Light Hearted Lite #17 – Dave Waller, owner of Graves Light, MA, pt 1 of 2

03/16/25 • 22 min

This is an edited version of an interview that was first heard in episode 60 in May 2020. The guest is Dave Waller, the owner of Graves Light in Boston Harbor. This is part one of two parts.

Graves Light in June 2001, photo by Jeremy D’Entremont Dave Waller

The ledges in outer Boston Harbor called the Graves – about 10 acres in all – have been home to a lighthouse since 1905. The 113-foot tower is made of granite, and a first-order Fresnel lens was installed in the lantern. After the light’s automation in 1976, weather and vandalism took its toll. Under the guidelines of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, the lighthouse was sold in a government auction in September 2013 to businessman David Waller. Another partner for the preservation of Graves Light is the well-known Boston philanthropist Bobby Sager.

Dave Waller owns a video special effects company headquartered on Newbury Street in Boston, and he also collects and restores old neon signs. He and his wife, Lynn, a graphic designer, live in a restored fire station in the Boston suburb of Malden.

This is an edited version of an interview that was first heard in episode 60 in May 2020. The guest is Dave Waller, the owner of Graves Light in Boston Harbor. This is part one of two parts.

Graves Light in June 2001, photo by Jeremy D’Entremont Dave Waller

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Light Hearted ep 310 – Barcelona Lighthouse, New York

Barcelona Light Station, photo by Mike and Carol McKinney

In 1828, Congress appropriated five thousand dollars to construct a lighthouse in Barcelona Harbor on Lake Erie in New York. The harbor had just been designated an official port of entry when the lighthouse was built. In the early 1800s, lumber, salt, flour, and fish were shipped to and from the port. The lighthouse is a conical stone tower, 40 feet tall. It’s believed to be the very first natural gas-powered lighthouse in the world.

Barcelona Lighthouse is undergoing a major restoration (New York State Parks) Marla Bingham-Melcher

The light was discontinued as an aid to navigation in 1859, and the property was transferred to New York State Parks in 2007. There’s a museum in the keeper’s house, and currently there’s a major project in progress that includes the rehabilitation of the lighthouse tower. Our guest is Marla Bingham-Melcher, the manager of the five state parks in Chautauqua County, including Barcelona Lighthouse. This episode is co-hosted by Averie Shaughnessy-Comfort, executive director of Lake Erie Lights of Pennsylvania.

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Light Hearted ep 311 – Florida Lighthouse historian Neil Hurley

Neil Hurley

Neil Hurley’s interest in Florida lighthouses goes back to the mid-1980s. He was serving as a staff officer for the Seventh Coast Guard s District Aids to Navigation Branch, and he often had to answer questions about lighthouses in Florida. Neil decided to make Florida lighthouse history his off-duty hobby. That led to countless hours of research, and he’s been the historian for the Florida Lighthouse Association since it was founded.

His books include Florida’s Lighthouses in the Civil War, An Illustrated History of Cape Florida Lighthouse, and Lighthouses of the Dry Tortugas: An Illustrated History, and he was co-author of the first edition of The Florida Lighthouse Trail. The articles he’s written include several for the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s quarterly journal, the Keeper’s Log. Neil retired as a commander from the Coast Guard, and today he continues to work in the defense industry. This is episode is co-hosted by Ralph Krugler, historian for Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse and historical archivist for the U.S. Lighthouse Society.