What do you do with three wet, tired kayakers who come ashore on a foggy, rainy afternoon? You put them to work!
Jack, Aiden and Bryce had been paddling through dense fog and rain for eight hours when they spotted the Seguin lighthouse and decided to land and scout for a campsite. They’d set out two days earlier near Falmouth, camped at Jewel Island the first night, and paddled nearly 16 miles (!) across open waters to reach us on Seguin.
After warming them up with coffee and hot cocoa, we put them to work fixing the illuminated lighthouse map that hangs in the Museum hallway. Constructed, I think, in the 1990’s, this marvelous visual display hadn’t been fully functional since we’d arrived. Bryce and Aiden , engineers by trade, and Jack, a carpenter, were the perfect crew for the job! They disassembled the heavy, framed chart, swapped out bulbs, re-soldered connections, and sealed the whole science-fair-project/geography lesson back up. Voila! Seventeen glowing bulbs representing lighthouses up and down the Maine coast are once again shining points of learning for Seguin visitors!
We couldn’t bear the thought of our helpful visitors trying to stay dry in tents overnight, so we put them up in the Oil House, where bunks were installed back in 2015 for just such occasions. By 5 am the next morning they’d paddled off into the fog on the next leg of their adventure. We were happy to learn a few days later they’d made it safely home.
And just this morning a hand-written note arrived:
“Thank you so much for hosting us on Seguin this past week!” wrote Jack. “I had a blast exploring the island and was grateful for a dry sleep.”
“Thanks for providing us with the classic lighthouse experience!” Bryce said.
Added Aiden, “You gave us the most comfortable island experience on a dreary day! Thank you.”
Thank YOU Jack, Bryce and Aiden, for bringing your energy, expertise, and enthusiasm to Seguin!
-Rick H
Fabulous! That chart has had trouble for years.
Thanks, Tim! It was definitely time for that chart to get a “tune-up!”