Flying Sails Flying sails and fair winds encompass the soon-to-be refurbished 1892 fog signal and light station, Cuckolds Light. The first lighthouse keeper was Edward H. Pierce inn 1896 and the last was John Phillips of the Coast Guard (197-1974). (Photo Diane Randlett)

"Wonderful. It's about time. It looks so barren out there, I didn't even want to look out there," said former Coast Guard wife Nancy Conley about the project to rebuild Cuckolds Lighthouse to the way that it was when she lived out there.

"My husband and I and our two- year-old son were stationed out there in 1965 and 1966. We lived in the two-family dwelling attached to the light. My husband was a lieutenant first class boatswain's mate, and the other fellow living in the other half of the house was a third class engineer. He and his wife had a six-month-old baby.

"It was all rock out there on the island; the kids played on a patio outside the doorway. The Coast Guard would take us out to the mooring and we would take a pea pod into the boat slip. In between the long ledge that we called little Cuckolds and the larger island, we would hook up to a boat pull or winch which would pull us up.

"I was in my twenties when we lived out there and the buildings were intact then. There was a boat house with a walkway to the patio where you entered the house. The kitchen was very, very large, [located] off of what was the living room, which had a winding staircase to the upstairs with its two bedrooms and one bath. Off of the living room was the laundry room which both dwellings shared. Off from the laundry room was the engine room where the water cistern was. Off from the engine room was the entrance to the lighthouse.

"I manned the light once in awhile. I had to know how to man the light if no one was there. Being Coast Guardsmen's wives, we didn't have too many duties, but we did have to bring up boats into the boathouse with the winch. Generally a guy would always be there.

"If we fueled up in the night, lots of times it would be too rough out and we would then be dropped off at Burnt Island for the night. I experienced every season out there; lots of extreme weather. There was a large sea wall where storms would hit. One time a wave came over the wall and broke one of the windows.

"It was the Coast Guard's duty to maintain the lighthouse; my husband would paint or fix things there and I would help too. What else were you going to do out there?" Conley said.

Nancy did however find time for other things as she would write many letters to her mother. Her mother, in turn, typed each letter and put them together including a drawing of the lighthouse done by her husband. A collection to remember her island lighthouse years, Nancy has saved these and hopes to print them in the future.

When asked if she is looking forward to a time when she can re-visit the site of her old home, she said emphatically, "Oh yes, I know how to climb those rocks even in the slipperiest weather."

Janet Reingold and husband Philip Yasinski of Washington D.C., who are Boothbay region summer residents, have formed a group called The Cuckolds Fog Signal and Light Station Council. Comprised of many factions, the organization is planning to rebuild the Cuckolds Lighthouse. The proposed site will be used for educational and recreational purposes.

Fifty or so guests, including Conley, were generously transported by George McEvoy and the Nellie G. II and by The Northern Ranger skippered by Caleb Hodgdon and wife Sarah to the Cuckolds on Wednesday, Aug. 22 for an informational celebration and fund-raising evening for the project.

Senator Susan Collins greeted the Cuckold's party before it left the Carousel Marina. Senator Collins told the group that lobsters and lighthouses are very important to Maine's economy and that it was a wonderful goal to rebuild the Lighthouse Station.

Once out at the lighthouse, guests were ferried out to the island by Gerry Gamage and Skip Rideout, who was responsible for building the new slip ways. Local Coast Guardsman helped passengers in and out of boats and onto the island, where refreshments from Corinne and Scott Larson's Newagen Seaside Inn awaited guests while they listened to Donald Duncan's sunset serenades on bagpipes.

Coast Guard Executive Petty Officer Michael Hyatt said, "We installed a new lens from Sweden out here today." He also said that without the committee's effort to rebuild, the Coast Guard would in all likelihood replace the current lighthouse structure with a single light atop an aluminum pole.

Janet Reingold said that the deed was presented to the lighthouse council in Boston on May 8, 2006. Currently, many contributors, contractors and business people are donating their time and talents to the project. Reingold's many generous hours of research and planning is paying off as the Cuckhold's non-profit rebuilding effort begins.

Anyone wishing to donate time and talent should visit the Web site CuckoldsLight.org.