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Buckeye Beat: Lighthouse Living

lighthouse
lighthouse

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[LIZ] IT'S EASIER TO GET SHEILA CONSAUL'S SUMMER HOME BY BOAT THAN WITH A CAR OR ON FOOT.

[CONSAUL] UNLESS YOU HAVE A BOAT THE ONLY WAY TO GET HERE IS TO PARK HERE IN MENTOR HEADLANDS BEACH, WALK OUT THROUGH THE DUNES AREA, WALK ALONG THE BEACH, AND THEN YOU HAVE TO GET UP ON THE BREAK WALL.

[LIZ] AND WHEN CONSAUL AND HER DOG LUCY ARRIVE AT HER SUMMER RESIDENCE NEAR FAIRPORT HARBOR, OHIO SHE DOES NOT PACK LIGHTLY.

[CONSAUL] I ALWAYS BRING A BACKPACK. I HAVE WHAT I CALL MY BIG FOUR: WATER, FOOD, GAS AND ... ICE ARE THE BIG FOUR THAT I TRY AND BRING OUT WHENEVER I COME OUT.

[LIZ] FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS, CONSAUL HAS BEEN TREKKING OUT TO HER LIGHTHOUSE EVERY SUMMER. SHE PURCHASED THE LIGHTHOUSE IN 2011 FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN AN AUCTION.

[CONSAUL] I HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR A SUMMER HOME. I HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR A GETAWAY. I WORK OUTSIDE WASHINGTON D.C. I HAVE DONE HISTORIC RENOVATION BEFORE. AND SO I WAS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT, SOMETHING UNIQUE.

[LIZ] THE NATIONAL HISTORIC LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION ACT OF 2000 ALLOWS THE U.S. COAST GUARD TO GET RID OF LIGHTHOUSES IT DEEMS UNNECESSARY FOR NAVIGATION. FIVE HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED IN OHIO. BEFORE AUCTION, LIGHTHOUSES ARE OFFERED UP TO SEVERAL GROUPS, INCLUDING NONPROFITS, AT NO COST.

[CONSAUL] THIS LIGHTHOUSE, WHEN IT WAS FIRST OFFERED UP FOR AUCTION IN 2009, NO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION CAME FORWARD AND SAID WE WANT TO TAKE THIS OVER. SO IT WAS PUT UP FOR A REGULAR AUCTION. AND I EQUATE IT TO EBAY FOR LIGHTHOUSES.

[LIZ] IT TOOK THREE DIFFERENT BIDDERS DEFAULTING ON THEIR OFFERS BEFORE CONSAUL WON, PURCHASING THE LIGHTHOUSE FOR ABOUT $71,000. THEN THE REAL WORK STARTED.

[CONSAUL] SO WHEN I PURCHASED THE LIGHTHOUSE IN 2011 THERE WAS VIRTUALLY NOTHING HERE. THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF EQUIPMENT THAT THE COAST GUARD HAD. IT WAS REALLY USED AS A WAREHOUSE FOR THEM.

[LIZ] THE LIGHTHOUSE HADN'T BEEN LIVED IN FOR MORE THAN 60 YEARS. CONSAUL BELIEVES 1948 IS WHEN THE LIGHTHOUSE BEACON WAS FIRST LIT ELECTRICALLY, PUTTING ITS KEEPER OUT OF A JOB. AND EVEN THOUGH IT'S UNDER PRIVATE OWNERSHIP, THE LIGHTHOUSE STILL SERVES AS AN ACTIVE AID TO NAVIGATION FOR MARINERS.

[CONSAUL] IT IS STILL MAINTAINED, THE LIGHT, BY THE U.S. COAST GUARD AND NOW IT'S RUN BY SOLAR POWER, AND THAT PUTS THE LIGHT ON EVERY NIGHT AT DUSK AND GOES OFF EVERY DAY AT DAWN. HELLO! HI!

