All About Pocket Knives

Shine some light!! John

Good photos. Like many, I have always found lighthouses to be highly interesting.

Nice photos John. I too have a fascination for those old lighthouses.

Me three!

Here's an old photo of the lighthouse at Canaveral, Florida. It was originally a small brick structure, 65' high, completed about 1848. It was replaced by this 151' cast iron tower that was manufactured by West Point Foundry of Cold Springs, New York apparently during the Civil War. It was 1st lit in 1868. It was moved inland from the original site to avoid erosion problems caused by a hurricane. Quite an operation considering the weight of the iron sections. This was done in 1893 and 1894. A tram road was built over the sand and swampy area to move the equipment to its' present site.

The Canaveral Light House is of course, on restricted government property that pioneer families can view once a year on a tour of the Cape provided by the U.S. Air Force. My wife's mother grew up on the Cape prior to the Government's take over. She and my still living father-in-law had 5 acres on the beach and were given $20 an acre when the Government took possession of the land on the Cape. The old cemeteries are protected and maintained by the government as part of the original land acquisition agreement with the families.

There is a lot of history around every light house and this one is no exception. There were Indian problems, Civil War issues and even WWI and WWII happenings that show up in history. The reflectors and clock of the original brick light house were hidden during the Civil War, some tales say they were buried in an orange grove, some say parts of it were moved to St. Augustine at that time. I recently read there were 3 ships sunk by German U-boats within 10-20 miles of the Cape during WWII.
Treefarmer

Thanks All!!

KOOL LightHouse TF!!! Thanks for that post!! John

A few more!! John

I love lighthouses.

My great-great grandfather, Alonzo Brown Noyes, was born in Newbury, Mass, but went to Florida during the Seminole Wars. He stayed and at the time Florida seceded from The Union in 1861, he was Collector of Customs at Fernandina, Florida and Master of Lights from South Carolina, around Florida to Mobile.

He simply assumed the same job under The Confederacy.

There exists a letter to him from Admiral Raphael Simms, stating that all the lighthouses were now under the control of the confederacy and also the customs he had collected and directed him where to forward the monies.

I do not have the letter. It sold on Ebay many years ago for over a thousand dollars, but the seller was kind enough to send me a color copy.

As he was a Federal employee, he had to petition President Andrew Johnson for amnesty after the war. I have seen a copy of that hand written letter. The original resides in The Library of Congress.

Charlie Noyes

That is a neat story Charlie!!! John

Last picture of the Big Red. light house. Holland, Michigan. My stomping grounds passed it many times going out with down riggers for salmon and Lakers.

A few photos of the fireworks last night.

Those are REAL NICE Tim!!! John

mrwatch wrote:Last picture of the Big Red. light house. Holland, Michigan. My stomping grounds passed it many times going out with down riggers for salmon and Lakers.

You should recognize this too!!! John

More light houses. Visited these a couple of years ago.

Ken

I have read that the federal government, as they decommissioned lighthouses, would offer them for sale for nominal values, but prospective buyers had to commit and provide proof they had the dedication and the means to maintain them in a historically significant manner.

I would love to own the one at St. Marks, Florida.

Charlie Noyes

Thanks John!
I'm enjoying seeing the lighthouses.
This one is in Racine, Wisconsin.

Up in Maine we have our share of lighthouses.This meal is why we live in Maine.And we get away from the damn wantabe city we can shoot anywhere

Lookin' good Gdogg! Lobster and a 9mm.

My wife has been watchin' these flowers for a week or so. If you're not familiar with them, they are called Night-blooming Cereus. There were 7 blooms the other night, they all opened the same night and were gone by daylight. They have a wonderful fragrance but it's a one night show. It may bloom again later in the summer.
Treefarmer

Thank TF those sure are purdy

Wow Dogg, that lobster feast looks outstanding! Up here in Wisconsin that would be burgers and brats instead of the lobster. ..you all do it in style!

Phillip those are some really cool flowers there, you really have to pay attention or else you will miss the bloom, eh? Might need to set up a trail cam to make sure you don't miss the action

Here are some tiger lillies that I thought looked cool growing alongside an old old cabin/house at a living history museum near here.

Doesn't compare to guns n' lobsters I know, but that is tough to follow!

Mike, I have a thing for old buildings and that cabin is really neat. Ive never seen anything built like that. thanks for showing. Keith

Kool flower pics.. Never had much luck growing stuff!!

Them lobsters are MONSTERS!!! YUMMMMYYY!!! John

jmh58 wrote:

mrwatch wrote:Last picture of the Big Red. light house. Holland, Michigan. My stomping grounds passed it many times going out with down riggers for salmon and Lakers.

DSC02797.JPG

You should recognize this too!!! John

Windmill DeZwann

treefarmer wrote:My wife has been watchin' these flowers for a week or so. If you're not familiar with them, they are called Night-blooming Cereus. There were 7 blooms the other night, they all opened the same night and were gone by daylight. They have a wonderful fragrance but it's a one night show. It may bloom again later in the summer.
Treefarmer

Treefarmer...we have Night Blooming Cereus growing all over the place here in HI...I believe it's considered invasive because it often climbs up a host tree much like the strangler fig and eventually overtakes and kills the tree. Also, the cactus-like "leaves" are lined with tiny sharp thorns that can get in your skin when cutting them back and they're very difficult to see or remove (and painful). The spiky thorns are so tough that they scratch the paint of your car if you brush them when pulling to the side of a narrow road to let oncoming cars pass and afterwards it looks like your car's been "keyed." The flowers are truly amazing, though, like something out of Jurassic Park. And when they bloom, the bees swarm to them and create a sound like white noise with a constant steady buzzing.

~Q~