ELBOW REEF LIGHTHOUSE SOCIETY
The Most Recognized Landmark in Abaco and the Last Light of its Kind in The World!
What The Lighthouse Means To Me...
Sat, Jan 23, 2016
Hey guys,
I have a story to tell. It's a great story, and it makes me feel glad that there are people such as yourselves who take care of the world like this.
Two years ago, I was in a very dark place in life and I felt like I was in a hole I couldn't get out. Call it teenage melodrama (I was a junior in HS), but I had begun to face the fact that I wasn't anywhere near as smart or talented as I wanted to be. It caused me to feel this deep pain for months, and I wish I had never gone through it all. Often, I realized, I can be too hard on myself to be the best and brightest, and not everyone is that. My parents had planned a trip to Elbow Cay during Thanksgiving of that year, and I was so down at the time that I wasn't anticipating having any good experience there. I stepped on the island with a terrible attitude and gloomy outlook, and I felt like I couldn't bear any activity whatsoever. On my first day on the cay, I biked into town past White Sound and saw what the beautiful, historic town had to offer. Despite the rainy weather, I felt stress leave me for the first time in at least a year. The hospitality and kindness of the people I met throughout Elbow Cay began to make me feel better about my tiny little issues. I traveled across the harbor on a small vessel, which a man was kind enough to invite me on to, and as I walked up to the lighthouse for the first time, I could feel a little joy and a pinch of anticipation once I saw the magnificent lighthouse standing before me. I signed the logbook and began to walk up the beautiful staircase. At the top, I was glad to see the beautiful little town below. The ocean could not be more blue and I could not be happier. The Boats bobbed in the harbor, and people came and went on carts and bikes. Everything was perfect just the way it was.
The lighthouse isn’t just cultural history that has to be preserved, its also important to everyone who’s visited it in the present, and it must be saved so that everyone can enjoy it in the future. It’s changed who I am, and it sowed seeds to a better future for myself. I’m a freshman at the University of Colorado at Boulder now, and I’ve never been happier. I came across photos from the trip that I took by myself as I “got better” and its made my day.
Thank you all so much for what you do, and may you keep on doing it. I get off of school in early May, and have been looking for a place to go… I think returning to Elbow Cay might just be perfect. Let me know if you all need any help with maintenance/restoration/fundraising, as I’d love to help out if I end up heading to the Abacos (or if I can afford a place to sleep).
Thanks again,
Parker Hopkins
GRANT MALONE, Gift Shop Volunteer & Student Tour Guide
Grant Malone, our youngest lighthouse gift shop volunteer and one of our six student tour guides, said, ”Working at the shop is fun & educational, and I really like the idea that all theproceeds from the sales go directly into the regeneration of our lighthouse!” His family added“He is a young entrepreneur. He loves meeting and interacting with people and seems toalways be looking for something productive to do.” Grant, who is 12 years old and an HonorRoll student, just graduated from Hope Town School as Deputy Head Boy and will be joining Forest Heights Academy in September. He is a member of the Hope Town Bull Sharks, enjoysmusic, art, skateboarding, video games and diving. He is also fascinated with sharks!
Grant said, “I give a huge thanks to all of our volunteers who help us to “Keep the Light On!’”
Thank YOU, Grant!
"As an Architect that has worked on so many detailed historic projects here in the USA I do understand what the quality of the work that the restoration crew is doing.
It is intense work that needs to be thought out carefully before the actual work is performed. It is detailed work that only the most passionate craftsmen can precisely exemplify in the final product. I wish that you encourage the work crew with these words for me as I am not there in person…. “Keep up the great work that you all are doing for Hope Town, the Lighthouse itself and for all the future generations that will see the toils of the precise work that you are doing at present! …. Everyone involved is to be commended at the highest authority in this Work of Love!...”
from: Richard L. Seaberg, Architect and Author of "Hope Town, Reality of a Dream"