Nothing But Words

View at Picasa The Gull Rocks lighthouse, sometime before the dwelling was destroyed in 1961 – photograph copyright Jim Nash

View at Picasa The Gull Rocks Lighthouse, sometime before the dwelling was destroyed in 1961 – photograph copyright Jim Nash

Driving across the Newport bridge yesterday, on our way back to Philly, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before – a “for sale” sign on Gull Rocks. The photos above were taken by my father’s friend Jim Nash sometime before 1961, before the lighthouse and dwelling were demolished. This is what it looks like now:

View at Picasa What Gull Rocks looks like now – photo from fizber.com

View at Picasa Gulls Rocks today – all that remains of the original structures is the tiny oil house – photo from fizber.com

It has an interesting history:

Established in 1887 to mark the north entrance to Newport Harbor, Gull Rocks Light was a unique structure among New England lighthouses… the lighthouse was a wood A-frame dwelling with two lanterns that traveled on rails through windows at the east and west peaks of the structure. One light was fixed white, the other fixed red. A fog bell and striking apparatus were installed in 1888… Rainwater was collected from the roof into a cistern for the [lighthouse keeper's] family’s use. It was soon discovered that the large roof area meant that large amounts of sea salt was washed into the cistern, so the keepers learned, on rainy days, to divert the runoff until the salt was washed off the roof… Despite the small amount of land around the Gull Rocks Lighthouse, the keepers usually kept chickens at the station. The birds would sometimes roost on the rocks, and high tides would wash their eggs to the shores of Newport to be found by puzzled residents… keepers remained at the station until 1960 when the light was automated. The dwelling was destroyed in 1961. In November 1969, the light on the skeleton tower was discontinued, soon after the completion of the Newport Bridge had rendered the light useless.

View at Picasa Gull Rocks sometime before the acetylene light tower was built in 1928 – photo from lighthouse.cc

It fascinates me that this tiny pile of rocks is for sale. Apparently it’s been for sale for a long time, and the price has been reduced (possibly more than once). I can’t imagine anything being built on it now. Since it’s on the outer edge of the harbor and it’s near the bridge, I’m sure it has a spectacular view, but it would probably cost a million dollars or more to build anything significant out there. Given how small it is and how close to sea level it is, it would probably be uninsurable, which means you couldn’t get a mortgage or construction loan for it. And there’s a risk of significant damage by major hurricanes, which find their way to Newport every 20 or 30 years (the reason why it would be uninsurable).

I’ve been trying to think of what could be done with it. Not that I plan on buying it with those extra hundreds of thousands of dollars I have lying around. It’s just so peculiar I can’t help thinking about it. The only inexpensive structure I can think of putting on it is a giant billboard. Even if it’s currently zoned to allow that, actually putting one there would be so incredibly obnoxious, I’m sure it would be quickly re-zoned to compel its removal.

If it were up to me, I’d re-create the original structure, and make it available to temporary “keepers” looking for an unusual vacation. This has been done with the Rose Island lighthouse, just on the other side of the bridge:

It’s a certain type of vacationer who enjoys mowing the lawn in an irregular formation well after dark, then eagerly rises the following morning to raise the flag at precisely 8 a.m. This on a day off.

Dave Hazelwood is that vacationer… Mr. Hazelwood is in the second day of his one-week tour of duty as cokeeper of the Rose Island Lighthouse, with his wife Mary K. Like other “keepers” tending lighthouses along both coasts and the Great Lakes between, this couple, from Hermann, Mo., were drawn to the romance and rusticity of a lighthouse vacation…

These programs, in the lighthouses that the Coast Guard began decommissioning en masse in the late ’70s, consist of “keeper for a night” stays that can stretch as long as a month. Part service, part adventure, they’re low on lazy relaxation.

Unfortunately, the Gull Rocks Lighthouse is already gone – I don’t know how one would finance bringing it back.

Any other ideas for what to do with a small collection of barren rocks out in the Newport harbor?

Kai on the wave statue on Thames St View at Picasa Kai on the wave statue on Thames St12-Oct-2009 05:21, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 100	Eidan with his zoob creations View at Picasa Eidan with his zoob creations13-Oct-2009 03:06, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100
Produce at my brother John’s farm View at Picasa Produce at my brother John’s farm14-Oct-2009 01:28, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100	My grandfather Steven Toppa – as always with a cigarette, a Narragansett beer, and a machine View at Picasa My grandfather Steven Toppa – as always with a cigarette, a Narragansett beer, and a machine

If you’ve been following my Tweets so far this week, you’ve already seen several of these pictures.

