Largest Seacoast Lights. There was always something to do on the island. The men sought refuge in the tower as the angry seas damaged the fuel tanks, helicopter pad and generator building, and destroyed the boathouse and boat launch. The first light of dawn revealed only the bent remains of a few pilings. Undaunted, Captain Alexander began anew. The identity of the new owner was soon revealed to be Bobby Sager, a Boston philanthropist and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Polaroid. 2nd Early view of lighthouse and stone dwelling, Boon Island from sea note bell atop oil house, Aerial view showing two dwellings and boathouse, Boon Island Lighthouse and dwellings in 1944. Brides (1939 1940), Percy A. Evans (1940 1942). display: none; The island in the morning was one of the grandest sights I ever witnessed. Find the closest hotels to Boon Island Lighthouse, Select a photograph to view a photo gallery, Boon Island, a tiny outcropping of granite, only two football fields long and fourteen feet above sea level at its highest point, is located six-and-a-half miles off Maines southern coast. Fun? Bobby Sager says, repeating my question. As a seven year old, Moise was a soldier in the Congo. The lighthouse towers overhead, tall and proud and quiet, like an ode to maritime history. Turn left on Local nonprofits and people in the public sector have begun exploring an ownership transfer of the historic landmark through the 2000 act. Email Address: See available information. She is shaking a good three feet each way as I write. In 1816, keepers salaries varied from $150 per year at Plymouth Lighthouse to a well-deserved high at Boon Island of $400. Image courtesy of The Power of the Invisible Sun, by Bobby Sager.Last week Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, hosted a concert at Carnegie Hall to benefit the Rainforest Fund, the nonprofit they . He says no. The Fresnel lens, manufactured in Paris by F. Barbier, completed one revolution every thirty seconds atop a mercury-filled float and was placed in operation on May 1, 1894. As work could only be carried out a low tide and during calm seas, workmen could only be on the rock for 157, 130, and 208 hours respectively during the seasons of 1855, 1856, and 1857. Vandals subsequently entered the lighthouse and smashed sections of the second-order lens. We made kites and flew them anytime, as there was always a breeze coming off the ocean.. The catch? Lighthouses across the country are crumbling amid worsening storms and dwindling funds. But who owns the thing? Most of the boats in the harbor have the names of other places across their sterns, and the dock where my grandma used to drop her catch is now lined with tchotchke shops. Brazil. Owner/site manager: private. But he is. Hanna later returned to the service as keeper at Franklin Island. I dont have to fill in all the boxes before I decide to do something, for better or worse.. The fires inside the dwelling went out after the chimneys became capped with ice. Stories about the lighthouse dovetailed with our familys history. 265 to 440 What kind of a guy can buy a lighthouse? The new owner is Bobby Sager, a lighthouse enthusiast and philanthropist with enough assets to fund a thorough restoration of the tower. The worst storm that struck the island during Keeper Williams lengthy tenure began on January 31, 1898 and was described by Williams in a letter to The Portsmouth Herald. Sometime after this, the light was dubbed the I-LOVE-YOU light do to its unique 1-4-3 flash pattern. We cut off the cabin and converted it into a barge to haul heavy materials out to Graves, says Waller, referring to the historic lighthouse he owns. Keepers at Boon Island occasionally assisted mariners who found themselves in dire circumstances near the station. It is 25 feet in diameter at its base and 12 feet in diameter at the top. Plans for original Minots Ledge Lighthouse, Granite blocks being assembled at Cohasset in 1857, Base of tower as it appeared on July 1, 1859, two double-dwellings were built at Cohasset, Memorial plaque ready for lowering to seafloor. Morris, his wife, their two-year-old son, and two coastguardsmen sought refuge in a small, sturdy structure, and a helicopter was dispatched to drop food to them after the waves subsided. In 2000, hed had enough. Hes says hes planning to open it up for occasional tours, and that the response has been really good. Naval Museum in Kittery, Maine where it may be viewed by the public. Sager has agreed to share financial resources and Dave has agreed to share the lighthouse. Free shipping for many products! I only help people who help themselves., Hes courted controversy, once sending a supportive email to a top adviser of Syrias dictator before candidly acknowledging I was certainly wrong.. The flashes within a group were two seconds apart, while the groups of flashes were separated by five seconds of darkness. Not wanting to see the lens returned to the Coast Guard, the Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce held a raffle that generated $2,000, enough to pay the premium for two years. A keeper would clean the light, and anything short of meticulous was unforgivable. Rick Friedman/Sager Family Found Stay up-to-date with important news developments, delivered right to your inbox.. Arriving, we balance on periwinkles and barnacles to step from the dinghy onto a jetty, tie up to a piling, and walk 40 feet on slippery rocks to the base of the lighthouse. The tin, above which she was perched, had been two-thirds full and when the sea come, it struck the back of the toilet and it knocked the windows out of the back of the toilet and all that stuff come right out of the square can right onto Arothusa! Lets talk about something more serious, more substantial, suggested Sager, 62, sporting a gray T-shirt, dark slacks, and stocking feet. UNLOCK PROFILE. The tower itself and its fourteen windows, which were sealed