The Outer Banks Lighthouse Society continues to be actively supportive to North Carolina Lighthouses. Well-known in the lighthouse community, we are often called upon to help in various ways such as serving as consultants for educational programs including PBS, The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, and other media. The society receives dozens of monthly requests for information concerning the NC Lighthouses. All projects are carried out due to the dedication of our volunteers.

Some of our successful OBLHS projects include:

Support of the Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc. in their successful quest to gain permanent stewardship of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse
Purchase of architectural drawings of the NC Lights with a grant from the Frank Stick Fund that is now housed in the Outer Banks History Center in Manteo, NC
Gift to the Dare County Tourist Bureau of a seven-foot-tall model of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, engineered by Ed Chiasson of Sea-Lites
Donation of a plastic U.S. Coast Guard lens equivalent to a fourth order Fresnel lens to the reproduction of the Roanoke River Lighthouse in Plymouth, NC
Provision of an educational package, mailed free of charge to educators and students across the nation when requested
Annual awards presented to people within the lighthouse community deserving of recognition of work to help lighthouses
Held a special weekend “Two Hundred Years of Light” at the Circle of Stones at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse; special addresses by park staff and authors Homer Hickam, Kevin Duffus, and David Stick made the event memorable (October ’03)
Annual Retreat Weekend on the Outer Banks for members traveling to NC lhs and hearing special programs at historic sites including the Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station and the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum
Donation of $5,000 to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum for the restoration and exhibit of the 1854 first order Fresnel lens from the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Several members volunteered during the 4 week project
Partnership with the NPS for the preservation and maintenance of the Bodie Island Lighthouse first order Fresnel lens, which OBLHS spearheaded a campaign to keep the lens in place
Solicited donated paint for Cape Lookout from Lowe’s Home Improvement, Mooresville, NC
Contributed $10,000 to the NPS for the repairs to the Bodie Island Lighthouse Tower. Repairs to begin in the spring of 2006 and will allow visitors to visit inside the base of the tower
Donated $2,000 to the emergency repairs of the 1854 Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station in 2007
Sponsored 108 school children from Southport, NC to visit and learn about Old Baldy Lighthouse in April, 2008
Helping plan 150th celebration of light at Cape Lookout Lighthouse October/November 2009
Sponsored 97 school children from Southport, NC to visit and learn about Old Baldy Lighthouse in April, 2009.
Provided genealogical research for keepers’ descendants at the 150th anniversary of Cape Lookout Lighthouse in October, 2009
Provided volunteers to help clean and crate the Bodie Island Lighthouse lens for storage during the restoration of the tower
Sponsored 115 school children from Southport, NC to visit and learn about Old Baldy Lighthouse in May, 2010.
Help plan homecoming for Bodie Island Lighthouse Keepers’ descendants and provide genealogical research
Publication of an award-winning newsletter mailed to members and distributed to interested lighthouse enthusiasts (See Sample!)
Support given the National Park Service (NPS) for the long-term protection plan in the relocation of the Cape Hatteras Light Station
Sponsorship for the NPS of two structural engineer reports by lighthouse preservation experts to aid in the plans for restoration of the Bodie Island Lighthouse
Provision for funding to the NPS for the scaffolding at Bodie Island to determine the extent of needed restoration under the lantern room area
Provided research and planning to the NPS for the engraving of the foundation stones at the original site of the 1870 Cape Hatteras Lighthouse with the Keepers’ names with sponsorship from the Dare County Tourist Bureau
Planning and execution of the successful Hatteras Keepers Descendants Homecoming which hosted over 1,100 Keepers' descendants at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse May 2002
Publication of the commemorative Hatteras Keepers Oral and Family Histories book by Cheryl Shelton-Roberts and Sandra MacLean Clunies that is based on interviews with Cape Hatteras keepers’ families, keepers’ journals, and family photographs for the Homecoming in May 2001 (no fees or royalties were paid). The book commemorates the all-volunteer event specially held for the descendants of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Keepers, including the Diamond Shoals Lightships of the old U.S. Lighthouse Service. The Outer Banks Lighthouse Society and the National Park Service cosponsored the event with the help of major sponsors including Bank of America, WRAL-TV, Lighthouse Digest/Depot, and the Dare County Tourist Bureau. No royalties or fees were paid the editor and family historian; all proceeds funded the Homecoming.
Creation of the video Growing up at the Lighthouse in September 2002. This is a 40-minute tape of the surviving Keepers' children at the Bodie Island Lighthouse. It is part of our efforts to help with the NPS restoration of the Bodie Island Lighthouse.
Purchase of architectural drawings of the NC Lights with a grant from the Frank Stick Fund that is now housed in the Outer Banks History Center in Manteo, NC
Gift to the Dare County Tourist Bureau of a seven-foot-tall model of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, engineered by Ed Chiasson of Sea-Lites
Donation of a plastic U.S. Coast Guard lens equivalent to a fourth order Fresnel lens to the reproduction of the Roanoke River Lighthouse in Plymouth, NC
Provision of an educational package, mailed free of charge to educators and students across the nation when requested
Held a special weekend “Two Hundred Years of Light” at the Circle of Stones at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse; special addresses by park staff and authors Homer Hickam, Kevin Duffus, and David Stick made the event memorable (October ’03)
Donation of $5,000 to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum for the restoration and exhibit of the 1854 first order Fresnel lens from the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Several members volunteered during the 4 week project
Partnership with the NPS for the preservation and maintenance of the Bodie Island Lighthouse first order Fresnel lens, which OBLHS spearheaded a campaign to keep the lens in place
Solicited donated paint for Cape Lookout from Lowe’s Home Improvement, Mooresville, NC

This Site Last Updated: Friday January 21, 2011 6:54 AM