My uncle Gene (husband of my father’s sister Pat) passed away the week before we arrived, so we visited with Pat and her family. Other than that, it was another whirlwind tour seeing as much of my family as possible in a short time. And they put me to work: I fixed up my mom’s dryer, my sister’s DVD player, showed my step-mother how to burn CDs, and advised my step-father on home broadband options. In return we got several wonderful meals, and the boys got lots of love (and of course, some small presents). I especially enjoyed visiting my brother John’s organic farm (he’s leasing land in Cranston). If he’s still there in a few years, we’ll send Kai out to work on the farm for part of the summer. (I had my first summer job when I was 13, doing demolition work with my friend Aaron – it’s a good age to establish a work ethic).

I had fun using Twitpic to post pictures each day. Twitpic is handy when traveling – it’s more flexible than Picasa (which is what I mainly use), since Picasa only lets you synchronize your web albums on a single computer. I’m going to look into adding Twitpic and Flickr support to my Shashin plugin.

View at Picasa On the road to Newport	View at Picasa My sister Nicole and niece Taylor12-Oct-2009 03:26, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa The trouble with kids and guns is, after they tell you to put your hands up…12-Oct-2009 04:11, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 100
View at Picasa …they shoot you (Eidan and his cousin Robbie)12-Oct-2009 04:12, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa Kai and Eidan with their uncle Paul12-Oct-2009 09:22, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa Beware the awesome power of zoobs13-Oct-2009 03:13, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 320
View at Picasa It’s against the law to visit Newport and not take a picture of the harbor13-Oct-2009 04:05, SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa Lobster tanks at the Aquidneck Lobster Co13-Oct-2009 04:08, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 1000	View at Picasa And the lobsters13-Oct-2009 04:07, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 1000
View at Picasa Eidan and my dad on the stone slide at Murphy Field13-Oct-2009 06:09, SONY DSC-W55, 9.0, 9.4mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa John’s arugala14-Oct-2009 01:30, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa A pretty good Tow Mater at a farm near my brother’s farm14-Oct-2009 02:55, SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100
View at Picasa My father (on the left) when he was younger, with his brother Paul and his father Steven

View at Picasa The family tree – 18ft wide using the smallest legible font25-Jul-2009 11:47, SONY DSC-H1, 4.0, 6.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 64	View at Picasa Everyone sitting down for lunch25-Jul-2009 12:58, SONY DSC-H1, 4.0, 6.0mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 64	View at Picasa The Toppa family elders25-Jul-2009 15:24, SONY DSC-H1, 3.2, 6.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 64
View at Picasa Most of the Toppas from my generation25-Jul-2009 15:35, SONY DSC-H1, 4.0, 6.0mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 64	View at Picasa Terry Toppa (my father) – 1956, 17 years old	View at Picasa My grandfather, Steven Toppa, bottom right25-Jul-2009 12:40, SONY DSC-H1, 3.5, 6.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 64

More pictures in the Toppa Family Reunion album.

About 300 people came to the Toppa family reunion on Saturday. They were mostly “Newport” Toppas (descended from my great-grandfather), along with a smattering of “Middletown” Toppas (descended from his brother, my great-great uncle). The Toppa brothers came to the US in the early 1900s from Lettomanoppello, Italy. My father told me a story his father told him, that there was also a 3rd brother who went to New Jersey and killed someone there, so he went back to Italy before he got caught. I also found a mention of a sister in some documents that I have, but I don’t know where she went. Their name was actually Toppi, and it’s recorded correctly in their records from Ellis Island. But after they came to Newport the name changed to Toppa. According to another story my father heard, my great-grandfather’s last name was misspelled as Toppa on his first paycheck (he was a mason, and helped build Thames St and other roads in Newport). Rather than risk making trouble with the boss, he didn’t say anything about it, and the name stuck (that doesn’t explain his brother making the same name change though). Apparently we have distant Toppi relatives in Maine and New Jersey. My great-grandfather had 8 children and his brother had 11, getting the generational powers of multiplication off to a good start. My guess is that there are two or three times as many relatives as came to the reunion, as not all the Newport Toppas came, and only a few Middletown Toppas were there.

