By Jean Muchanic, Executive Director

The Winds Howl Tonight

(October 16, 1912)

By The Keeper of Absecon Lighthouse

Dear Readers,

The winds are howling now as our first autumn nor’easter blows up the coast. Many sailors will need our first-order Fresnel lens tonight, and thankfully for them, it shines 19 miles out to sea. How many lives we have saved, I can’t begin to count, but I thank Dr. Jonathan Pitney for having the vision to build dear old Abbey. This past September, we received word from the United States Lighthouse Service that we were the most visited lighthouse in the United States, with over 10,000 visitors! While that is an accomplishment to be heralded, my wife, god-loveher, could have done without all those tourists trampeling through our living room to get to the tower itself. But she is a dear, and knows how much it means to me to educate people about the importance of our beacon. Stay tuned, for I think Thomas Edison’s electric lightbulb will one day take the place of our oil lamp. F arewell, for I must tend to the light for our men at sea!

~ The Keeper

(October 15, 2009)

Dear Readers,

I write to you during our first nor’easter, and coincidentally, our most important event of the year, the annual New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge, which will occur in less than 24 hours. This event brings in hundreds of tourists in one weekend, as they challenge themselves to visit all 11 lighthouses in New Jersey. How I wished for a beautiful autumn day, with calm winds and bright sunshine. But, mother nature has a different plan, and we will follow her command. Luckily, this autumn is also chock-full of other fun events for which you and your family can partake. I hope you know you have an open invitation to discover the magic of lighthouses, beginning with the state’s tallest, and country’s third tallest, right here in our own backyard. Please come and visit soon! And by the way, the light did convert to electricity on July 1, 1925. Two 300 watt lightbulbs light our lens every night.