Public Access to the lighthouse was halted this past year due to heightened security status required at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Recently, however, the Air Force has authorized CCLF to resume public tours beginning in early January, 2016. These tours will begin and end at the Exploration Tower in Port Canaveral. This development is exciting!

Our community will now have access to its lighthouse and hear amazing stories about the lighthouse keepers who lived and worked there for 112 years. Foundation member and dedicated volunteer, Barbara Moser, put together a comprehensive training class for volunteer guides to cover the tour from the Exploration Tower to the lighthouse. She has led three sessions and, as of this date, 14 tour guides have received extensive training and are prepared to tell the story of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the Cape descendants who lived at this location.

Over the next 2 months, we will be working out the tour details and will keep you informed.

The latest edition of the Canaveral Beacon is now available now. It includes information on lighthouse tours, photos from the 2015 Membership Meeting, and a reminder for the upcoming 2016 Lobster Fest. You can view the newsletter at:

Canaveral Beacon – November 2015.

SAVE THE DATE

10th Annual Lighthouse Foundation Lobster Fest
Saturday, February 27, 2016

Details Coming Soon!

We are looking for a creative person with some new ideas to take on the job of Editor for our Newsletter, The Canaveral Beacon.

The Beacon is issued at least 6 times a year (more often if we have a special event or news to impart). It is done in Microsoft Publisher and is pretty simple to put together. Bev Merrilees asks for input from the Board of Directors, primarily, but does include other information as needed. A draft is sent to the Board for review before distribution. Most Newsletters go out by email with about 30 being sent in regular mail.

Bev has been our Newsletter Editor for some time now, has recently agreed to manage the Keeper’s Closet and would appreciate someone else taking on the Newsletter. If you have an interest in spreading the word to our membership and other interested parties in our community, please send Bev an email at newsletter@canaverallight.org

Keeper’s Closet Manager
Our Keeper’s Closet Manager, Janey Powell, will be leaving effective November 1, 2015 due to other commitments. We have advertised the position and are working diligently to find a replacement. To date we have not identified a candidate and time is running short. Profits from the Keeper’s Closet continually support the Lighthouse and our goal of rebuilding the keepers homes and the Lighthouse community as it once was. It goes without saying that this is a key volunteer position for our Foundation. Experience in sales/marketing would be helpful. Janey and our Foundation Treasurer, Kathie Underwood, will work with you to transition into the job. We currently have a group of dedicated Keeper’s Closet volunteers that will be trained to meet requirements of the new manager and our Foundation Treasurer.

Responsibilities include:

Inventory and document stock
Track items that are sold and back fill as needed Store stock
Price and prepare stock for sale
Recruit, train & schedule volunteers
Work with current manager to discuss current procedures and how they can be more efficient

If you want to help the Foundation in a really substantial way and would like more infor-
mation about this interesting and challenging job, please get in touch with us at
keeper@canaverallight.org

This week marks the 120th anniversary of the relighting of the lighthouse on July 25, 1894. It was fitting to commemorate the anniversary with the inaugural gathering of the Council of Community Leaders. On Saturday, July 19, the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation hosted a reception and presentation for civic, community and business leaders of the Space Coast at the Exploration Tower at Port Canaveral.

The purpose of the event was to share the plans, progress and goals of the foundation project to restore the Lighthouse Keepers’ Cottages. Ginny Davis did an outstanding job leading the Lighthouse Board in engaging the council guests with great food and wonderful conversation about the historical treasure we have in the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse. Shane Smith gave an outstanding presentation detailing the scope of the Keepers’ Cottages project. The response from our guests was enthusiastic and supportive as active participants toward the cottage restoration.

Hensel Phelps and Architects RZK, two of the project partners, provided valuable support in presenting the ambitious project objectives. Artist renderings of the project design created by Architects RZK can bee seen on our Cottage Project Gallery page. They are available on the Architects RZK Facebook page.

The evening was a great success and the Foundation Board would like to thank Port Canaveral and the Exploration Tower staff for their help hosting this event. The Board would also like to thank Baja Tavern and their excellent catering staff for a delicious selection of hors d’oeuvre and beverages.
Now the task of raising the funds to complete the Cottage Project begins in earnest. The Foundation plans to host our first fund raising event on November 8, 2014. Details for this event will follow, so mark you calender and plan to join us.

New photos have been added to the Cottage Project Gallery page, taken at the Council of Community Leaders gathering.

Lighthouses have long stood at the edges of the world, lonely outposts maintained by devoted souls to ensure the safety of ships at sea. But, only one remarkable beacon was destined to illuminate the path for ships of space! But how did this happen? How did a lighthouse built on a hook of sand jutting out into the Atlantic to protect mariners from dangerous currents become a front row witness to the advent of the Space Age?

Described by Ponce de Leon as the “Cabo de las Corrientes” or “Cape of the Currents”, this area was a navigational landmark long before it had a name. The Ais were the first indians that Ponce de Leon encountered in 1513 when he tried to land at St. Lucie Inlet. Fierce and respected, the Ais fought off Spanish explorers invading the area with their cane arrows and another name endowed by the Spanish, “Cabo de Canaveral” or “Cape of Canes” is the name which has endured. From the age of exploration to now, this landmass has been an important crossroad in man’s inherent need to push the limits of his world!

This post is a brief excerpt courtesy of the Janthina Images Photo Journal.  To read the full posting you can go to Cape Canaveral Light – Warden of the Sea, Launchpad to the Stars!  While visiting the Photo Journal, be sure to explore some of their adventures including the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse tour and the photo gallery.

This post is reprinted with permission from J A Lovell, author and designer of the Janthina Images Photo Journal.
Photo: Rocket Launch with Canaveral Lighthouse is courtesy NASA