Cape Hatteras
Here you will learn of my journey
to learn about not only the Hatteras Lighthouse, but all lighthouses in North
Carolina. My knowledge of love of these lights has come primarily through the
Outer Banks Lighthouse
Society, of which I am now President. This is a national organization whose
purpose is to preserve our coastal and river lights and to educate people about
them. Please visit our site and learn more!
The Hatteras Story
While fooling around with a new tuning on the guitar (1997) I struck upon a series of chords that had a haunting sound and a beautiful melody. Somehow in my head I started singing the words: "I am a lighthouse". I don’t know where they came from, perhaps from hearing so much about the Hatteras Lighthouse in the news. So, it was going to be a song. Since I knew so little of the lighthouse I did quite a bit of research on the Internet to learn of its history. There I found the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society ( and Bruce and Cheryl Roberts who kept me updated with the latest news of the lighthouse. The OBLS took the stance that the best way to protect and preserve the lighthouse was to relocate it and I totally agree. For our children and grandchildren to appreciate and understand our culture, sites like the lighthouse need to be saved. North Carolina takes great strides to protect the coast. Relocating the Cape Light is much more environmentally sound. Groins and seawalls cause erosion of the shoreline. I am indebted to the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society for their help and encouragement. I also found a book they wrote about lighthouse families. I read the section about the Hatteras Light and learned of the tender memories of Rany Jennette, son of the last lighthouse keeper. I called Rany, a delightful man who then was a volunteer for the lighthouse through the National Park Service and asked if there were any other hidden secrets he could tell me. He gave a few more tips of things he remembered. After digging for a few weeks to learn all that I could about this North Carolina landmark I was anxious to get my song written. The book and the history intertwined brought a different feeling for me in my understanding of the lighthouse and it somehow came to life. After recording on my home studio system I sent a copy to Cheryl and Bruce who were thrilled and asked me to make a good recording so it could be sent to radio stations all over North Carolina. I did, and we kept in touch for several months.
One day I got a telephone call from Bruce asking if I would speak at a public hearing in Manteo in favor of moving the lighthouse. Although I don’t speak, I sing, I decided to do it as it was important to me and to the state of North Carolina and all of the United States. The trip and experience left me with another impression of the emotions involved in the relocation of the light. I could see the feelings of the people of Dare County and realized their side of the debate in moving it. I wrote another song about that experience.
In November the U.S. Congress voted to appropriate funds to the National Park Service to relocate the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Although Dare County and others had sued the NPS for moving the light because they feared it would damage their economy and other reasons, the lighthouse was to be moved regardless. I was ecstatic over the decision to move the lighthouse. Bill, my husband, encouraged me to go forth with producing a CD of only lighthouse songs. I was at the time, in the middle of finishing TREFALEN, my second. I couldn’t possibly begin a third CD before finalizing the second. I took the idea to the North Carolina Arts Council, the Cultural Tourism Department, Dare County’s Arts Commission, the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society and to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. They all were very encouraging, so I decided to do it.
In November the NPS opened the lighthouse to visitors one last time before it was closed off permanently so that the local people could view the island as they had all their lives. I went to make the climb and the trip brought many wonderful experiences. Gardner Reynolds at Osceola Studios in Raleigh, (also home of Bad Dog Productions) spent many years in Buxton with his family and has many friends and ties there. He suggested that I call some of his friends. The first man I called said he would meet me on Saturday and talk about how the local people felt about moving the lighthouse. Leon Jennette met me at a gas station about a mile from the "Cape Light" (as it is also known). He is a very sincere, honest man whose forefathers sold North Carolina the land where the lighthouse presently sits. He spent the day with Bill and me, taking us into the lighthouse, stopping at each landing and telling us stories and explaining why the local people feel the way they do. I am indebted to him for this as it helped me create a beautiful ‘classical folk’ song, The Last Climb.
While we were there, I met a volunteer for the Park Service, Mary Dickens. She had written a poem based on stories told to her by Rany Jennette about what it was like growing up at the Lighthouse. When she sent it to me I was elated as he speaks of the prisms I had heard about from Leon, and how the children played in their sparkles. From her poem I wrote a song (my first on keyboard and synthesizer): Recollections of a Keeper’s Son.
More research on ghost ships and stories of visitors to the lighthouse have caused a creative whirlwind which has been extremely inspiring! There are seven songs on this CD: Hatteras: If a Lighthouse Could Speak. They all are different in genre, some ‘classical folk’, blues/folk, pop, even new-age elements, something for everyone to enjoy. They speak of the history of the lighthouse and events which took place during its lifetime, of the conflicts in relocating it, the actual relocation and what it has meant to the people of Hatteras Island and the many, many visitors to the area. During the relocation, the lighthouse was the SECOND MOST VISITED SITE IN NORTH CAROLINA!!!
