Light Hearted

Light Hearted ep 335 – Bjorn Karlstrom and “Lighthouse Reading”; Kevin Arsenault, Coast Guard light keeper in Maine

There are two guests in this episode. The first, Bjorn Karlstrom, splits his time between Florida in the and the beautiful island of Gotland in Sweden. After developing a substantial lighthouse-related library, he decided to start a website that might be useful to others looking for information. His site Lighthouse Reading, at lhreading.com [https://lhreading.com/], now has listings for more than 3,800 lighthouse publications. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/screenshot_1276-1024x120.png]http://lhreading.com/ Massachusetts native Kevin Arsenault was a police officer for about 30 years and now serves as constable in the town of Gardner. He joined the Coast Guard at 19 years old in 1976 and was assigned to Matinicus Rock, an isolated outpost about 20 miles from the mainland in midcoast Maine. After a year there, he spent 18 months at Whitehead Light station, much closer to the mainland at the southwestern entrance to Penobscot Bay. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/DSC_2819adj-1024x683.jpg]Matinicus Rock Light Station, Maine. Photo by Jeremy D’Entremont. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5699adj-1024x683.jpg]Whitehead Light Station, Maine. Photo by Jeremy D’Entremont.

Light Hearted Lite 37 – Erik Nissen Johansen, Pater Noster, Sweden

[https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/pater-noster-small.png]Pater Noster Lighthouse Pater Noster is a small archipelago off the west coast of Sweden. The island group’s name, which means “The Lord’s Prayer,” is said to come from the tradition that mariners would recite the Lord’s Prayer as they negotiated their way around the dangerous reefs in the vicinity. The 105-foot-tall, red, cast-iron lighthouse was constructed in 1868. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/erik-nissen-johansen-1024x683.jpeg]Erik Nissen Johansen A complete restoration of the lighthouse began in 2002. Since 2020, the location has been operated as a small hotel. The facilities include rooms with a sea view, a restaurant, and three boathouses for dinner and conferences. Our guest, Erik Nissen Johansen is the founder and creative director of Stylt Trampoli, a multi-award winning hospitality design company. He is now a partner in the Pater Noster hotel. This is an edited version of a conversation first heard in episode 115 in April 2021.

Light Hearted ep 334 – Marty O’Gara and John Ollila, Fairport Harbor, OH

[https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/DSC_5418adj-1024x683.jpg]Fairport Harbor Light Station, photo by. Jeremy D’Entremont. Fairport Harbor, on the south side of Lake Erie at the mouth of the Grand River, is considered part of the Cleveland, Ohio, metropolitan area. The first lighthouse in the harbor was a 56-foot brick tower built in 1825. The lighthouse that stands today is a 60-foot stone tower that began service in 1871. After a new lighthouse was built on a breakwater in the harbor in 1925, the government planned to destroy the old lighthouse. A number of organizations in the area objected, and the lighthouse was spared. In 1945, the Fairport Harbor Historical Society established a marine museum inside the old keeper’s house. Museum highlights include a Fresnel lens and the infamous “ghost cat” story. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_3889-1024x768.jpeg] Marty O’Gara and John Ollila by the third-order Fresnel lens from Fairport Harbor Lighthouse, now on display in the museum in the keeper’s house. Photo by Jeremy D’Entremont. Our guests today are Marty O’Gara and John Ollila. John is the historian for the lighthouse and a trustee of the Fairport Harbor Historical Society. Marty is the president of the Fairport Harbor Historical Society.

Light Hearted Lite 36 – Bob Mannino, Nantucket Lightship LV-112

[https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Lightship_Nantucket_LV-112_in_Boston_harbor_2018_crop.agr_-1024x760.jpg]Nantucket Lightship LV-112. By Arnold Reinhold, Creative Commons license. Today we look back at an interview that was first heard in October 2020. Our guest is Bob Mannino, founder and president of the United States Lightship Museum. The USLM is the steward of the Nantucket Lightship LV-112, the largest lightship ever built in the United States. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Nantucket-LV-112-R.-Mannino-1024x953.jpg]Bob Mannino The Nantucket South Shoals were a great hazard to shipping, and a lightship was first stationed at the Shoals in 1854. The last vessel to serve there was the LV-112, built in 1936. Its position was 50 miles southeast of Nantucket Island and 100 miles from the U.S. mainland. The LV-112 was decommissioned in 1975 and today it serves as a floating museum in East Boston, Massachusetts. Bob Mannino has been involved for many years in historic preservation and related educational programs, maritime and non-maritime.

Light Hearted ep 333 – Valeria Araúz Molina, Île Vierge, France

[https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DSC_4849adj-683x1024.jpg]The 1846 and 1902 lighthouses on Ile Vierge. Photo by Jeremy D’Entremont. Ile Vierge is a 15-acre island off the northwest coast of Brittany in northwest France. The first lighthouse on the island was a 108-foot-tall square tower that began service in 1845. It was considered too short, and a new tower was built between 1896 and 1902. The new lighthouse tower is built of granite blocks and stands 271 feet tall, with nearly 400 steps inside. It’s considered the tallest traditional-style lighthouse in the world. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/valeria-e1766766707547.jpeg]Valeria Araúz Molina [https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/D4E03AQHz1s8-wCXlhQ/profile-displayphoto-shrink_800_800/B4EZp3S4MMHUAc-/0/1762938029363?e=1768435200&v=beta&t=tL-y_Dmxhlw0E2EVhvXIG5o0DHVk2FOa2n2JbJIHKck] The island and the 1902 lighthouse are open to the public on special tour days in the summer. A local company takes visitors out by boat and landing is only possible at high tide. Overnight accommodations are available in the old keepers’ quarters in the base of the 1845 lighthouse. Our guest, Valeria Araúz Molina, is the Ile Vierge project manager. She has guided tours in French, English, and Spanish. [https://news.uslhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ile-vierge-stairs-DSC_4837-1024x683.jpg]The stairs inside Ile Vierge Lighthouse. Photo by Jeremy D’Entremont.