shut, were leaky. Its 36 degrees out, and the sweeping waves splashing up make the scene even more surreal. Whaleback Lighthouse sits at the mouth of the Piscataqua River, Kittery, Maine; the Atlantic Ocean stretches away in the background. . Until construction of the new dwelling was completed in 1905, animosity festered, as was noted in a letter by First Assistant Charles W. Torry, charging the Keeper of that station with neglect of duty, in not properly keeping an account of oil expended at the station, and a waste of the Government property in throwing surplus oil away in order to make his account of expenditures tally. Apparently, no disciplinary action was taken against Keeper Williams; but Torry soon found himself unemployed. Once during a storm, Florence heard her daughters shrieks. from Minot. Summer Street and then right on Border Street. During 1842, civil engineer I.W.P. Minots has a good story, but its not the only one thats been celebrated. No. Waller is recognized as an expert and has been an advocate for restoration, appearing in The Last Lightkeeper, an Amazon documentary released late last year. Grover was cleared in court, but the accusations, and other difficulties, would continue. In 1890, the stations cracked 1,200-pound bell was recast and placed atop a newly completed stone and brick oil house that measured sixteen by fourteen feet. The stone tower, built of granite supplied by Joseph W. Coburn of Boston, is 133 feet high -- the tallest lighthouse in New England. Instead, Swift proposed a radical new design consisting of nine, sixty-foot-long iron pilings cemented five feet into the submerged rock, atop which would perch the lantern and keepers dwelling. The Lighthouse Establishment heard and responded. If you apply too much logic to itlook at the cost, the resale, and the amount of workit doesnt make sense, says Waller. What kind of a guy, Fine. Next summer Waller, who has been awarded by the American Lighthouse Foundation for his work in preservation, will finally finish the near unimaginable with the installation of a rare antique first-order Fresnel lens with the refracting glass once commonly used to intensify light for mariners. The original 1905 iron ladder, corroded in aqua that matches the sea, runs from the granite under my feet from sea level up a tight parallel against the side of his 113-foot lighthouse. lens, which had been removed from the tower in 1993, was given to the Kittery Historical and We always find the answers by asking how they did it back in the day. Vessels mostly use satellite, GPS, and radar to dodge rocks, avoid the bottom of the ocean or bay, and dock safely in a harbor, even if someespecially small boatsstill rely on lighthouses as visual aids, like buoys. Lives in Kenbridge, Virginia. As far as the preservation of lighthouses as historic monuments, Im optimistic about the ones that are tourist attractions being saved, he says. Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, North Carolina, is traditionally open for climbing the stairs, though closed periodically in recent years for restoration. The entries range from the weather 40 degrees, light rain in the morning to more compelling matters: Captured a rowboat full of German sailors in the fog, held them until Navy picked them up three days later. Sager is now fixing up two more lighthouses (Minot's Ledge Light south of Boston and Maine's Boon Island Light) he landed at auction when they were offloaded by the Coast Guard. Fort Point Lighthouse was completed in 1853, shortly after its twin lighthouse at Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California. At the cost of your own life, you would keep that light lit, says Waller. We boiled every bit of what we drank or bathed with. Not long afterward, the station was automated, and the damaged dwelling was burned in 1981. It is situated in Cape Blanco State Park, amid miles of trails. Asked Navy to reimburse us for their food; Navy refused. The Germans had been spies mapping the harbor in World War I. When I accepted the post, I closed my ears against the reports of the former keeper, treating them (as I now find) too lightly, and here I shall remain so long as a vestige of the lighthouse remains; but the truth must be told. Oil Consumption Per Hour (oz.) A wreck on this fatal reef is always attended with the destruction of human life, owing to its great distance from the shore, and the tremendous sea that rolls in over the rocks when the wind is at the eastward.. The solitude and thunderous crashing of the waves drove more than one keeper insane. One has to have a varied knowledge of things to be a lightkeeper. Robert Sager is an American philanthropist and photographer, best known for founding the Sager Family Traveling Foundation and Roadshow, a charitable organization. The keepers quarters, fog bell, and a replica of the lantern room But for an increasing number of individuals, nonprofits, and municipalities, the upkeep of the aging and often remote towers seems practically impossible against rising seas and ruthless corrosion. Sign Up. Their website is full of Black Hawk helicopters and former cop cars. See Sarah Sager's age, phone number, house address, email address, social media accounts, public records, and check for criminal records on Spokeo. Current Address: KVFV Alaminos Dr, Santa Clarita, CA. Although the area is no longer populated by Indians who believe in the evil spirit of Hobomock, for years tales have abounded of strange moaning, tapping, and even mysterious polishing of the lens by ghostly hands. When John Morris was in charge of Boon Island Lighthouse in December 1945, a similar storm struck the island. Part of that is nostalgia. Only three months into his tenure as keeper, sitting in the living quarters atop the tower and supposedly out of reach of the waves, Isaac Dunham wrote The wind E. blowing very hard with an ugly sea which makes the light reel like a Drunken ManI hope God