After carefuI review by National Park historians, the CD was accepted into the National Park Bookstore at the site. It is also carried in many Borders Books, Blockbuster Music, Millennium Music, Phillips, Valley One-stop shops across the nation, in many gift shops along the Outer Banks, as well as from this website. I have truly enjoyed working on this project. It has been a rewarding experience to meet the people of Dare County and the National Park service and hearing their heartfelt stories.
Now that the lighthouse has been successfully relocated we can all sleep peacefully. She stood strong and proud in the face of Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd in September 1999 and is certain to remain at her new location for a long time. A chunk of stairs broke and fell in June of 2002. The lighthouse has been under repair for many months, re-opened in Spring of '03. She also got a face-lift with a new paint job!
It was an honor to be asked to sing at the Relighting Ceremony November 13, 1999. The sun dropped over the lighthouse as honors were given, poems and prayers read, and songs were sung on a beautiful evening. It was a thrill to be a part of the Rededication Ceremony May 5, 2001. That weekend the National Park and the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society hosted events for a Hatteras Lighthouse Keepers' Descendents Reunion. Relatives of keepers from both towers were present, some as far away as Hawaii.....some meeting relatives for the first time. A new and special song was sung about ALL the Keepers of the Light.
The Cape Hatteras Seashore celebrated the 50th year since its formation in 2003. Also, this marks the 200th year since the first light was built in 1803. Below are photos of the October 18th celebration of 200 YEARS OF LIGHT at the 'CIRCLE OF STONES'. This is where the spiraled tower rested for 130 years before its relocation in 1999. The stones are barely visible now, some broken, and the engraved names of all the keepers from BOTH towers are under sand due to Hurricane Isabel which struck the Outer Banks in September of 2003, severing Hatteras Village from the Island. Seeing the stones in this condition is an affirmation that moving the lighthouse was a good thing. The tower probably would not have been able to sustain the high winds and surf.
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It was a blustery, windy day, but many people came from as far away as California to help celebrate Cape Hatteras Lighthouse's 200th birthday. The bell on the left, from the ghost ship the Carroll A. Deering which ran aground in 1921, was made available through the courtesy of the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. From my new tune, TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF LIGHT "Did they know in 1803 when the flame was lit that so many lives unknowingly would be touched by it? And so now we pray for two hundred more years of light." |
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Retiring the colors after the Pledge of Allegiance. The flag in the foreground is our American Flag as we know it. Far in the distance, near the lighthouse, flies a replica of the 1803 Flag, "Old Glory" for which the National Anthem was written. Perhaps in 1803 a flag few near the 1803 tower just as it did on October 18th. The 1803 tower, or Hamilton's Light as it is also known, was built by Henry Dearborn, who later served under Thomas Jefferson as the secretary of war. the first tower was only 90 feet tall and was a plain tower, no colors or stripes. The light served almost NO purpose as it was not bright enough to be seen. Sailors joking said that they would have wrecks at Diamond Shoals because they were trying to FIND the light! Later, an addition was put on top of the tower and it was painted red on top. A stronger Fresnel lens was also a gift to the sailors at sea.
Photos by Bruce Roberts |
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Photo of the 1803 flag replica raised by a keeper in uniform (Brent Westwood) on the 200th birthday of Cape Hatteras Lighhouse, October 18, 2003 Photo courtesy of Gary Martin Copyright 2003 |
As a result of working the the OBLHS on many Hatteras projects, I've learned much about ALL of NC's fabulous towers. So...the tunes don't stop with the Hatteras Light. The first OBLHS Video was produced about growing up at the Bodie Island Lighthouse, full of interviews with surviving Bodie Island keepers' children who are now in their 60's-80's. My tune "Life at the Lighthouse" gives a description and was used as a theme for the video! You can check it out by purchasing from Coastal Productions at (252) 473-3024, fax (252) 473-1441 or P.O. Box 431, Wanchese, NC 27981 ($24.95 plus tax and shipping). All profits go to the OBLHS Bodie Island fund to help with restoration efforts for one of the MOST magnificent lighthouses on our coast!
As a celebration, 50% of the profit from sales of IF A LIGHTHOUSE COULD SPEAK will be donated to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore through the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society.
Below are unusual photos of some of my favorite lighthouses, courtesy of Gary Martin Photography www.coastalbeacons.com
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For more shots of this lens click here |
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Copyright 1998 Ceilidhe's Music
Last revised:
July 06, 2004
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