Apparently some modern day pirates had been busy. According to the article, “The U. S. Coast Guard reported that on July 9 someone broke into the lighthouse, smashed several windows, broke the lenses on the floodlights that light the building, and took expensive lighthouse equipment.
“The thieves took two brass diaphones (the sounding parts of foghorns) and without them the foghorns won’t work. They also took a $200 chain hoist which is used to lift equipment to the lighthouse and a trolley chain.
“This incident is only one of several cases of vandalism to the old lighthouse that has lighted Lorain’s harbor for the last half a century.”
It’s all pretty shocking. The article notes that the lighthouse was on federal property, and that entering it or damaging it was a federal crime. Even the FBI was called in to investigate.
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If you’ve never seen it before, click here to read Valerie Smith’s comprehensive history of the Lorain Lighthouse. It’s extremely well-researched and includes some great photographs (as well as some Passing Scene cartoons).
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Hey, is that a drawing of John Travolta in the Penneys ads for the kiddies to color?
