Polly #2 and Some Lighthouses of Cape Cod

The Chatham Lighthouse was built around 1806, and was the second one built on the Cape!

I have become fascinated by lighthouses ever since I saw my first one many years ago. According to The Lighthouse Directory, there are over 12,800 lighthouses throughout the world. I knew there were a lot, but I had no idea that there were that many.

Lighthouses have been used as navigational aids since as long ago as 280 BC. They are buildings or towers which give off light from lamps or lenses today, but fires were used years ago. Lighthouses are important as a way to protect ships coming into land, especially when faced with a dangerous coastline or reef. Today, many lighthouses are no longer operational due to the cost of upkeep and also due to the fact that there are so many modern electronic devices that are used for navigation.

One day while we were visiting Cape Cod, we decided to spend the afternoon visiting some of the lighthouses which were close to where we were staying. It was a really nice afternoon and we were able to stop at several lighthouses to take pictures.

I can never resist the opportunity to check out a lighthouse!

Nauset Lighthouse is located off of Nauset Light Beach

Follow Me!

A small pathway leads from the Nauset Lighthouse to the Three Sisters Lighthouses.

One of the Three Sisters Lighthouses.

You can just see the other two lighthouses through the trees.

It’s thought that the Three Sister’s Lighthouses came to be called that because they resemble three ladies in white dresses with black hats.

Toward the end of the afternoon, we still had the Truro Lighthouse to visit. It is in a little town that’s the second-most northern town on the Cape, but it was a nice drive with very light traffic. When we arrived in Truro, we made a few little detours to look at some other places and then set off to find the lighthouse. It wasn’t as well marked as we would have thought, but after asking directions several times, we finally found it.

We had a great time there. As we approached the observation deck overlooking the ocean, we were told by a family standing there that there were whales right off the beach. We spent quite awhile watching the whales and talking to the people that were there with us. It was a lot of fun and we met some really nice people.

Truro Lighthouse

Lighthouses are really high!

One of the lighthouses we saw off the coast of Provincetown while we were on our whalewatching trip

Toni Buzzeo takes us on a magical trip back through time to the days when the vigilance and skill of the lighthouse keeper were the only things between a storm tossed ship and catastrophe. But then, there were some storms so fearsome that even the lights were of no help. Auntie Maita’s reminiscences of her solitary childhhod on fictional Sanctuary Island are lyrical and moving. She tells the story of one storm and the sea chest that washed up on shore in its aftermath. The connection between the contents of the chest and the event that awaits Auntie Maita and her grand niece eighty years later is one that will leave you in tears as you gently close the cover of the book.

Silver Medal Winner – Young Voices Book Awards. Jules is a dog with simply nothing to do. He lives at a beautiful lighthouse but dreams of being someplace else. Then one very fateful day causes Jules to change his point of view. Join Jules as he discovers that the excitement he was looking for was right in front of him all the time. Enjoy other books by this author including KID CANINE-SUPERHERO! a National Best Books Award 2009 FINALIST, and JUST PERFECT:MORE ADVENTURES OF JULES THE LIGHTHOUSE DOG, a 2009 Indie Book Awards Finalist.

“Lynd Ward’s magnificent drawings have a fine sweep and power; at the same time they are drawn with real understanding of childhood.”–The New York Times

“There is just enough humanizing in the pictures . . . to maintain the human spirit of the story and lead to its message: ‘Each to his own place, little brother.'”–New York Herald Tribune

Young Billy Bray is certain that his father’s lighthouse is haunted. On every stormy night, Billy hears the lighthouse calling, “Whyyyy meeeeeeeee? When Billy’s father is away overnight and Billy’s mom sprains her ankle, it’s up to the young boy to keep the light burning.

Billy is so frightened to climb the dark stairs at night that only God can help him. The boy prays for courage and, with God’s help, Billy overcomes his fears. Young children learn that they, too, can over-come their fears with God’s help.

While Father is away for weeks, Miranda has to keep the lamps burning in the lighthouse. Her mother is afraid of heights, so Miranda has to climb the steps daily, refill the lamps with whale oil, trim the wicks, clean the glass chimneys and shine the reflectors. A raging tempest whips at her on the catwalk, shaking the foundation of the lighthouse and the island on which it stands. Miranda keeps tending the lamps till Father returns with supplies, seeds for her garden, and soil to grow them in. In spring, grateful sailors bring more rich soil for the rock-covered island. This is an engaging story of a very special place where the timeless drama of sea, sailors and lighthouses is enacted. The well-written text is matched by highly theatrical watercolors of fiery yellow in a sea of white froth and frost; paintings show a gray and craggy island coast and, come spring, the explosion of colors in Miranda’s garden. Ages 4-8.

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