Burnt Island
I had the privilege of taking a class on Burnt Island this past week.  It is a five acre island- one mile off the coast from Booth Bay.

It is Maine's oldest original tower built in 1821.  You can see the red panels of glass.  The lighthouse code-   when a ship is lined up and sees the red panels (meaning danger) they know not to head in this direction.  When the captain sees the clear light then the ship is heading in a safe direction towards the lighthouse.  Originally there was a bell tower, but that is no longer standing.  The lighthouse keeper had to wind up the bell every 4 hours and wind up the light turn table every 6 hours through the night or during storms.  It is now running unmanned with solar power.      

The junior olympics held their regatta competitions at Boothbay for two days.   There must have been 50 to 75 two man sailboats.  

The weather was hot, but there was usually a breeze.  We were able to swim when we had a break.  Everyday we were up before 6:00 started classes by 8:00 and worked until about 8:30 every night.  Classes consisted of nature journaling, lighthouse history, art classes, a tour of the Boothbay Botanical Gardens and historical tour of the lighthouses around the bay.    

One of our instructors was a captain, and took us on a tour of the bay.  

Kuckle Island Lighthouse code--is two flashes and then a 6 second pause.  This is sitting on less than a 1/4 acre of rock exposed to the open sea.  Lighthouse keepers kept meticulous records of daily events, and reported that when storms came waves would wash up to the second floor windows.   They also reported tethering their children to the lighthouse during storms.   It is now unmanned and powered by solar.  

They really wanted to make sure people come back!!! We all provided part of the groceries except for this meal.  

Burnt Island Lighthouse is a historical site for education.  The director has restored the house as much as possible to the original style.   She has visited with past lighthouse keepers or their children, who gave back things like lamps, quilts, toys, books and other things that were at the house year ago.  It is a living museum a couple days a week.  Children would go off the island to school and if the weather was too rough to come home at night they would stay in the coast guard's quarters until they could return home.   

These were some of the original lamps that families were willing to give back to the museum.  

This is a small pantry displaying some of the original games.

This was really neat.  The library service would deliver a box of books for the lighthouse keeper and his family to read.  They would then bring another box and take this one.  You did not ask for a book selection, but read whatever they provided.  You can see that it has handles on the sides.   

The lighthouse keeper kept meticulous  records of everything on the island from rescues, weather, needs for repairs/supplies.  It was reported that this lighthouse had a very small area outside the panels of glass where the keeper had to go out and scrape the ice off the window panels during storms.  
Oil was delivered for the lamps, and coal for the stoves.  They had a spare bed  where people could stay if they were caught out in a storm or just could not get back to the mainland.   Quilts were made from old feed bags that were a cotton printed fabric.  

One of the girls who use to live here brought back the games she had saved from her childhood so they could put them on display. 

It takes just a little light to shine through these lenses to create a powerful light.  The light mechanism turns and it was the keeper's job to wind the chains, which are on the idea of weighted cuckoo clock works.    

The area to the right is where they kept oil for the lamps.   There were two lamps in case one went out.    The bulb that is in the lighthouse now is very small; you would never think it could do the job.  

This unique seat was labeled - Robin's Bench
This is in the Boothbay Botanical Gardens.  Acres of different species and ecosystems.

Monet must have been looking at something like this. 

There were some really neat pieces of art work.  

This is under the down spout of the eve and runs into a barrel to water plants.   

The gardens were really neat, and there was a resident artist demonstrating illustration techniques.
We then headed back to home base to continue working.  

The island is open to the public to kayak to, have a picnic lunch, and visit the museum.    Because the island is an educational/historical center they have been able to use grants to help refurbish the site and keep the history of the keepers alive.