Lighthouse in Mukilteo worth a visit

This time, a few words about a local group.

I’m no historian but, like many, I am interested in history — specifically anything dealing with the sea. Even so, I have to admit that I haven’t read a great deal about the history of lighthouses.

I’d hazard a guess that lighthouses got their start when some ancient mariners realized that, if they had to stay out on the water after dark, things could get interesting — especially with wind, tides, currents and no GPS.

If there were hazards nearby, they might’ve also been faced with the choice of remaining out all night or “by guessing and by gollying” their way past those hazards in the dark — never a pleasant choice when you’re on the water.

What they probably did was ask someone to light a fire on shore and tend it for them. With the fire as a reference, they could tell where they were and find their way home when they were ready to come in.

The idea likely worked, but they soon noticed that, as they got farther offshore, they’d lose sight of the fire which then led to the idea of building a tower and lighting the fire atop it. Once they got the fire above ground, they saw that they’d stumbled upon a truly good idea and, thus, the lighthouse was born.

There are better (and, likely, far more accurate) explanations as to how lighthouses came about, but, since this is my column, I’m sticking with my version. All right reserved.

Still, “The American Practical Navigator” notes that the Cushites and Libyans constructed towers along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, and priests maintained beacon fires in them. These were the earliest known lighthouses.

One of the seven wonders of the ancient world was a lighthouse called the Pharos of Alexandria, which may have stood more than 200 feet tall. It was built in the third century BC during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus.

There are many unanswered questions regarding this structure (like, where did they get all of the fuel necessary for the nightly fires?), but what is certain is that this lighthouse stood for hundreds of years and its purpose and utility were so well understood that lighthouses became part of many nations’ nautical heritage.

Today, lighthouses vary in appearance because of such things as location, the type of soil upon which they’re constructed, prevalence of storms, backgrounds against which they are seen, and distances the lights are to be seen.

Some are located on land and some in the water. Some may also be built with a distinctive structure and coloring to assist mariners in identifying it during daylight hours.

A mariner must also be able to distinguish such a light from the general background of shore lights and, also, from other navigational aids in the area. For this purpose, all navigational lights have a distinctive sequence of light and dark periods and, in some cases a distinctive color, or color sequence. These features are called the “characteristics” of the light.

Anyone who’s spent time on the water can tell you about the importance of lighthouses as beacons, reference points for safe navigation and — at a more personal level — a welcome home from the sea.

Over the years, I’ve read a number of articles about a local group. This group would be the Mukilteo Historical Society and they do a lot of work on the Mukilteo Light Station.

While our local lighthouse might not be a current wonder of the world, you can still trace its roots all the way back to the Pharos of Alexandria and, if my version of history is acceptable, to those early mariners who needed a method to find their way home at night.

Lord knows that there are a lot of things to be grumpy about these days. Still, you don’t have to look far to find that there are a lot of people trying to do “the good things.”

The Mukilteo Historical Society fits nicely into this category and a word of thanks to them would go a long way — especially if accompanied by a contribution.

The lighthouse is open April through September from noon until 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays. Call 425-513-9602 for more information.

Call ahead and go see it. It’s worth your time.

Larry Simoneaux lives in Edmonds. Send comments to larrysim@clearwire.net.