Light Hearted – Ep 2, Chad Kaiser, “Light at the Edge of the World”

Chad Kaiser (New Dungeness Light Station Association) In episode 2 of the podcast, host Jeremy D’Entremont interviews Chad Kaiser, general manager of the New Dungeness Light Station in Sequim, Washington. Chad is also a lampist (Fresnel lens expert) and preservationist, and a “part two” of this interview will be heard in a future episode. Chad and Jeremy (why does that sound familiar?) talk about the remoteness of New Dungeness, which is at the end of a five mile sand spit, and about the “keeper” program that offers individuals, families, and groups an opportunity to spend a week at the station while performing maintenance duties and providing tours. Jeremy and co-host Cindy Johnson tell the story of the Pharos of Alexandria, the world’s first great lighthouse, and a model for many lighthouses that followed. Jeremy and Cindy discuss a 1971 movie, The Light at the Edge of the World, starring Kirk Douglas and Yul Brynner. The film was based on a novel by Jules Verne. It’s one of the rare adventure movies ever made where a lighthouse keeper is the hero. There’s another trivia question and a chance to win prizes. Congratulations to Nancy McDowell and Jen Lewis, winners of the trivia contest in episode 1. The correct answer was that Hannah Thomas of Plymouth Lighthouse in Massachusetts was the first woman keeper in America in 1776.