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K9WIS/m
Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse - USA 497
December 31, 2001
CQ Zone 4 ITU Zone 8 |
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TIME CALL NAME NUMBER QTH BAND
1659 KC2EVO BOB 176 NJ 20M
1700 KG4AGI ED 266 KY 20M
1701 VE3LDT DAVE 1961 ON 20M
1702 KA2BZS RON 388 NJ 20M
1702 W5PVE JOE 126 LA 20M
1703 K5JIM JIM 157 MS 20M
1705 K2JXW JIM 1 NJ 20M
1706 W8ERV ERV 1994 MI 20M
1706 N8GUV HARRY 373 GA 20M
1707 W4KNB JIM 209 NC 20M
1707 N2AQJ ED 516 PA 20M
1709 KA2FES BILL 1979 NY 20M
1709 W5IFP JIM 1954 TX 20M
1710 N3LJS ROB 341 MD 20M
1711 NC4RM/M RUSTY 1995 NC 20M
1711 KD5MUY LLOYD 492 OK 20M
1711 W1OS RICHARD 203 NY 20M
1713 W2PXA GENE 515 NY 20M
1713 W1MCE DAVE 491 MA 20M
1714 K4DTB DAVE 477 AL 20M
1715 W8TTS TED 115 OH 20M
1716 KB5IQJ DON 1989 TX 20M
1717 K1RKD RON 2001 CT 20M
1718 W2UNS DICK 1947 VA 20M
1719 WA8FXH BILL 1964 WI 20M
1721 VA3RJ DAVE 1967 ON 20M
1721 KC0LKG ED 1998 MO 20M
1722 K8MEG RICHARD 461 MI 20M
1723 WA8MEG HELENE 462 MI 20M
1725 WA7OBH LEE 155 FL 20M
1726 KA5PVB CHUCK 133 TX 20M
1727 WB8BHU ROB 426 OH 20M
1729 N8CPA STEVE 193 OH 20M
1730 W5AZN JIM 484 TX 20M
1729 N8DJX BRUCE 1957 OH 20M
1729 WA4IVS RICHARD 323 FL 20M
1731 W5AZO PATTY 485 TX 20M
1732 WB3HML BOB 1977 PA 20M
1733 W0SLL JOE 1964 AZ 20M
1735 N6RND NICK 1955 CA 20M
1736 WD8KRV DAVE 505 MI 20M
1738 KC8SEV DENNIS 173 DE 20M
1743 KB9IYO DENNIS 1997 IL 20M
1744 K2KBT JOE 225 VT 20M
1745 N3HON MIKE 418 MD 20M
1745 N3HON MIKE USA198 MD 20M
1745 N3HON MIKE USA200 MD 20M
1745 N3HON MIKE USA201 MD 20M
1747 W3MTP JOHN 2000 PA 20M
1748 WB2LEZ DOUG 1977 FL 20M
1748 KC5ILO TOM 574 TX 20M
1749 K8DEN RAY 297 OH 20M
1750 KB0SWN JODY 1995 MN 20M
1752 W3BBO BOB 480 PA 20M
1752 K9HFA CAROL 113 WI 20M
1753 K1KU DARRLE 483 VT 20M
1759 KU4FP RUSS 1996 VA 20M
1758 K5SIV BOB 1957 TX 20M
1759 KB0PFV JOHN 1994 MO 20M
1800 W4KFB BILL 1946 KY 20M
1800 AE5B JOHN 503 TX 20M
1803 VX3NQK GORDON 1982 ON 20M
1803 W1PX ALAN 444 RI 20M
1805 NX1Q ANDY 510 CT 20M
1805 KC7CY JIM 1979 CO 20M
1806 W9MH MIKE 276 WI 20M
1832 K5PVB CHUCK 133 TX 15M
QSL INFORMATION
BUREAU QSL
via U.S.A. 9th Area QSL Bureau
DIRECT QSL
BRIAN CIESLAK
29119 MANOR DR
WATERFORD WI 53185
USA
- Include SASE or SAE with 1 IRC or 1 US$ for a direct reply -
Historical Information:
Built in 1926, the Milwaukee Breakwater light was one of the last to be constructed on the Great
Lakes. Unlike most pier and breakwater lights, which were serviced by a keeper who lived onshore and
walked the pier to service the light, this structure was manned with a live-in crew.
The fifty-three-foot tall structure is situated in the approximate center of the four mile long
Milwaukee breakwater. Built to endure the wave-pounding that such structures endure during Lake
Michigan's angriest moments, the building is constructed from quarter-inch steel plates over a steel
skeletal frame, and is equipped with windows and portholes with glass a full half inch in thickness.
Originally painted red, the structure has been given a coat of white paint at some point in time
during the ensuing years.
The lower two story section of the structure has a footprint of twenty-nine feet by forty-four feet,
and stands twenty-two feet tall. The tower centered above the living quarters is fourteen feet
square and stands twenty feet tall at the gallery. Centered in the gallery, a round cast iron
lantern room features helical astragals and contains the Fourth Order Fresnel lens originally
installed in the nearby Pierhead Light. With its' sixty one-foot focal plane, the red light flashed
every ten seconds, and was visible for a distance of fourteen miles across the lake.
With the transfer of responsibility for navigational aids transferred to the Coast Guard in 1939,
Coast Guard seamen were assigned to the Milwaukee Breakwater light. Four men manned the station,
split into two man crews. Each crew working a rotating schedule consisting of three days
"on" and three days "off." Each crew on the "on board" crew worked
alternate twelve hour shifts to ensure that one seaman was awake at all times.
A large gray door located in the harbor side of the station's concrete base contained a winch crane
on which the station's launch was raised and stored. While the door was located on the lee side of
the breakwater, leaving the station for liberty or to re-supply could be a dangerous
undertaking.
When a man was heading for shore leave, one of the keepers would come down from the station to
operate the hoist. The crane would then lift the boat from the cradle, and then swing the boat away
from the breakwater. The keeper going on liberty would get into the boat while it was alongside. As
the boat was lowered, he would start the engine. The second the boat hit the water, he would step
out of the cabin, unhook the ring from the heavy hook and sheave, and the man topside would get the
hook out of the way as fast as possible.
The Breakwater light crews were also responsible for operating and maintaining all the harbor
lights, which were acetylene powered. Thus, they made frequent runs in the station launch, carrying
tanks of acetylene back and forth. Additionally, the crews were responsible for painting both the
Breakwater Light and the North Point Lighthouse, which while automated in 1933, still required
constant maintenance in order to keep it from deteriorating.
Finally automated in the 1960's, keepers were no longer needed, and today the Breakwater Light sits empty while its' original Fourth Order Fresnel continues to send its light across the surface of the lake, guiding mariners safely into the protection of Milwaukee Harbor.
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