It comes with a sad and heavy heart that the first Lighthouse post for the 2014 season is a sad one. After the "Juan-a-be" storm of storms passed through the Maritimes on March 26th it didn't do it without leaving a damage trail every place it hit. Some places were lucky, just some snow, a few blown over trees here and there, power outages across the board, but with crews that worked hard to get it back for us and for as busy as they were, I think they did it in a timely manner. Other places were not as lucky, a ton of snow, holes left in rooftops, entryways to some buildings completely destroyed...... but for this lighthouse enthusiast the most devastating news (as far as damage is concerned), was that of the Church Point Lighthouse being completely destroyed.
I would have flipped out, had I looked out my window one day and it being there and the next day it be gone. I can't imagine how the locals are feeling. Yes it was old, yes it was run down, but it was still a local icon. The fact that she was still standing as she was under the care of the Saint Anne University showed that she meant a lot to the area, when most would just say "tear it down", they kept her as she was. With lighthouses being a huge tourist trend these days, I'm sure visitors will be sad to learn she is gone as well.The Church Point Lighthouse was one of the first lighthouses I got to visit back in 2010 when I started on my quest to visit as many of the Lights in Nova Scotia as I could. She was a classic red & white, wooden pepper shaker style light, yet her look was unique from all other pepper shaker lights I've seen.
Even old and run down, she still took stunning pictures though. As nice as she could have looked fixed up and all preserved, there was just something about her the way she was that added a ton of character and that really told her story of being a lighthouse and what she had been through over the years, the storms she had seen and the 'life' she had 'lived'.At that point in time when I was there she was in company of just one small wind turbine, these days there are two that were standing with her. With any lighthouse, they look small until you stand right next to them, but even at 9.4 meters, this little light sure looked small standing along side those big guys no matter how close you got.
After having a few years of not getting the chance to visit new lighthouses the way I had planned and after looking at these photos of destruction, it has really been brought to Light just how important it is for me to get out there and get back on the trails to see as many more as I can. With storms getting worse and taking their toll on these old structures, along with closures, and threats to tear a lot of them down it is important to me to get out there and see as many as I can while I still can. So here's to hoping 2014 is a better year, and one filled with lots of Lighthouse Seeking Adventures.
The following is a News Article about the Lighthouse after the storm:http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/church-point-lighthouse-destroyed-by-storm-1.2589000
If you would like to learn more about the history of the Lighthouse please visit my favorite resource, Lighthouse Friends and view their description:
http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=1346
I would also like to thank Dan Robichaud at this time for allowing me to use these 4 photos of destruction of his on my blog to share with my readers.
Safe Travels Everyone!
~Jenn
