Light Hearted

Light Hearted ep 338 – Knotbrook Taylor’s Scottish lighthouse poems

[https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/screenshot_1277-739x1024.png] [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/309906161_436036911969793_1966983147790872388_n-844x1024.jpg]Knotbrook Taylor Knotbrook Taylor is originally from England and now lives in Scotland. He has been writing poetry for more than 25 years. His first published collection of poetry, Beatitudes, was launched in 2007 by Blue Salt Publishing. In 2014 he won the Erbacce prize for his collection Ping-Pong in the Rain. Erbacce is a publisher that holds an annual worldwide poetry contest. The Museum of Scottish Lighthouses commissioned Taylor to write a book of Scottish lighthouse poems. It was published in 2010 and he was also the poet in residence for a time at the museum. Here is a quote from the Erbacce website about Knotbrook: “Knotbrook delights in language, it is almost as though he is in love with words and needs to both cherish and almost worship each one.” [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/14.-rhua-re-light-1024x681.jpg]Rua Reidh Lighthouse, Scotland. Photo by Knotbrook Taylor.

Light Hearted ep 337 – Two special lighthouse cruises on the Maine coast

[https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-1-1024x768.png]Bar Harbor Whale Watch’s lighthouse cruise on September 5 will be aboard the Friendship V. This episode focuses on two very special experiences available to lighthouse lovers and lovers of the rocky coast of Maine. The first segment highlights an all-day “Mid-Coast & Monhegan Island 19 Lighthouse Cruise” [https://www.barharborwhales.com/midcoast19lighthousecruise2026/]with Bar Harbor Whale Watch this coming September 5. Interviewed in the segment are Julie Taylor, lead naturalist for Bar Harbor Whale Watch; Zack Klyver, marine mammal scientist, educator, and conservationist; and Bob Trapani Jr., executive director of the American Lighthouse Foundation. Together with U.S. Lighthouse Society Historian Jeremy D’Entremont and photographer Mike Leonard, this team will narrate the September 5th cruise. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/DSC1592adj-1024x683.jpg]Saddleback [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/DSC_2670adj-1024x683.jpg]Bass Harbor Head [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IMG_0882adj-1024x683.jpg]Egg Rock Next is an interview with Captain Barry King of the schooner Mary Day [https://www.schoonermaryday.com/], which is homeported in Camden, Maine. Jeremy D’Entremont will be on board to help narrate a 6-day lighthouse cruise, [https://www.wetravel.com/trips/6-day-cruise-lighthouse-cruises-schooner-mary-day-0362221936] July 26 to August 1. A Maine sailing legend, the Mary Day, a two-masted gaff topsail schooner, was built in 1962 by the famous Harvey Gamage Shipyard in South Bristol, Maine. Unlike earlier schooners that were built to fish or to carry cargo, Mary Day was designed and built to carry passengers. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-1024x554.png]The schooner Mary Day [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IMG_0138adj-1024x683.jpg]Curtis Island Lighthouse in Camden, Maine, and the Camden Hills ----------------------------------------

Be the Light with Sarah MacHugh episode 2 – The Power of Positivity with Helena of Thoughts with H

[https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/00217D2E-BA97-42D8-A118-3BAF48D24202-576x1024.jpeg]Helena, founder of Thoughts with H In this episode, we explore the power of positivity, reframing life’s inconveniences, building community, and how small reminders of encouragement can create a butterfly effect of gratitude. Sarah is joined by Helena, Licensed Mental Health Clinician and Founder of Thoughts with H, which is a daily inspiration platform rooted in mindfulness, connection, and showing up with purpose. Tune in for an uplifting conversation about how small actions can create meaningful impact. Notes: For information on Andy Smeaton, who is discussed in this episode: * Boston 25News Article [https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/quincy-man-travels-into-ukraine-rescue-co-worker-family/TE437P3DCRDTRBN5TIVPC3XDZE/] * GoFundMe page [https://www.gofundme.com/f/honoring-andys-life-and-helping-his-family]

Light Hearted ep 336 – Author Bob Napolitano and “The Lighthouse Keeper”

[https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/book-cover-687x1024.jpg] Bob Napolitano is from Everett, Massachusetts, and now lives in Londonderry, New Hampshire. “The Lighthouse Keeper,” which was published last year, is his seventh book. The main character, John Russell, takes a job as the keeper of the Willamette River Lighthouse in Oregon at the age of 27 in 1923. He sees the lighthouse as a place to heal from unfortunate decisions he’s made in his life, but he eventually wonders if it’s more of a prison than a sanctuary. Shanghaied sailors, brothel barges, opium and bootleg liquor, and floating bodies all play a part in the story. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bob-napolitano-816x1024.jpg]Bob Napolitano The primary setting of the story is the Willamette River Light Station, which stood at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, about ten miles north of downtown Portland, Oregon. It was established in 1895. After it was decommissioned, it eventually burned down, leaving just a few pilings. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Williamette-River-OR-1024x815.jpg]Willamette River Lighthouse, Oregon. USLHS archives.

Light Hearted Lite 38 – Jen Lewis, Point Cabrillo, CA

In this episode we revisit an interview that was first heard in 2021. Our guest is Jen Lewis, Fundraising and Outreach Manager for the Point Cabrillo Light Station in northern California. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IMG_2864adj-1024x683.jpg]Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, California. Photo by Jeremy D’Entremont. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Jen-Lewis-1.jpeg]Jen Lewis Point Cabrillo is about midway between San Francisco and the border with Oregon. In 1908 a combined lighthouse and fog signal building was built of local redwood and Douglas fir. Today Point Cabrillo Light Station is a California State Historic Park, and the nonprofit Point Cabrillo Lightkeepers Association manages and interprets the site. Jen Lewis grew up in Oregon, and she began volunteering at Point Cabrillo in 2016. She eventually became the Outreach Manager, taking care of social media and fundraising for the Point Cabrillo Lightkeepers Association. Jen has been on this podcast several times as a guest and as a co-host.