Volunteers lead tours, teach visitors about the lighthouse and its historic role in Portland Harbor, and point out the landmarks surrounding the lighthouse. Volunteers are a critical part of the Spring Point Ledge Light Trust’s success in maintaining and preserving the lighthouse in Portland’s Harbor. Volunteers also are responsible for keeping the shoreline clean, and the trails and structures maintained. The Keepers of Burnt Island Light in Boothbay Harbor use volunteers for their Living Lighthouse Program - volunteers act out the roles of a former lighthouse keeper and his family, describing what life was like on the island without electricity, running water or refrigeration. Seguin Island is only accessible by boat so volunteers must be prepared for life the way it was for keepers and their families back in the day. These volunteers live on the tiny island in the Keeper’s Quarters, and are responsible for numerous tasks including maintaining the grounds, giving tours to guests, and maintaining a daily log of activities, weather conditions, and impressions of the island, for historical purposes. One such crucial volunteer job is being lighthouse caretaker for the Seguin Island Light Station each summer, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. “Without volunteers raising additional funds, lighthouses would be denied professional restoration when necessary due to a lack of monies that cannot be obtained from other sources.” Seguin Lighthouse © Maine Office of Tourism “Light station structures would begin to look shabby and deteriorate, and the public would be denied the cultural and educational opportunities associated with lighthouses being open or available for overnight-stay programs,” says Trapani. According to Bob Trapani, Jr., executive director of the American Lighthouse Foundation, volunteers are our modern day “lighthouse keepers.” Without the more than 1,000 people in Maine who give freely of their time and talents, most every lighthouse would suffer immeasurably in one or more aspects. Many of Maine’s lighthouses exist today and are still accessible to visitors because of the numerous dedicated volunteers. For them, this important work is largely a labor of love. Today, local preservation groups up and down the Maine coast raise money and donate time and labor to maintain these important connections to the state’s maritime heritage for future generations. The Maine Lighthouse Program became the model for the National Lighthouse Preservation Program in 2000, which has preserved more than 120 lighthouses across the country. The Coast Guard has transferred more than 30 of Maine’s historic lighthouse structures into the hands of these organizations under the Maine Lighthouse Program, a pilot program established to preserve these historic structures, now coming up on its 20th anniversary. Coast Guard maintains the more than 60 working lights along Maine’s coast, but preserving the historic structures that house them is frequently the role of local municipal and nonprofit organizations that want to protect this link to Maine’s maritime heritage. Today, while lighthouses no longer play the same vital role in maritime safety as in the past, the U.S. Portland Head Light at sunrise © Maine Office of Tourism Maine’s lighthouse history goes back centuries the first lighthouse ever commissioned by George Washington in 1791 was the Portland Head Light and still is a working beacon. There are 65 lighthouses in the state and at least 60 are still operating, casting their warning lights over the sea each night, their foghorns sounding through the mist. Maine’s lighthouses - these iconic beacons that line the coast and shine from islands - are as ubiquitous in Maine as lobster.
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