SANKATY IS BACK
BY DANIEL W. DRAKE ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
The rain is driving against the windows early this Tuesday morning. There hasn't been a whole lot of rain lately (except for Noel) so the sudden sound of it beating on the panes and the roof is enough to wake you up.

The wind is howling too, but since Noel took out the wind gauge, there is no reliable measure of its velocity. The flag is a good indicator of wind direction, but it is still dark so that doesn't help at the moment.

Then there was the thunder and lightning that accompanied one squall in the early morning hours. Again, the absence of these phenomena during the long dry summer just past, made them more remarkable, even as their duration this morning was very brief.

Change can be unsettling but we do adapt. We will hear the first clap of thunder and then go back to sleep as the rumbles continue through the night. A beam of light coming through the window will annoy us at first, but soon becomes our fast friend; its presence sometimes a comfort in the wee small hours.

With the moving of Sankaty lighthouse, Nantucket lost its beacon for a few weeks. The move itself was fascinating, of course, but the absence of the flashing light high above the east end of the island was, at first, disquieting. Then, as with anything, it became accepted - well, almost accepted. People still talked about it.

PHOTO BY MARTIN MCKERROW

"When is the lighthouse to be relit?"

"What is taking so long to relight the lighthouse?"

"Is something wrong, that they can't get it lit?"

Nothing was wrong, of course. The project organizers were entitled to one final public relations bonanza. Scheduling the relighting for Thanksgiving weekend assured them of more attention than having it happen on just any ordinary fall day.

The event was scheduled (one would like to think on purpose, but it had to be happenstance) so that the beacon came back to life at twilight just as the huge full moon was rising over the ocean to the east and the sun was setting across the island in the west, creating some of the most brilliant hues imaginable. From an observation point just inside the fence on the golf course along the Polpis Road, the scene was spectacular. With the sunset casting a pink glow across the fairways and shrubbery and against the white bands of the lighthouse and the moon hanging larger-than-life in the sky just to the right of the structure, the lighthouse seemed to take on a largerthan life presence. A stage designer or set director would be hard-pressed to duplicate the ambiance and atmosphere of the setting at that particular moment.

We along the road could see the crowd that had assembled on the bluff start to move towards the lighthouse as the time appointed for the relighting neared. And then the counting found its way softly through the evening air "…seven...six…five…." That was as close to a fanfare as there was and even that, once heard, was ignored to concentrate on actually seeing the first flicker of light.

When the light came on and started to rotate, the stillness was palpable. There was a sense of relief that the power had returned and the beacon was functioning once again. The sunset was fading and the aura of the moon behind the lighthouse gave it real star power.

For many decades Sankaty lighthouse has been part of the island's fabric and, as such has been taken for granted. Its beacon has been like a pulse beating in a body, its presence constant and reassuring. One almost forgets that it was built only to serve as an aid to navigation and that but for the need to warn ships from the shoals and the style of the day, it would never have existed as we know it. Few individual lighthouses have become, in the vernacular of marketing, brand images in the way Sankaty has for Nantucket.

What would Nantucket be without Sankaty lighthouse? As the ocean came closer and closer to encroaching on its footings, this question was one that a number of people asked themselves. Fortunately for all of us, enough of those asking the question didn't want to find out what would happen if the ocean took the lighthouse. The days of Congress coming up with the money to replicate a destroyed lighthouse, as it did for Great Point lighthouse 20 years ago, are probably long gone. If the fallen lighthouse were to be replaced at all in these days of global positioning systems, it would probably be with some sort of skeletal tower; not the sort of structure people would prefer to have in their back yards, much less adopt as an icon.

So these people took it upon themselves to rally enthusiasm, raise money, negotiate with the Coast Guard and arrange for and oversee the moving process - including the logistics of crowd control. None of it was easy, but they got it done. And in the process, they captured the fancy of the entire island. (One only has to view the pictures done by elementary school students on display in the Gallery at the Atheneum to understand just how into the project people got.)

The Sankaty project brings another prospective to those agonizing about the "privatization" of the Dreamland and the bus depot projects. The accomplishment of the lighthouse move is yet another example of people banding together to do something for the public benefit. It has happened many times before; it will happen again and, it takes different forms. We may not always agree with the specifics, but it is reassuring to know that there are people out there who care.

Sankaty lighthouse will continue to be a part of the Nantucket psyche for many decades to come. For this, all who love Nantucket, and even those who just see Nantucket as the golden goose, should be very grateful to the 'Sconset Trust, its president, Bob Felch, and the many others who brought the project to fruition.

Now that the lighthouse is secure on its new foundation and its light, once again, is finding its way into the corners of our rooms and the recesses of our minds, the disruption is over. Just as the end of the rain and (some of) the wind of early this morning enabled us to go back to sleep, knowing that Sankaty lighthouse is again out there, shining its light on its surroundings, permits us to relax. For the moment, all is

safe in our little corner of the world. I

The "Lighthouse Keeper" reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Nantucket Independent. Please send any ideas or comments to drake@nantucketindependent. com.