Spectral Keepers of the Lights

Penfield Reef Decision In Sight

At one time several groups, including PETA, wanted to “buy” Penfield Reef Lighthouse from the US government for one dollar. At the end, it will be down to only two, the town of Fairfield and Beacon Preservation. The two entities were the only ones that had submitted applications by the deadline of 18 Jan.

“Beacon Preservation had asked for an extension earlier, to better prepare their application for ownership of this haunted lighthouse. PETA bowed out of their lighthouses for fish empathy project, and nothing was received from Kennedy Healing Foundation and St. Ambrose Foundation, who’d also expressed interest last summer.

Carline Lutynski, president of Del Function Inc., also was expected to send in an application, but changed her mind. According to a story in the Connecticut Post, she’s instead offered to work with the town on repairing the light’s interior, including donating some money. Lutynski, whose foundation helps women recovering from breast cancer, said its tranquil setting would be restorative for women.

Rooms in the lighthouse get a lot of sun and it offers a panoramic view of Long Island Sound,” Lutynski said. “We have such beauty in this state, and something like this can be just so peaceful and personally restorative,” she said. She added that Penfield Reef Lighthouse is like “a beacon of hope” and that hope is “a very magical word” for women who have breast cancer.

The application from the town outlines the estimated costs of the restoration, where the money would come from, and announces the formation of the Friends of Penfield Reef Lighthouse to aid in this work.
A very detailed description of the plans is at a story on the Fairfield Minuteman.

It is absolutely great that the town of Fairfield is stepping up to the plate and working to save Ernie and his lighthouse. And it’s even better that Lutynski is willing to step up and help. It is arrangements like this, with more than one group working together towards a common goal, that will preserve our beacons, haunted or not, for generations to come. And I can’t help but feel that Ernie will be pleased with this arrangement.

Can you imagine a ghost having to deal with PETA’s fish quilt?

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