Photo by Hobie Statzer
Howard and Cathy Lewis work on railings.
On May 16th and 20th volunteers headed out to Thomas Point to do some more exterior work on the lighthouse. On Saturday volunteers worked on some of the decking and railing. They installed some posts and railing where the old shed had been. They also did some work on the deck boards.
The following Wednesday another small crew went out to do some more work. They were surprised to find an official plaque from 1999 declaring Thomas Point a National Historic Landmark. They took a photo of the plaque and got to work.
Another treat was the landing dock was clean for once. There had some real downpours during the week, so that probably helped clear it off. But this workday was picture perfect weather to be outdoors – no rain and great temperatures.
They replaced three exterior deck boards on the sides where they had installed the new posts and railing on Saturday. First they removed the old boards that were beyond saving and then they added aluminum flashing to the “spokes”, fastened the new deck boards and gave the unpainted surfaces a coat of white primer. They had to use shims to level the new boards and “notch” one board to accommodate a bolt fastened to a post/spoke. Before leaving, they cut the old boards and hauled them to the mainland for disposal.
A final surprise was the test flight of the Blue Angels overhead. They may have been doing practice runs for the Memorial Day ceremonies. What ever the reason, they got to see the Angels fly down over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. You never know what you’ll see on a volunteer day!
Photo by Hobie Statzer
Karl working on deck board.
Photo by Tony Pasek
Hobie installing deck board.
Photo by Hobie Statzer
Tony working on deck board recently replaced.
Photo by Hobie Statzer
Official plaque from the National Park Service declaring TPSLS a National Historic Landmark in 1999
Photo by Tony Pasek
Blue Angels practice overhead.
Volunteers:
Cathy Lewis (Saturday)
Howard Lewis (Saturday, Transport Saturday & Wednesday)
Tony Pasek (Wednesday)
Hobie Statzer (Saturday & Wednesday)
Karl Talbott (Saturday)
