NELL Volunteers Paint Wood End Light & Oil House

It was the weekend of March 31-April 1,2007 but it was no April Fools day when 12 members of New England Lighthouse Lovers (NELL) gathered at Race Point Lighthouse to travel over the ever shifting sands of Cape Cod. Destination -- Wood End Light and its oil house. Mission -- to dress them up in a new coat of paint.

Everyone with the exception of Anthony Savino, affectionately known as “sonny boy” to his Hawaiian travel mates, or “godfather” to most everyone else, was able to arrive the night before. “Sonny boy” had to drive most of the night and slept as best he could in his car in the parking lot at the Ranger Station. At 6:45 a.m. he called the lighthouse for his shuttle to Race Point Light to join the rest of us for breakfast. After breakfast, NELL members Alan Ells, Anthony Savino, Linda Speece, Linda Shay, Kathy Santucci, Ron and Pat Bandock, Bob and Lynne Kerber, and I, Tom Kenworthy, along with Jim Walker, Keeper of Race Point Light and ALF Executive Director Bob Trapani, piled in the Suburban’s and drove out to our objective.

Unfortunately, we managed to get one of the Suburbans stuck in the soft sand.

After lowering the tire pressure to 11-12 pounds (more than it was originally lowered) we were able to get going, finally making it to Wood End. Prior to leaving, Jim Walker was given specific instructions by the rangers of the U.S. Park Service that if we could not get over one particular sand dune we would have to leave the trucks on the beach and carry the equipment to the light. Well, you guessed it. The Gods of the Dunes would not let us breach that dune, try as we might. So more time was lost due to carrying the ladders, gallons of paint, brushes, etc, the 40 yards or so to the light, which was not an easy task.

When everyone climbed the tower and finished taking their pictures we took our must have “before painting” group picture and then started working. Pat B and the two Linda’s, along with Bob & Lynne K and Anthony S worked on the oil house scraping the lose paint off it. While the oil house was being taking care of, Bob T, Alan E, Kathy S, Ron B and I started working on the lighthouse. Kathy started painting the base while Ron set up the ladder, extending it as far as it would go. He then went up like a fireman and started painting. Bob hooked up his safety harness, painted the ventilator ball, and then went over the side to do the top of the lighthouse and underside of the galley. Alan started rolling out the roof while I tended to Bob’s lines and painted the railing and galley deck. Meanwhile Jim started setting up the barbecue and “dining room table” on the beach.

Time seemed to go slow but when Jim gave the call that lunch was ready no one could believe it was already after 1p.m. Lunch was a welcome respite and Jim had a hard time keeping the grill going due to the strong winds but things finally got cooked enough to eat. We thought we were going to have hot dogs and hamburgers, but Jim had a surprise for all of us. He had gotten “Boca burgers” (veggie burgers).

Finishing what was a truly delightful lunch on the beach, we pulled ourselves up from the nice warm sand and started to go back to work when someone called out “thar she blows”. Looking out to the ocean we saw a whale surfacing in the water. That whale stayed for several hours entertaining us while we continued our work.

Bob T and I were discussing how fast the time was going and questioned if we would be able to finish the job in one day, hoping we would as most everyone had to leave for home by 1 p.m. Sunday. With the low tide being late in the afternoon we didn’t know how we would be able to get anyone back at that time of day. (It took us two days to do Long Point allowing for the tides.) With several good suggestions made by the members in attendance, along with the other changes made in the way we did things from the last time, we pushed on hoping to complete the job. I don’t know if it was the extra hour of daylight allowed by the change in daylight savings,  the suggestions made, the procedure changes we made, or not wanting to eat the veggie burgers again, but we did complete the job -- and well before sunset.

After lugging all the equipment back to the truck and tying it on, we cleaned up, took our must have “after painting” group picture and headed back to Race Point light. Someone in our truck commented on how quite it was in comparison to the talking and joking that we did on the way in. We all said yes in agreement and just relaxed in the seats, too tired to talk. All of a sudden we saw the lead suburban stop and thought he might have gotten stuck, but when “Buoy” Bob Kerber jumped out, we knew what was going on.  More on that shortly.

That night we drew numbers out of a hat to see who would be the lucky ones to shower first. Then we had dinner and sat around shooting the breeze with some folks having a “drink or three.” Before we knew it, it was time for the sandman to visit. Believe me, he was a very welcomed guest.

After the morning meal, we were informed by “Keeper Jim” that if anyone wanted to they could paint the oil house and entrance area to Race Point Light. Ron, Anthony, Alan and the two Bob’s willingly obliged. With that job completed, we sat on the porch drinking our ice tea, and relaxing while some took advantage of the beautiful day and went for a walk on the beach. When “Buoy Bob” returned, he had another “beach treasure” in the form of a boat buoy, making the count for the weekend 3. We all wondered what he was going to do with them and how he would get them home as a couple of them had an 8’ pole attached. He said he’d put them through the windows and tie them down somehow, having “future plans” for them. You could tell Lynne was somewhat apprehensive about the whole thing but said nothing. We tied them to the truck so he could, hopefully, get them to his car and home.

As they say, all good times must end and it was now time to say ado. It was a weekend full of camaraderie, hard work and good times. Another Project HOPE was successfully completed by NELL volunteers. Congratulations to all on a job well done.

Tom Kenworthy
Vice President
NELL