The reunion was held at Kempenaar’s Clambake Club – the same venue that was used for the last reunion in 1970. They provided good food and drink, a tire swing and toys for the kids, horseshoes and volleyball. I brought an 18ft wide print out of the family tree (using the smallest legible font I could) and a Many Meanings of Toppa (PDF) display. Someone put together a great video of family pictures going back 100 years, several people pinned up old pictures for everyone to see, and the Maher’s Brothers (also Toppas) band played for us. There were several relatives I never met before who did a lot of work on the family tree at geni.com, so it was fun to meet them in person and hear their stories. My favorite was a story about my great-great uncle. Apparently he was a bootlegger during Prohibition. He had an elaborately hidden room in his shop with three 2-story high stills inside. His family also had a bakery they used as a front, so they could buy yeast and hops without raising suspicions with law enforcement.

I guess I found it inspiring, because I did something I’ve never done before – I had a beer (actually two) with lunch. It was my first time drinking at noon. Plenty of others joined me, although I don’t think it was such a new experience for them… The reunion lastest about 5 hours, and a good time was had by all.

View at Picasa Kai flying his kite at Brenton Point in Newport22-May-2009 23:44, SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa Mike and Kai at Brenton Point in Newport23-May-2009 00:25, SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 100

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Newport. Kai was excited to fly his kite, so we went to Brenton Point. It’s the most popular kite flying location on the island – it’s right where the Narragansett Bay meets the ocean, so it’s always windy. All you have to do to get a kite airborne is lift it off the ground. We also went down to the shore to climb on the rocks.

View at Picasa Eidan, Kai, and Mike flying a kite at Brenton Point in Newport22-May-2009 23:43, SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa Kai flying his kite at Brenton Point in Newport22-May-2009 23:44, SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa Kai flying his kite at Brenton Point in Newport22-May-2009 23:44, SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa Kai flying his kite at Brenton Point in Newport – that’s Eidan running nearby22-May-2009 23:50, SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa Eidan and Kai flying a kite at Brenton Point in Newport23-May-2009 00:09, SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 100

The boys also had a good time with their cousins. They especially enjoyed blasting each other with the amazing, fully automatic Nerf Vulcan gun – check out the video below.

View at Picasa Kai getting riddled with nerf bullets by his cousin Matthew25-May-2009 05:20, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa Kai blasting his cousin Matthew with the amazing Nerf Vulcan gun25-May-2009 09:23

View at Picasa Kai with his uncle Jim25-May-2009 05:28, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 100

The Shamrock Maria made for Kai to wear to school on St Patrick’s Day View at Picasa The Shamrock Maria made for Kai to wear to school on St Patrick’s Day17-Mar-2004 17:53, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.125 sec

I’m not sure what the required waiting period is on recycling blog content, but I’m going to guess it’s about 5 years. That means I can re-post this picture from 5 years ago. Maria made this paper shamrock for Kai to wear to pre-school in 2004, right after he turned 3. It’s hard to believe he’s 8 now.

Kai and I spent last weekend in Newport, for my father’s 70th birthday. While driving around on Saturday I had to dig deep into my memories of Newport’s back streets, to avoid the all-day drunken revelry that spills out onto the main streets, both preceding and following the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Kai and I barely escaped from the Dunkin’ Donuts on Broadway at 9AM, as it was already crowded with sailors looking for girls, and girls advertising themselves in outfits such as “Erin Go Braless” green t-shirts. I have to say I don’t remember girls acting like that when I was younger (and there’s no surer sign of my age than my making that statement: “Kids today! When I was a boy…”).

Anyway, we had a fun get together with the extended family for brunch to celebrate my Dad’s birthday. I’m glad we made the trip.