[LIZ] THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALSO MAINTAINS A WEATHER STATION OUT OF THE LIGHTHOUSE, PROVIDING TEMPERATURE, WIND SPEED AND OTHER METRICS IN REAL TIME. BUT DESPITE ITS STATUS AS A FUNCTIONAL LIGHTHOUSE IT'S NOT YET FUNCTIONAL AS A MODERN HOME. CONSAUL HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR A WAY TO SUPPLY THE LIGHTHOUSE WITH RUNNING WATER SINCE SHE PURCHASED IT.

[CONSAUL] SO, UNFORTUNATELY THE LIGHTHOUSE IS COMPLETELY OFF THE GRID. I DO NOT HAVE ANY CONNECTIONS TO ANY UTILITIES FROM THE LOCAL CITY, TOWN OR COUNTY. I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OVERCOME THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTION BY REWIRING THE ENTIRE LIGHTHOUSE AND CONNECTING IT TO A GENERATOR. AND I'M STILL WORKING AT FINDING THE APPROPRIATE WATER SYSTEM THAT WILL BOTH CLEAN INCOMING RAIN WATER THAT I CAN STORE FOR USAGE. BUT EVEN THE MORE CHALLENGING PART IS I HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER COMPONENT TO CLEAN THE OUTGOING WATER.

[LIZ] ONCE THE WATER CHALLENGE IS SOLVED, CONSAUL HOPES TO RENT OUT THE THREE BEDROOM, THREE BATHROOM HOUSE WHILE SHE'S BACK HOME IN THE WASHINGTON D.C. AREA. IN THE MEANTIME, CONSAUL HAS REPAIRED, REFURBISHED AND RENOVATED A LIGHTHOUSE THAT SAT EMPTY FOR 63 YEARS. ALTHOUGH HER CAREER IS IN MARKETING, SHE'S BECOME A LIGHTHOUSE HISTORIAN AS WELL, STUDYING THE LIFE OF A LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER AND FURNISHING HER LIGHTHOUSE TO REFLECT IT.

[CONSAUL] I TRY AND ENVISION WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE IF MEMBERS OF THE THEN LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE WERE STILL HERE. WHAT KIND OF DESK WOULD THEY BE SITTING AT? WHAT KIND OF BED WOULD THEY BE SLEEPING IN?

[LIZ] BACK WHEN CONSAUL PURCHASED THE LIGHTHOUSE HER FRIENDS AND FAMILY THOUGHT SHE WAS CRAZY. SO DID THE COMMUNITY OF FAIRPORT HARBOR, A VILLAGE OF ABOUT 3,200. CONSAUL SAYS SHE FACED SKEPTICISM AS AN OUTSIDER AND OVERCAME THAT BY HOSTING AN ANNUAL OPEN HOUSE AROUND THE LIGHTHOUSE'S BIRTHDAY: JUNE 9TH, 1925. SHE'S ALSO RECRUITED LOCAL VOLUNTEERS TO HELP WITH THE RESTORATION; A DEDICATED GROUP THAT DOES EVERYTHING FROM CARRYING TRASH TO PAINTING THE LIGHTHOUSE. AND WHEN SHE'S IN HER LIGHTHOUSE CONSAUL SAYS SHE FEELS CONNECTED TO THE KEEPERS WHO LIVED IN FAIRPORT HARBOR WEST BEFORE HER.

[CONSAUL] I FEEL A KINSHIP WITH LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS BEFORE IN THE SENSE THAT I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN THIS PARTICULAR BUILDING NOW, AND I FEEL LIKE I CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT IT WAS LIKE. AND I THINK A LOT ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO BE OUT HERE BY YOURSELF IN A STORM OR IN THE WINTER OR IF THE LIGHT GOES OUT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. WHEN I FIRST BOUGHT IT I TOLD PEOPLE, "ASK ME IN FIVE YEARS WHETHER THIS IS THE BEST THING "OR THE WORST THING THAT I'VE EVER DONE." AND NOW WE'RE AT YEAR SIX, AND I HAVE TO SAY IT'S THE BEST THING THAT I'VE EVER DONE.