Light Hearted

Jeremy D'Entremont, U.S. Lighthouse Society
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The official podcast of the U.S. Lighthouse Society

  1. 2D AGO

    Light Hearted ep 340 – Point Vicente, California

    Point Vicente Lighthouse, photo by Jeremy D’Entremont. The Palos Verdes Peninsula is located within southwestern Los Angeles County, California. With increasing maritime traffic into the harbor of Los Angeles, a lighthouse was built on a high bluff in Rancho Palos Verdes in 1926. The light station buildings were built in the Spanish revival style that’s prevalent in the area. The 67-foot concrete tower originally held a third-order Fresnel lens, which is now on display at an interpretive center a short distance away. The light was automated and destaffed in the early 1970s. The lighthouse tower and other light station buildings are on an active Coast Guard station. Amy Forte, Tisha Edge, and Catherine Sinich, are the founders of Friends of Point Vicente Lighthouse Capt. Kip Loutit A new nonprofit organization, the Friends of Point Vicente Lighthouse, is working to restore and preserve the historic site. We have three guests in this episode. Catherine Sinich and Amy Forte are co-founders and board members for the Friends of Point Vicente Lighthouse. Captain Kip Louttit is retired from Coast Guard active duty but remains active in the Coast Guard Auxilary, and he has the title of Staff Officer for Navigation Systems, Point Vicente Lighthouse.

    50 min

  2. MAR 15

    Light Hearted Lite 39 – Meghan Agresto, Currituck Beach, NC

    Currituck Beach Lighthouse, photo by Jeremy D’Entremont This is an edited version of an interview that was first heard in August 2021. Our guest is Meghan Agresto, manager of the Currituck Beach Light Station  in Corolla, North Carolina. Currituck Beach Lighthouse—the northernmost of six light stations on the Outer Banks—began service on December 1, 1875.  It was the last of the tall brick lighthouses built on the Outer Banks. The 162-foot-tall tower has an unpainted red brick exterior. After automation in 1937, the site fell into disrepair until the nonprofit Outer Banks Conservationists renovated the station’s buildings and opened the site to the public in 1990. Meghan Agresto with Light Hearted host Jeremy D’Entremont Meghan Agresto has been the resident site manager of the Currituck Beach Light Station for more than 20 years. Meghan is the modern day lighthouse keeper, along with her partner, Luis Garcia. They raised two sons in a house on the property. When the boys were young, Corolla had no school of its own, so Meghan started a school for local children.

    26 min

  3. MAR 8

    Light Hearted ep 339 – Travis Gilbert and Logan Merchant, Old Baldy, NC

    Old Baldy Lighthouse, USLHS photo by J. Candace Clifford There’s been a lighthouse standing on Bald Head Island at the entrance to the Cape Fear River in the southeast corner of North Carolina for more than two centuries. The original lighthouse began service in 1795 and was the first lighthouse in the state. The Old Baldy Lighthouse that stands today—officially known as Bald Head Island Lighthouse—was built in 1817. The 110-foot tower is constructed of soft red bricks and covered with stucco. Today, after taking the ferry from the mainland, visitors can climb the lighthouse for a view of Bald Head Island. Next to the lighthouse, the Smith Island Museum offers more information about the lighthouse, pirates, surfmen of the United States Lifesaving Service, and other island history. We have two guests in this episode. Travis Gilbert is a public historian and preservationist and the director of philanthropy for the Old Baldy Foundation. Logan Merchant is on the board of directors of the Old Baldy Foundation and is also an educator in the Wake County Public School System. Nineteenth century view of Bald Head Island Light Station from the National Archives.

    1 hr

  4. MAR 1

    Light Hearted Live #1: Virginia’s Historic Cape Henry Lighthouse

    This episode consists of audio from the first live streaming edition of our podcast, broadcast live on YouTube on February 26, 2026. The complete video of the live stream can be seen on our YouTube channel. The guests are Colby Thomas and Billy Simmons, who are historic interpreters at Old Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia – the first lighthouse commissioned by the federal government. Old Cape Henry Lighthouse, photo by Jeremy D’Entremo There are two lighthouses at Cape Henry, marking the south side of the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. The older of the two lighthouses was built in 1792, and the sandstone tower stands 92 feet tall. The 1792 lighthouse eventually developed some cracks and a new, taller lighthouse was built in 1881. Since 1930, the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse has been owned and operated by Preservation Virginia. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964, and in 2002 the American Society of Civil Engineers designated it lighthouse a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Host Jeremy D’Entremont, co-host Sarah MacHugh, and guests Colby Thomas and Billy Simmons.

