Expert? Me? Not likely. I'm proud to be an expert on nothing!
However, I did some research into lighthouses, and posted some quizzes on another site, and I've visited several, but I'm no expert. YOU'RE the one who spent some time at a bed & breakfast lighthouse, for which my wife and I are envious.
Nonetheless, one of the sites I've bookmarked is:
http://www.lhdepot.com/database/uniq....cfm?value=355
From that site:
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Name: Fire Island Light
Feedback to the database manager
Nearest Town or City:
West Islip, New York, United States
Location: Fire Island Inlet, Long Island.
Click to enlarge: 20Kb 60Kb
Related Photos
Photo: Kenneth Kochel
Managing Organization:
Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society
Telephone: 631-321-7028
Website:
http://www.fireislandlighthouse.com
Email:
programs@fireislandlighthouse.com
Contact Address Information:
Box 4640
Captree Island
New York, 11702-4601, United States
Notes:
In 1982 Fire Island Light was scheduled for demolition by the government. A local group of preservationists was successful in having the site transferred from the Coast Guard to the Fire Island National Seashore. The lighthouse was also designated a National Historic Landmark. The Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society successfully raised funds to restore the lighthouse and relighted it on May 25, 1986. Since 1982 the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society has worked to preserve the heritage of Fire Island and Long Island, with the Fire Island Lighthouse being an integral part of the heritage.
This light is operational.
Other Buildings?
1859 two-story keeper's house, boathouse.
Date Established: 1827
Date Present Tower Built: 1858
Date Deactivated: 1974-1986
Date Automated: 1986
Optics: 1856: First order Fresnel lens, now DCB-224. The Fresnel lens is on display in the Visitor Center at Fire Island Light.
Current Use: Active aid to navigation, museum.
Open To Public? Yes
Museum?
A guided tour lasts approximately one and half hours and includes a visit to the Lighthouse museum, and a walk up the 192 steps to the top of the lighthouse tower. Park rangers and volunteers lead the tours. Reservations are necessary for tower tours; call 516-321-7028. The lighthouse is closed Mondays and Tuesdays all year. Hours: July 1st to Labor Day: Wednesday through Sunday, 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. April 1st to June 30th and September to December 24th: Tours on weekends only. Closed January, February and March.
Directions:
From the north, take the Long Isand Expressway or Northern State Parkway to Sagktikos Parkway South. From the south use Southern State Parkway. Then take the Robert Moses Causeway South over the bridge to the end. Go left at the beach tower to parking field #5. Follow the signs to the lighthouse.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Keepers: Eliphalet Smith (c. 1830); Felix Dominy (c. 1835-1840); Selah Strong (c. 6/12/1850); Benjamin Smith (4/29/1853 - 4/12/1861); C. W. Fordham (4/12/1861 - 1/19/1864); David L. Baldwin (1/29/1864 - 3/29/1865); Samuel L. Hulse (5/26/1865 - 5/4/1869); Jeremy S. Wicks (5/4/1869 - 8/19/1870); Henry French (8/28/1870-?); Warren F. Clock (c. 1871-1873); Seth R. Hubbard (c. 1875 - 1877); George Elbert Abrams (2nd assistant, then 1st assistant 1883-?); Walter Abrams (c. 1880s); George W. Ruland (c. 1885); Ezra S. Mott (7/23/1888 - c.1895); William F. Aichele (1909-1916); George J. Thomas (c. 1918); Isaac Karlin (c. 1923-1928); Adrien Joseph Boisvert (1934 - 1941); Roy Wood (Coast Guard, 1940-1942); Shelbert Payne (Coast Guard, c. 1945-1946); Robert Hodges (Coast Guard, 3/17/1947 - 10/8/1958); Gottfried Mahler (Coast Guard, 1948-1954); Arnie Leiter (Coast Guard, 3/14/57 - 12/14/59); Duane Butler (Coast Guard, 1965-1969); Rockwell Norris (Coast Guard, c. late 1960s or early 1970s)
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I don't think it's getting short shrift. It's got a dedicated preservation society, it's on a national seashore (which should encourage and guarantee its preservation), and it's a national historic landmark. Plus - the light is an operational aid to navigation.
The VAST majority of lighthouses have fallen into ruin through neglect and vandalism, but it seems that Fire Island will keep going. Some deserted Great Lakes lights are in such poor condition that they are too dangerous to investigate and are not restorable.
Bill, if you can supply any additional information to the site regarding keepers, years, etc., it would increase the file of knowledge about this light, and you would have a feeling of self-satisfaction about taking part in preserving its history. (I suspect you may have already done this.) Was Rockwell Norris the keeper when you served on the light?
Why it doesn't appear on any of the calendars you've seen is anyone's guess. It has a distinctive paint job (like the famous White Shoals Light in Lake Michigan, which is red and white candy striped), and it appears to be readily accessable to the public.