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    The Sanibel Island Lighthouse
    The Sanibel Island Lighthouse
    The Sanibel Island Lighthouse
    Ebook147 pages1 hour

    The Sanibel Island Lighthouse

    By Charles LeBuff

    ()

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    About this ebook

    A well-illustrated history of Sanibel Island’s oldest modern structure, and the land surrounding it, presented through a first-person account using newly interpreted, mostly old photographs and postcards. The author lived at the Sanibel Island Light Station for 22 years when it was headquarters of the Sanibel National Wildlife Refuge (later renamed J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge). Rare images include interior photos of the light tower, and floor plans of the living quarters. This is a complete book about this historic and still-functioning light station.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCharles LeBuff
    Release dateJan 20, 2015
    ISBN9781311879776
    The Sanibel Island Lighthouse
    Author

    Charles LeBuff

    Charles LeBuff launched his writing career in 1951 with the publication of a note in a herpetological journal. Later in the 50s he published papers on Florida snakes and crocodilians. He started a federal career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at its Red Tide Field Investigation Laboratory in Naples, Florida, in 1956. In 1958 Charles transferred to Sanibel Island after accepting the number two position on what then was known as the Sanibel National Wildlife Refuge. He and his family would remain on Sanibel Island for 47 years. During his time on that barrier island he completed a 32-year career as a wildlife technician with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, retiring in 1990. During Charles’ federal tenure he and his wife and two children lived at the Sanibel Lighthouse for nearly 22 years During that time it was headquarters for the refuge (renamed J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge in 1967).In 1961, Charles was elected president of the Sanibel-Captiva Audubon Society and in 1967 he was a founding board member of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. He is the last surviving member of that founder group. In 1968, as an avocation, he formed a loggerhead sea turtle conservation organization known as Caretta Research, Inc., and headed that group until 1991. Charles received the first sea turtle permit issued by the State of Florida in 1972, STP-001, and he held it for 40 years. In the decades of the 70s and 80s he published many works on the biology and conservation of sea turtles. By the mid-70s the Sanibel-based organization included most all of the sea turtle nesting beaches along the Florida gulf coast. Today’s successful sea turtle conservation efforts on the beaches of Southwest Florida evolved from Charles LeBuff’s pioneering work.He was elected as a charter member of the first Sanibel City Council and served as a councilman from 1974 to 1980. Charles began writing seriously after his 1990 retirement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and that year his book The Loggerhead Turtle in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico was published. This is now out-of-print, but has been replaced by an updated eBook, The Sea Turtles of Southwest Florida. The most successful of his early commercial books is his historical autobiography, Sanybel Light (a revised edition is available as an eBook). His most recent published work in paper is Amphibians and Reptiles of Sanibel and Captiva Islands, Florida, a book coauthored with Chris Lechowicz (2014). In 2013 he and Sanibellian Deb Gleason coauthored Sanibel and Captiva Islands, which was published by Arcadia Publishing, in March, 2013. This pictorial book is part of their Postcard History Series. His earlier Arcadia book, J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, details the history of this popular wildlife refuge, and was published in 2011. In 2004 he published The Calusan, a historical novel with Southwest Florida as its theme. The Calusan is out of print, but is available as an eBook. His Everglades Wildlife Barons is a biography about the legendary brothers, Bill and Lester Piper of Bonita Springs. This is a popular paper book (also in eBook format) about the Pipers and their Everglades Wonder Gardens that closed after nearly 77 years of operation in Bonita Springs, Florida, in early 2013. It was recently sold by the extended Piper family and has recently reopened in a different mode. In 2015 he released the first in an eBook trilogy, Fearsome is the Fakahatchee. This is a modern crime novel that is a spin-off from The Calusan. Fearsome is the Fakahatchee unfolds in and around Naples, Florida. The second eBook in this trilogy, Lake Trafford Sniper, has recently been released. The third, and final book in the series, is expected in mid-2016.In his retirement Charles continues a busy lecture schedule and writes. Currently he is also working on a book dealing with the American crocodile in Florida; carefully balancing his time between the two active writing projects he has underway. His hobbies include wildlife photography, replication of Calusa Indian artifacts, and wildlife-oriented wood carving. Charles also manages to get out in the field to engage in python-hunting from time to time.

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      Book preview

      The Sanibel Island Lighthouse - Charles LeBuff

      The Sanibel Island Lighthouse

      A Specialized History

      of Sanibel Island

      1513-2014

      A history of Sanibel Island’s oldest modern structure, and the land surrounding it, presented through a first-person account using newly interpreted, mostly old photographs and postcards.

      First eBook edition.

      Copyright © 2014 by Charles LeBuff

      All rights reserved. This eBook may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any other means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, burning, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system—without written permission from the author.

      14040-101 Eagle Ridge Lakes Drive

      Fort Myers, Florida

      33912

      Visit us at:

      http://www.amber-publishing.com

      Smashwords Edition, January, 2015

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

      This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      ~ OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR ~

      —THE LOGGERHEAD TURTLE in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, 1990. A semitechnical book on the biology and conservation of the threatened loggerhead sea turtle. Published by Caretta Research, Inc.

      —SEA TURTLES OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, 2014. (New eBook edition, an updated version of the above title). Published by Amber Publishing.

      —SANYBEL LIGHT: An Historical Autobiography, 1998. A human and natural history of Sanibel Island, Florida, its lighthouse, and the J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Published by Amber Publishing.

      —SANYBEL LIGHT, Revised eBook Edition, 2013. Published by Amber Publishing.

