Caroling at Nobska

I'm speechless! But let me try to find some words to wrap around this. You might define "icon" by referring to a dictionary or Wikipedia definition (i.e., "a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something"). 

 

But around here, you would just say, "Nobska". It is the symbol of our town, and has been for as long as anyone alive today has been around - and then longer than that. (It was built in 1829.)

 

It stands proudly as a sentinel along the coast, and is a point of reference to boaters, visitors, residents, cyclists, runners, Vineyarders, you name it. (I used it as the graphic for my first FFP logo, until I discovered that as a logo, it didn't look any different from any of the other lighthouse logos.)

 

It's impossible to imagine Falmouth without Nobska as a public place. I've sung Christmas carols there. I've stopped on my Sunday morning bike rides to take "just one more" picture of a place I must already have 50 pictures of, just because it calls to me. Oh, today the clouds are different. Oh, today the sky is different. Oh, today the sunrise/sunset takes my breath away. Oh, today I see something I haven't

seen before, must catch it!

 

And this is just me; I bet that half of you reading this have taken your own pictures of this place/building/experience, because it's impossible to resist.

 

What's the future for a divested lighthouse? It scares me. Certainly, there is no money-making product that could cover the cost of rehab, never mind ongoing operations. Some lighthouses are used as bed and breakfasts, but my guess is that this one would need too much work to make that a possibility. I'm not even sure the lighthouse itself could be used, and the keeper's house on the property has been described as "not habitable". As a non-profit, money would have to be raised - a lot of money.

 

But we did it for Highfield, and that gorgeous place has become a destination for all kinds of programs, events, and concerts. Replicate this robust programming at Nobska? Probably not; the site wouldn't be conducive. But maybe, just maybe, Nobska resonates with enough people so that we could raise enough money to restore and maintain it as it is: the beautiful and iconic proud symbol of Falmouth, MA.