Modern Memories 



During the transfer ceremony, 

 visitors take a peek inside the old 

 lighthouse. They climb up a circular 

 cast iron staircase. Toward the top 

 of the 201 steps, they must duck to 

 maneuver through the area to reach 

 the observation deck. 



Once at the top, they can see 

 all the way to Morehead City. 



'This is a great view," says 

 Vogel. "You get to see how shallow 

 the water is and 

 how tricky the 

 channel is to 

 navigate. You 

 also get a great 

 sense of geogra- 

 phy by looking 

 at the natural 

 cove called 'The 

 Bite' and its 



PEOPLE & 



PLACES 



relationship to Shackleford Banks." 



Along the Outer Banks, Cape Lookout 

 lighthouse stories abound. Guthrie, who stayed in 

 a little house on the Cape where lighthouse beams 

 washed across her bedroom windows, likes to re- 

 count when her friend — the lighthouse keeper's 

 daughter — was continually aggravated by a cat. 



"So the girl took the cat and climbed to the 

 top of the tower," says Guthrie. "She threw the cat 

 all the way to the ground — and it landed on all 

 four feet unharmed. I always figured that the cat 

 had eight lives left." 



One of Yeomans' favorite stories is about 

 Billy Hancock, the fastest runner on Cape 

 Lookout. 



"In 1 865, contractors were hired to tear 

 down the old lighthouse at the Cape," he says. 

 "After much calculation, the precise brick was 

 located — that would topple the tower." 



As Yeomans tells it, Billy was hired to strike 

 the fateful blow to that one brick — and then ran 

 like crazy as the lighthouse fell. 



Lookout Logistics 



The Cape Lookout Lighthouse can be 

 viewed from Harkers Island, or visitors can take a 

 private passenger ferry to South Core Banks near 

 Bardens Inlet. The tower is open to the public 

 only during special events. 



The Cape Lookout Lighthouse Keepers' 

 Quarters is open April 1 to Nov. 24. Exhibits focus 

 on lighthouse history, early shipwrecks and rescues. 



For a list of ferry services, call the Cape 

 Lookout National Seashore at 252/728-2250. 

 For more information about the lighthouse, visit: 

 www.nps.gov/calo. ^ 



TOP TO BOTTOM: Superintendent Bob Vogel participated in the transfer ceremony of the 

 lighthouse from the U.S. Coast Guard to the National Park Service. To get to the lighthouse, 

 folks go by private boat or ferry. Visitors must climb 20 1 steps to get to the top of the lighthouse. 



LIGHTHOUSE OPEN HOUSES 



Want to look inside the Cape Lookout Lighthouse? 

 Below are some open houses for the public: 



• March 1 3 — Cape Lookout Seashore Anniversary 



• June 1 2 — Cape Lookout Lighthouse Transfer 

 Anniversary 



• Aug. 7 — National Lighthouse Day 



• Nov. 6 — Cape Lookout Lighthouse Anniversary. 



For more information, call 252/728-2250, 

 or visit the Web: www.nps.gov/calo. — A. G. 



COASTWATCH 25 