    52 min

  5. FEB 22

    Light Hearted ep 338 – Knotbrook Taylor’s Scottish lighthouse poems

    Knotbrook Taylor Knotbrook Taylor is originally from England and now lives in Scotland. He has been writing poetry for more than 25 years. His first published collection of poetry, Beatitudes, was launched in 2007 by Blue Salt Publishing. In 2014 he won the Erbacce prize for his collection Ping-Pong in the Rain. Erbacce is a publisher that holds an annual worldwide poetry contest. The Museum of Scottish Lighthouses commissioned Taylor to write a book of Scottish lighthouse poems. It was published in 2010 and he was also the poet in residence for a time at the museum. Here is a quote from the Erbacce website about Knotbrook: “Knotbrook delights in language, it is almost as though he is in love with words and needs to both cherish and almost worship each one.” Rua Reidh Lighthouse, Scotland. Photo by Knotbrook Taylor.

    1 hr

  6. FEB 15

    Light Hearted ep 337 – Two special lighthouse cruises on the Maine coast

    Bar Harbor Whale Watch’s lighthouse cruise on September 5 will be aboard the Friendship V. This episode focuses on two very special experiences available to lighthouse lovers and lovers of the rocky coast of Maine. The first segment highlights an all-day “Mid-Coast & Monhegan Island 19 Lighthouse Cruise” with Bar Harbor Whale Watch this coming September 5. Interviewed in the segment are Julie Taylor, lead naturalist for Bar Harbor Whale Watch; Zack Klyver, marine mammal scientist, educator, and conservationist; and Bob Trapani Jr., executive director of the American Lighthouse Foundation. Together with U.S. Lighthouse Society Historian Jeremy D’Entremont and photographer Mike Leonard, this team will narrate the September 5th cruise. Saddleback Bass Harbor Head Egg Rock Next is an interview with Captain Barry King of the schooner Mary Day, which is homeported in Camden, Maine. Jeremy D’Entremont will be on board to help narrate a 6-day lighthouse cruise, July 26 to August 1. A Maine sailing legend, the Mary Day, a two-masted gaff topsail schooner, was built in 1962 by the famous Harvey Gamage Shipyard in South Bristol, Maine. Unlike earlier schooners that were built to fish or to carry cargo, Mary Day was designed and built to carry passengers. The schooner Mary Day Curtis Island Lighthouse in Camden, Maine, and the Camden Hills

    53 min

  7. FEB 13

    Be the Light with Sarah MacHugh episode 2 – The Power of Positivity with Helena of Thoughts with H

    In this episode, we explore the power of positivity, reframing life’s inconveniences, building community, and how small reminders of encouragement can create a butterfly effect of gratitude. Sarah is joined by Helena, Licensed Mental Health Clinician and Founder of Thoughts with H, which is a daily inspiration platform rooted in mindfulness, connection, and showing up with purpose. Tune in for an uplifting conversation about how small actions can create meaningful impact.   Notes: For information on Andy Smeaton, who is discussed in this episode: Boston 25News Article GoFundMe page

  8. FEB 8

    Light Hearted ep 336 – Author Bob Napolitano and “The Lighthouse Keeper”

    Bob Napolitano is from Everett, Massachusetts, and now lives in Londonderry, New Hampshire. “The Lighthouse Keeper,” which was published last year, is his seventh book. The main character, John Russell, takes a job as the keeper of the Willamette River Lighthouse in Oregon at the age of 27 in 1923. He sees the lighthouse as a place to heal from unfortunate decisions he’s made in his life, but he eventually wonders if it’s more of a prison than a sanctuary. Shanghaied sailors, brothel barges, opium and bootleg liquor, and floating bodies all play a part in the story. Bob Napolitano The primary setting of the story is the Willamette River Light Station, which stood at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, about ten miles north of downtown Portland, Oregon. It was established in 1895. After it was decommissioned, it eventually burned down, leaving just a few pilings. Willamette River Lighthouse, Oregon. USLHS archives.

    51 min
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About

The official podcast of the U.S. Lighthouse Society

Information

  • Creator
    Jeremy D'Entremont, U.S. Lighthouse Society
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    402
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © U.S. Lighthouse Society
  • Show Website
    Light Hearted