      —THE CALUSAN, 2004. This historical novel brings together three human cultures as it spans a four-century period in Florida's history. The discovery of a gold medallion on Sanibel Island links the centuries and connects five historical figures with the book’s intriguing fictional characters as the saga unfolds. Only currently available as an eBook. Published by Amber Publishing

      —EVERGLADES WILDLIFE BARONS, The Legendary Piper Brothers and Their Wonder Gardens, 2010. A complete biography about the incredible lives of Bill and Lester Piper and their pioneering relationship with the wildlife of Florida’s Everglades. Published by Ralph Curtis Publishing.

      —EVERGLADES WILDLIFE BARONS, The Legendary Piper Brothers and Their Wonder Gardens, eBook Edition, (New Version), 2013. Published by Ralph Curtis Publishing

      —J. N. DING DARLING NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, 2011. This book is about the history of this jewel in the national wildlife refuge system. The refuge’s contribution to habitat protection and wildlife conservation on famed Sanibel Island in Southwest Florida is fully covered. Published by Arcadia Publishing.

      —SANIBEL AND CAPTIVA ISLANDS, 2013. A timeline of the islands’ history, illustrated by 100 years of vintage postcards. Co-authored with Deborah Gleason. Published by Arcadia Publishing.

      —AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF SANIBEL AND CAPTIVA ISLANDS, FLORIDA. 2014. A natural history of the herpetofauna of these unique barrier islands, featuring the photography of Bill Love and Daniel Parker. Co-authored with Chris Lechowicz. Published jointly by Amber Publishing and Ralph Curtis Publishing.

      —FEARSOME IS THE FAKAHATCHEE, 2015. This novel is the first volume in the L. G. Clark trilogy. Only currently available as an eBook. Published by Amber Publishing.

      —LAKE TRAFFORD SNIPER, 2015. This novel is the second volume in the L. G. Clark trilogy. Currently only available as an eBook. Published by Amber Publishing.

      —FLORIDA’S CROCODILE: Biology and History of a Threatened Species is also available in a paper edition through our website (http://www.amber-publishing.com) or independent booksellers.

      This was the business end of the Sanibel light tower in 1966. The lower gallery (railing and walkway) surrounds the windowless watch room. A double-door leads outside and an exterior ladder provides access to the smaller upper gallery that encircles the lantern room. Look carefully, notice the black object positioned at the center of the rail (just above the lens). This is the sun valve that once turned the lighting system on and off. The lens pictured is the 500-millimeter optic that was the third to be used in the lighthouse. On the left and outside of the lantern room one of the handholds is clearly visible. One of these is bolted to each of the 10 metal mullions that hold the glass in place. These grips allowed a light keeper to hold on firmly whenever they periodically and bravely cleaned the exterior of the heavy plate glass storm panes. When this photo was taken real glass still enclosed the lantern room. Within a few years after electrification (1962) the plate glass storm panes were replaced with acrylic. Over time this darkened, became partially opaque; etched by long-term interaction of sea salt-laden mist. When the light tower was completely rehabilitated in 2013 real glass again was installed to wall the lantern. Charles LeBuff

      Introduction

      THIS eBOOK IS AN OUTGROWTH OF MY INTENSE personal interest in the history and operation of the Sanibel Island Light Station. This historic facility is located in Lee County, on the coast of Southwest Florida. The light-supporting tower and buildings at this station were the first of three lighthouse complexes, excluding range lights, to be built in Southwest Florida. It is the most prominent of the remaining two which continue to stand as coastal sentinels between the still functional older lighthouses on Loggerhead Key (built in 1858) in the Dry Tortugas, and the original structure at Egmont Key (also built in 1858) at the entrance to Tampa Bay.

      Lighthouses in the United States are often referred to as America’s castles, and like many European castles, many of our lighthouses have fallen into serious disrepair. Most are no longer operational; they are victims of obsolescence because of a growing body of navigational technology. Men and women no longer serve as resident lighthouse keepers. Gone are those respected pillars of lonely and isolated communities.

      The Sanibel Island lighthouse is today classified as unattended and automated, but it remains a functioning aid to navigation. My life has been inextricably associated with this antique structure since 1958, but my personal recollections and interactions with this old beacon now span over 60 years. In this book I weave a narrative account about major events connected to the history of Sanibel Island. The Sanibel Island Light Station is the key element from which the island’s modern history sprang. I hope to take you on a trip back in time as I present the story of Sanibel’s lighthouse in an educational and interesting format. I have tried to keep in mind that it is difficult to write a spellbinding account about all the dull mechanics of inanimate objects. Fortunately, there are human elements associated with lighthouses, too. I hope to hold your attention by interlacing interesting facts with photographs from earlier times. It is my purpose that after you finish reading this account and wandering through the illustrations you will have learned something—and that you enjoyed the experience.

      In the 1990s I represented the Sanibel lighthouse as a board member of the Florida Lighthouse Association. This rapidly growing organization is a force in lighthouse protection and their educational interpretation. The not-for-profit organization’s quarterly meetings are held at various lighthouses around the state where many of the usually closed light towers are opened by the Coast Guard for access by registered attendee/members of the Association. More information on the Florida Lighthouse Association, their goals, and most importantly how your personal or family membership can support their efforts, can be found by visiting:

      http:\\www.floridalighthouses.org

      You will discover I have some strong opinions and I do take the liberty of expressing them occasionally in the text that follows. My concerns pertain to certain events that have unfolded and continue to unfold on Sanibel Island. To any neophyte islander who may wish to quarrel with any of my statements: I am allowed to express my opinions regarding Sanibel Island—I have paid my dues on her behalf—my wife, our children, and I are vested life members in the exclusive San-Cap B. C. Society. To qualify for membership one must have been a permanent full-time resident of either

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