will in mercy still the raging seaor we must perishGod only knows what the end will be. By October 1850, Dunham quit, and John Bennett took his place, only to despair soon afterwards at his perilous situation in storms. . Background Report for Shad Gary Sager. One of the first lighthouses that he built of granite was the Saddleback Ledge Lighthouse, in 1837. She spent a summer visiting lights along the eastern seaboard. Boon Island Light sold for second time, Paul Briand. There were two Coast Guard keepers on the island when the storm hit, tossing boulders across the island. Three years later, Hanna left and was replaced by Eliphalet Grover. Mary Luther spent summers there with her grandfather, William C. Williams. During low tide when the sea was calm, the Indians would paddle out to offer dishes, ornaments, and beads as sacrifices to appease the Wicked One. Apparently these offerings were rejected, since by the 1750s eighty ships and 400 lives had been lost in the surrounding waters. 3rd Order 12,800 Great Lakes Lighthouses, Seacoasts, Islands, Sounds. With . The first man offered the position refused. Find your friends on Facebook. . On October 13th, Bobby Sager, Polaroid's chairman, won the auction and bought the lighthouse for $222,000. The U.S. General Services Administration, which is essentially the real estate arm of the government, was tasked with getting rid of it. The stone dwelling designed for two keepers is occupied by three, two of whom have families. Dave has done such wonderful things with his lighthouse, says Snowman. Keeper Williams was inside the tower worrying about what he and his boys could enjoy the next day, when suddenly there was a crash on the parapet deck. The ledge its built on was notorious for wrecking boats because of its steep shelf and twitchy tides. Log In. A bell-buoy was placed on Boon Island Ledge, about three miles east of Boon Island, starting in 1858 to mark this navigational hazard. At the conclusion of the operation, a memorial plaque honoring Joseph Antoine and Joseph Wilson, the two keepers lost with the lighthouse, was lowered to the seafloor. Its peaceful. No one bit on the original bid, and this June, they put it up again for $10,000. I thought that spending my time making more money wasnt going to make my life better, he told me. He even salvaged a stanchion railing from a World War II minesweeper for the mahogany deck. As the iron supports began to snap one by one, the bell was silenced, the beacon was extinguished, and the men were cast into the raging sea. Donovan (1895), Charles G. Everett (1895 1905), Ernest H. Small (1905 1909), Vivian A. Currier (1909 1910), Eugene N. Larsen (1910 1911), Fred M. Pease (1911 at least 1912), Percy A. Evans (at least 1939 1940). Lighthouse is best seen by boat, but a distant view is possible from Cape Neddick But the Boston philanthropist was disappointed to learn. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. Captain F.A. It's not just the Minot's Ledge lighthouse that's changing hands. In spite of Boston Lights historic importance, it will be a huge challenge for the next steward to preserve the station, says Jeremy DEntremont, when I later reach him inside New Hampshires Portsmouth Harbor Light, home of the American Lighthouse Foundations local chapter. Sylvester (1861 1863), James D. Baxter (1863 1873), Wallace Willcutt (1873 1874), John G. Hayden (1874 1877), Amiel Studley (1877), Joseph B. Vinal (1877 1879), Charles S. Davis (1879 1880), Alonzo Smith (1880), Joseph A. Noble (1880 1881), Frank F. Martin (1881), Frank W. Thomas (1881), Lester G. Willett (1881), Albert H. Burdick (1881 1882), Joseph E. Frates (1882), George L. Lyon (1887 1889), Winfield L. Creed (1889 1892), George F. Holmes (1892 1893), James Kingsley (1893 1894), John E. Morrill (1894), Charles Grey Everett (1894 1895), Daniel D.L. A Notice of Availability, dated June 30, 2009, announced that Minots Ledge Lighthouse, deemed excess by the Coast Guard, was being offered at no cost to eligible entities, including federal, state, and local agencies, non-profit corporations, and educational organizations under the provisions of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. Minots blinks 143, so people call it the I Love You Light, and before Ray J made it a bad R&B song, my parents would sign letters and then send texts 143. The need for a beacon at the ledge was not lost on lighthouse inspector I.W.P. 220 Tower closed. When no interested party was found to assume ownership, Minots Ledge Lighthouse was placed on the auction block on June 25, 2014. In addition to the two dwellings, one of which was fashioned out of an old barn, the inshore station also featured a storehouse, boathouse, and a blacksmiths shop. First, a little background: Sager grew up in Malden, where he met and married his high school sweetheart. The identity of the new owner was soon revealed to be Bobby Sager, a Boston philanthropist and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Polaroid. Unlike my grandmother, Im not pulling bass into a boat by hand. In June 2007, Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team divers were transported to the waters near Minots Ledge Lighthouse aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Abbie Burgess. 175 steps were required to climb the tower, a task the keepers had to perform several times each night to trim and fill the lamps, often toting heavy containers of lamp oil. Its not just the Minots Ledge lighthouse thats changing hands. Every year storms seem to do more damage. The glacier land (called drumlins) under both the tower and the keepers house, where Snowman, 71, lived half the year for almost 20 years maintaining the place and giving tours, is shrinking. Two days later a Gloucester fisherman found a bottle containing a final message from the doomed keepers: The beacon cannot last any longer. Minots light has been giving people feelings since it was built in 1860.