The New Jersey Lighthouse Society, Inc.
Events: NJ Lighthouse Society & Throughout New Jersey
Lighthouse Cruise – Saturday June 1, 2024
(For Members AND Non-members!)
Join us for a Lighthouse Cruise run by Keyport Pricess Tour Boat!!! (This boat trip is NOT sponsored by NJLHS)
Please join cruising NJLHS members as we play fun games, talk about lighthouse activities and view lighthouses together!
Hopefully non-members onboard the cruise will consider joining NJLHS! Membership forms will be available.
Please click on the button to link to the Boat Trip Flyer with more information, including a list of the eleven (11) lighthouses we’ll see and cost & payment information.
If you have questions, please contact Gary Latshaw, the NJLHS Trips Chairperson at trips@njlhs.org.
Please note that tickets are available only from Keyport Princess directly at www.keyportprincess.com (more information in the flyer).
We hope you’ll join us!!
NJLHS General Meeting Schedule
The New Jersey Lighthouse Society usually meets four times a year in March, June, September and December. Meetings are held at various locations throughout New Jersey and neighboring states. Meetings often include visits to lighthouses, other landmarks, guest speakers, presentations by members, travel information and time for sharing with other lighthouse enthusiasts. The New Jersey Lighthouse Society’s General Membership Meeting dates for 2024 are as follows:
March 23, 2024
June 22, 2024
September 21, 2024
December 7, 2024
Mark your calendars now because you do not want to miss any of the 2024 NJLHS General Membership Meetings!
NJLHS June 2024 Meeting:
The June 22, 2024 NJLHS General Membership Meeting will be at Twin Lights in Navesink. More details to follow as the meeting date approaches.
We hope to see you there!
“Inlet of the Breakers” Print
In 1994, Howard Worner, a member of NJLHS and an artist, donated a painting entitled “Inlet of the Breakers” for use in fundraising. NJLHS had 500 numbered and signed copies of the print made. Many were sold, but the rest of them were in the possession of Joan Walton, an officer of NJLHS at the time. We were contacted in 2020 by Joan’s daughter, telling us that her Mother had passed away, and that she found the prints, which belong to NJLHS. She has given them to us, and we are offering them for sale to our members for $25.00 each, unframed, plus postage if they need to be mailed. If you are interested in purchasing, please email njlhs@njlhs.org, and we will get in touch with you. Prints will also be for sale at the NJLHS General Membership Meetings!
Community Outreach
The New Jersey Lighthouse Society participates in community events held during the year to publicize our existence and further our mission of supporting lighthouses. We also hope our participation will attract new members to the Society. We set up a display of lighthouse information, and occasionally sell some of our merchandise (if permitted). We have a map of the state, and we place miniature lighthouses on it…this is definitely an “attention getter”, as people always stop to look at it (especially children). We have brochures about NJLHS, the Lighthouse Challenge, our Speakers Bureau program, and usually have things to hand out (past issues of the Beam, magnets, coloring sheets and crayons, etc.). We try to focus on events that do not charge non-profit organizations to participate, but will consider other events. If anyone has suggestions of future events (especially in the norther or western part of New Jersey), or would be willing to help us staff the table, please send an email to Communityoutreach@njlhs.org, or njlhs@njlhs.org.
We already have some tentative dates lined up for 2024:
Point Pleasant Earth Day Celebration at Riverfront Park…Saturday, April 20, 2024
Ocean Fun Days….Saturday, May 18, 2024 at Island Beach State Park
Ocean Fun Days…Sunday, May 19, 2024 at Sandy Hook
South Jersey History Fair…Saturday, June 8, 2024 (rain date Sunday, June 9, 2024) in Gloucester Township (Glendora), NJ
Beach Plum Festival….Sunday, September 8, 2024 at Island Beach State Park
Ocean County Decoy Show…Saturday, Sept. 28 and Sunday Sept. 29, 2024 at Tip Seaman Park in Tuckerton
Outreach at Tuckerton Gun & Decoy Show, Sept. 2022
Pictured: NJLHS members Bob Gleason and Linda Gleason and member John Ade. Photos by Kathy Lanzim
Educational Outreach/Speaker’s Bureau
The New Jersey Lighthouse Society Educational Outreach endeavor provides speakers to a variety of organizations including libraries, fraternal, social, or historical groups, and houses of worship.
Our in-person presentation spans 60-75 minutes with Power Points and co-speakers. It will provide details on lighthouse history, structure, and characteristics. Topics include keepers, governance, purpose, and how weather affects lighthouses. Historical facts about New Jersey beacons and keepers who were women will be included. We encourage the audience to participate and highlight specific stories regarding events or individuals who help the history come alive. A New Jersey map filled with miniature lighthouses, relevant brochures on the topic, and books will be on display for participants to review before and after the talk.
These events can be provided in any location in New Jersey and on any day or evening that can be mutually scheduled with the host organization. There is no fee and speakers donate their time and travel expenses. A donation to the Society from your organization and/or through a donation bowl for lighthouse preservation efforts to save these endangered landmarks is appreciated, but not required. The program cannot be recorded for future use.
For more information, please contact us at: speakersbureau@njlhs.org
Upcoming Educational Outreach Presentations:
Public Invited!
Tuesday, April 16, 2024 @ 5:30 PM
Middlesex
Milltown Public Library
20 W Church Street
Milltown NJ
Events are also scheduled for private groups in
Bayville, Beach Haven, Cherry Hill, Edison, Keyport, Manchester, Old Bridge, and Rocky Hill
National Lighthouse Day – August 7
National Lighthouse Day History
by Carol Winkie (article is published in the September 2022 issue of The Beam)
In 1988, the U.S. Congress passed legislation recognizing August 7, 1989, the 200th anniversary of the 1789 Act to federalize Lighthouse Beacons, Buoys and Public Piers, calling it “National Lighthouse Day”. This recognition was only for the year 1989. In 2013, the Senate passed a resolution designating August 7, of that year “National Lighthouse Day”. We in the lighthouse community continue to celebrate August 7 as “National Lighthouse Day”.
Photo Gallery from National Lighthouse Day 2023!
Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey
2024 is the 25th year of the Challenge!!
The 2024 Lighthouse Challenge of NJ will be held October 19 & 20
Stay tuned for updates…
The Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey is a rain or shine two-day opportunity to visit 10 land-based lighthouses, one museum, and three life saving stations. The event is usually held during the third weekend in October. Participants will begin their Challenge by paying a nominal registration fee at their first stop. Each year, the Challenge Committee decides on a theme for that year’s souvenirs and participants receive a “piece” of the souvenir at each stop along the way.
History – The Challenge is the brain-child of Richard (Rick) Weber, a NJLHS member and former member of the NJLHS Board of Directors. He had the idea of a “lighthouse challenge” back in 1998. It would be a weekend where all land-based lighthouses would be open to the public. The first “New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge” was held in 2000. It was sponsored and organized by the New Jersey Lighthouse Society. The Challenge became not only an opportunity for people to enjoy the drive and learn about lighthouses (participants came from all over the U.S.A. and the world!), but it gave the individual lighthouses a financial boost. NJLHS organized the Challenge for the first ten years. Since then, the Lighthouse Keepers of New Jersey have been running the “Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey”.
For more information, visit the Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey’s website at www.lighthousechallengenj.com
