October 13th, 1985: Great Point Light and the Phoenix Principle!

New Great Point Lighthouse ~ 1986

 

Passing of the Catalyst Lantern at Great Point

 

On March 30th, 1984 the Nantucket Light on Great Point was swept into the sea by a coastal storm after standing as a stalwart beacon for seafarers since 1818, when the first stone lighthouse was built as a replacement for the original wooden tower built in 1784. On the footprint of this destroyed beacon, I buried the remains of original Catalyst Lantern (1972-1985), sealed in a black wooden box, beneath the rubble on 10/13/85. In 1986, via the fundraising efforts of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a new lighthouse replicating the fallen one was built within sight of the original foundation that succumbed to beach erosion. On December 20th, 1986 I began to build the Phoenix Lantern and first lighted it on February 10th, 1987 upon the birth of my daughter, Mary Jesse, in Nantucket... ~ JDHWB-R