Merry Christmas to the Lighthouse and to Boca Grande

To the Editor:    
Those of us who have been working to restore the Gasparilla Lighthouse wanted to thank the island for making the restoration possible. There is a tradition in the construction of old barns to mount a small pine tree to the top of the framed-in structure to celebrate the progress to date. They called it a barn-raising, and all the neighbors get together to make it happen. They call it a topping-off party on today’s skyscrapers. This has been a team effort, with the island funding the work and a lot of competent workers working long, hard days to make it happen. Lighthouses are working structures with few people celebrating their existence, but for mariners trying to make it home when the good fishing was too far off shore, and the moonless night hid the silhouette of land, and the compass was broken, a light to steer by was a welcome sight and got them home safely once again. So this year, this Christmas, seems like a good time to celebrate a structure too often taken for granted. Merry Christmas to the Lighthouse and to the community of Boca Grande. Thank you for the opportunity to put the structure back to right.
Alex, Anthony, Ken, Jude, James, Rudolph, Yanni, Tony, Richard and Steven
Alex Klahm Architectura Metal and Razorback, LLC