The Cranston Historical Society is pleased to announce their guest speaker, Fred Mikkelsen, at the CHS general meeting on July 17th at 7:00 p.m -- at the historic Governor Sprague Mansion Museum, 1351 Cranston St, Cranston. Fred Mikkelsen served as a lighthouse keeper from 1958 to 1960. He will share his experiences as a lighthouse keeper at the historic cast iron “spark-plug shaped light house” -- Conimicut Lighthouse.
The Conimicut Lighthouse was built in 1883 and still stands today at the tip of Conimicut Point Sandbar marking the entrance to the Providence River. An incandescent oil lamp and a fourth–order Fresnel lens produced the beacon light. And during foggy weather, the fog bell had to be wound by hand which would run for only 2 hours at a time. It was finally updated to electricity in the 1960s.
“. . . In 1958, I stepped off a tugboat and back in time and into the days of kerosene lamps, pitcher pumps and lighthouse traditions a century old. The tale will be told in my presentation at the Cranston Historical Society the evening of July, 17th followed by a Q&A. I am a member of several lighthouse groups here in RI and currently most active in the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse in East Providence."
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here