The Propeller Club of Southampton is a group of volunteers that
never says, "Never."
Made up primarily of seniors, the club began the mammoth task of
undertaking the renovation of the historic Chantry Island Lighthouse
off the coast of Southampton on Lake Huron.
With thousands upon thousands of man-hours, the group started at
ground zero and completely restored the Island's early historic
appearance down to the Lighthouse Keepers' Quarters which had
disintegrated into ruin after many years of neglect.
Today, May 13th, the Propeller Cub (that meets weekly in
Southampton's historic Walker House at 4 pm) entertained special
guest Bruce Chapman. Although a lifetime member, Chapman has since
retired in St. Thomas but, today, he presented the Bruce County
Museum & Cultural Centre with an historic donation of lighthouses.
Chapman, a master model maker, crafted each of the ten lighthouses
along the Huron/Georgian Bay Coast complete with surrounding
landscaping. The lighthouses will be displayed in the County Museum
in Southampton as part of the new Marine Gallery in honour of the
Year of the Lighthouse (2009).
"I first got a call from Barbara Ribey [Museum Curator] last fall
asking me if I would take on this project," said Chapman. "I
immediately agreed and started to do the research and that's the
tricky part. I had to find out exactly what they looked like down to
the placement of windows and doors. I knew Chantry inside and out,
so I knew where to start."
Chapman's models look real due, in part, to many 'tricks of the
trade' that he has developed over the years. "It took approximately
600 hours to complete the 10 lighthouses," explained Chapman. "The
biggest problem was waiting for the glue to completely dry before
being able to move on to the next step."
"These lighthouses are absolutely incredible in their detail," said
Curator, Barbara Ribey. The lighthouses presented last Wednesday
will become part of the summer exhibit ’Ghostly Guardians of
the Bruce Coast' – the People and Stories Behind the History',
a marine themed summer exhibit.
This exhibit will then become in part of the permanent gallery, as
well as parts of it may be used for a travelling exhibit promoting the
Bruce Coast and it’s rich marine history. opening on June 25th. Thanks to
Bruce, the cost of materials is really quite insignificant but the
hours that went into this project is priceless."
Ribey explained that Chris Irvine, Graphic Designer for the Bruce
County Museum, is in charge of the new marine exhibit gallery. She
added that, "This is going to be a real reflection of Bruce County,
its lighthouses and its marine history. With the the
Fresnel lens and now the lighthouses of the Huron Coast, we are very
excited about the coming Year of the Lighthouse."
The Fresnel lens is a temporary loan from the Canadian Coast Guard in
agreement with the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation.
(next column)
18/05/2009 05:03 PM
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