Blog

Chilmark students kicked off their Holiday Break with a round of carolling at Beetlebung Corner. Their first visit was to the amazingly vibrant 100-yr-old Rena Fischer at Beetlebung Farm (see photo). The rest of the tour included Chilmark Town Hall, the Larsen's home across the street, the Chilmark Post Office and the Chilmark Library. Making their way through all of the classic Christmas songs, it turned out that Jingle Bell Rock and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer were the singers' favorites. It was a treat to hear the childrens' voices ringing through a quiet and warm winter afternoon in Chilmark. Merry Christmas to all!

The Gay Head Light made it to her new location, safe and secure, over 180' from the eroding cliff! The move took two and a half days as hydraulic power pushed this 400 ton treasure gently and slowly along steel tracks. Now she rests as the engineered concrete block foundation is built to fill in the gap from the steel beams as they are retracted, and the move path is back-filled with all soils returning to their original location at the same compaction rate as existed prior to the move. Then the plant materials will be returned and the overall landscape plan will unfold, paying hommage to the lighthouse site from the 1800s with stone wall and repurposing of materials found during the excavation. The Lighthouse is planned to re-open to the public sometime in late July.

After two and a half years of planning and fundraising, the Gay Head Light will start to move to its new location on Thurs, May 28. It will take approximately three days to move along steel tracks to a safer distance of 180' from the eroding cliff edge, which geologists estimate will give the structure another 150 years! This is a truly remarkable project to save an island treasure. The lighthouse will open to visitors again by the end of July 2015.