Port Washington Historical Society

Light Station News September 2006
With the summer season comes a flurry of activity at the Light Station. Well over two thousand visitors have toured the site on Saturdays and Sundays, the only days the Station is open on a regular basis. Individuals and groups have also been accommodated on weekdays, some by prior arrangement and others by a chance encounter with Leroy Bley (only a phone call away) or Light Station Directors Rick Smith and Linda Nenn. A hearty thank you is extended to Ardy Ahsmann, Alyce Appleman, Leroy and Joan Bley, Sharon Brown, John Enright, Alice Horton, Marianne Kartheiser, Deveron Krueger, Elaine Nulph, Mary Kay Schuknecht and Geri Zehren for donating their time as tour guides this year.

Behind the scenes Rick Smith has been painting, varnishing, window washing, planning new displays, serving as curator for artifact preservation/acquisition and a myriad of other daily tasks that keep the Light Station in good order. Jim Fowler cleans the museum once a week and Norm Geisenheimer mows and trims the lawn. Linda continues to handle Light Station correspondence and bookkeeping, historical research, arrange group tours and seek out venues to publicize the Station.

The Generator Building needs a new coat of paint. Any volunteers out there? Call Rick at the Light Station, 1-262-284-7240. A portion of the building still sports only a coat of primer applied before the siding was nailed in place in 2002.

Port Washington Lightkeeper News
A conversation with Jeannette Lewis Dallmann, granddaughter of Charles (the last lightkeeper of the 1860 lighthouse, 1880-1934) and Linda Teed Lewis, provided some much needed information on the historical plantings that decorated the Station grounds after the light was extinguished in 1903. From 1860 to 1903 no trees, bushes or plants could block the view of the lighthouse from the lake. An 1884 photo of the Station confirms this, with only some poplar or aspen trees visible along the West lot line. From 1903 to 1976, nothing was allowed to impede the view of the harbor lights from the light station. Working within these parameters, Jeannette said she remembered hollyhocks along the East foundation wall, Persian violets near the oil house, currants along the walkway to the oil house and an apple tree between the well and the oil house. Thanks to the Port Washington Garden
Club, Tom Hudson, Geri Zehren and Jackie Oleson, two apple trees and hollyhocks have been planted and a variety of flowers add color to the cistern located in the NW corner of the lot. Geri, Jackie and Ardy Ahsmann planted geraniums and greenery in the seasonal planters. This attention to details help preserve the historical integrity of the Light Station site.

David Curran, Master of the Corps of Engineers tug that was in our harbor to facilitate the moving and addition of the large limestone and granite stone that protects the pierhead light, stopped at the Light Station in July. David lived at the Light Station during his father's tour of duty in Port Washington 1964-1966. Copies of photos of Coast Guardsman BM1 John Curran (Ret.) that appeared in the Ozaukee Press in 1965 were given to David to share with his Dad who now lives in Barefoot Bay, Florida.

David Hays, son of Coast Guardsman EN1 David D. Hays (Ret.), 1969-1970 stopped by one weekend. The Light Station has the complete military record of David D. Hays, provided to the Historical Society 10 years ago, and this was shared with his son. David D. Hays and his wife, Shirley, live in Cullman, Tennessee. David, the younger, and his sister Sharon attended Port's public schools while living here.

In late August Virginia Drezdzon Smiddy of Milwaukee called the Light Station to arrange a visit. Virginia's family lived at the Light Station 1947-1956. Michael Drezdzon and his family lived in the second floor apartment. Virginia remembers taking the Greyhound bus into Milwaukee every day for work and getting on board at the Greyhound Station on Franklin Street. The Drezdzon family is one of the families featured in a new lighthouse book authored by Barb and Ken Wardius, Cana Island Lighthouse.

Jim Graham and Julie Carufel (Society Past President) stopped briefly at the Light Station. Their father, Charles W. Graham, was the Officer in Charge of this Station 1958-1962. Charley, as most of us knew him, later served as Port Washington's Harbor Master.

By meeting and speaking with these former Light Station residents we're better able to record the full story of the Lighthouses of Port Washington.

Fresnel Lens and Restoration Fund
The Light Station Restoration Project has surpassed the halfway point in raising approximately $30,000 to purchase an exact acrylic replica of the 4th order Fresnel Lens that created the beacon that shone from the Light Station 1860-1903. The new lens will replace the ship's light that currently illuminates the lantern from dusk to dawn every night. Just as was the case in 1860, the lens will be the single most expensive component of the lighthouse. The 4th order beehive lens will be approximately 28" tall. The individuals prisms that comprise the lens will be affixed within a brass frame. The frame and prisms are hinged on one side, allowing access to the interior where a 4th order lamp stood upon a brass base. The lens and lamp will top a cast iron pedestal, bringing the lens level with the nine panes of glass that create the lantern room configuration.

As of this writing, the Light Station Restoration Fund contains just over $18,000 according to Society Treasurer, Mark Schowalter.

The funding for the Restoration Project continue to come from a variety of sources including Light Station visitor admissions, donation boxes in several local businesses, commemorative brick orders and direct contributions to the Restoration Fund. The rental income from the Light Station apartment covers the utilities and upkeep of the site and operating expenses for the Historical Society in general. No unrestricted donations to the Historical Society support the Restoration. Rather, these contributions such as your memberships dues, sustain all the other Historical Society endeavors.

Please consider a donation to the Historical Society. If you wish the contribution to be restricted to a particular use, i.e. the Restoration/Fresnel Lens Fund or the Research Center, Historical Society operational expenses, clearly indicate your preference.

Fresnel Lens Donations
Received at the Light Station
$25 - $99
Marjorie Wiedeman: Milwaukee
Sir James Pub Donation Box: Port Washington
Drew's True Value Hardware Donation Box: Port Washington
Arlene Schroeder: Mequon
$100 - $250
Marianne Kartheiser: Fredonia
Alice Horton: Port Washington
Jim Fowler: West Bend
$250 - $499
Linda Nenn
$500-$999
Harmon Smith: Madison
Daniel Smith: Punta Gorda, FL

The Face of our Visitors
Every visitor that comes to the Light Station is considered a special guest. Having said that, some of our guests stand out from the crowd. Mario Mutsch, the Luxembourg contractor in charge of rebuilding our tower and lantern in Luxembourg and rebuilding it on site, came calling with his mother and son, Tom. Madeleine Simon, of Morton Grove, accompanied them. Ms. Germaine Goetzinger, Director of the National Center for Literature in Luxembourg, and her husband Charles Berg visited the Station while in the area for Luxembourg Fest. A tour group of 17 Luxembourgers were greeted in mid August. And, most special of all, the children. Every one of them is a potential historian and it will be their hands that carry our present day preservation efforts into the future. Besides that, their smiles and enthusiasm are infectious.

Light Station Receipts: May 1 through September 6, 2006
Historical Society Income
resale items $711.00
Restoration Fund
Visitor Admissions: $3,901.65
Restoration resale items: $275.30
Restoration: Fresnel Fund Only: S2,744.73

Submitted by Lighthouse Linda