View at Picasa Family brunch for my dad’s 70th birthday (Terry Toppa)16-Mar-2009 01:55, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 160

View at Picasa Terry and Pat16-Mar-2009 02:12, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100

The kids at dusk at Hazard’s Beach View at Picasa The kids at dusk at Hazard’s Beach08-Jul-2008 08:41, SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100

There’s nothing like the dead of winter for looking at summer photos. Since Maria wasn’t teaching last summer, and I was working for myself, we were able to spend a few weeks in Newport. Below are some highlights (if you want more, you can see all the Newport photos I uploaded for 2008). I was actually doing quite a bit of work while I was there: trying to drum up some retail distributors for the candy business (with no luck), selling candies at the Black Ships Festival (it was a good venue since we were selling Japanese candies), and doing web site work for two clients. Newport in July is a much more pleasant place to be than Philadelphia, and the boys always have a great time with their cousins, so it was a really nice trip.

View at Picasa Kai at Hazard’s Beach08-Jul-2008 07:27, SONY DSC-W55, 8.0, 8.2mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa Eidan at Hazard’s Beach08-Jul-2008 08:00, SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa Kai and Eidan getting pulled by Paul08-Jul-2008 08:14, SONY DSC-W55, 9.0, 9.4mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100
View at Picasa E’loise and Alexandar08-Jul-2008 08:22, SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa Alexander the sand monster08-Jul-2008 08:25, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa S’mores!22-Jul-2008 08:24, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 100
View at Picasa Roasting s’mores at Hazard’s Beach29-Jul-2008 07:32, SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa Eidan on the pier at Carnegie Abbey07-Jul-2008 01:06, SONY DSC-W55, 8.0, 7.2mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa Alexandra at Carnegie Abbey07-Jul-2008 02:44, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100
View at Picasa Kai in a magic show at Carnegie Abbey30-Jul-2008 08:33, SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 320	View at Picasa Michael and Maria at Carnegie Abbey30-Jul-2008 08:41, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa Kai, Eidan, Matthew, and Alexandra30-Jul-2008 08:45, SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.067 sec, ISO 320

Our pathetic Christmas tree View at Picasa Our pathetic Christmas tree21-Dec-2008 12:53, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100	Ice in our backyard, a few days before Christmas View at Picasa Ice in our backyard, a few days before Christmas22-Dec-2008 00:29, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 100	Closeup of the ice that coated everything View at Picasa Closeup of the ice that coated everything22-Dec-2008 02:32, SONY DSC-W55, 8.0, 8.2mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100
Eidan in his Iron Man costume View at Picasa Eidan in his Iron Man costume21-Dec-2008 22:42, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100	Kai on Christmas Eve View at Picasa Kai on Christmas Eve25-Dec-2008 09:33, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 250	Mike and Eidan at Terry’s house on Christmas Eve View at Picasa Mike and Eidan at Terry’s house on Christmas Eve25-Dec-2008 09:33, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 320
The next generation, at their finest View at Picasa The next generation, at their finest25-Dec-2008 08:01, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 250	Eidan and Kai wrestling with Uncle Paul View at Picasa Eidan and Kai wrestling with Uncle Paul26-Dec-2008 01:57, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100	Eidan passed out on a chair after all the Christmas excitement View at Picasa Eidan passed out on a chair after all the Christmas excitement27-Dec-2008 05:32, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100

Christmas started early for the boys, as they opened their presents on the Sunday before Christmas. Our decorations were even more pathetic than usual this year. Maria is always overwhelmed with grading work for all her students at the end of the semester, and I was preoccupied with the repair work in the wake of our plumbing disaster. But of course the boys still made out like bandits.

They got their presents early from us because a few days later, we went to Newport to spend Christmas with my family. Holiday trips to Newport are always a whirlwind experience for us, as I have a ridiculous number of relatives to visit in such a short time. It’s complicated – I’ve got half-siblings, steps, ex-steps – but to me they’re all simply family (and the boys may not have figured out exactly who everyone is yet, but they do know that they get plenty of presents). The standing joke in the family is that my half-brother and half-sister – who are not related to each other in any way – should get married, so that we can all become each others in-laws too. It would be like that old song, I’m My Own Grandpa.

My sister’s boyfriend Paul with Eidan View at Picasa My sister’s boyfriend Paul with Eidan18-Aug-2007 17:25, Canon Canon PowerShot A80, 3.2, 9.625mm, 0.006 sec

In honor of yesterday’s unexpected early winter snowfall here in Philly, I decided it’s finally time to post pictures from our trip to Newport this summer. The first couple of pictures below are from a performance of the Navy Show Band at the Newport Art Museum. The Museum hosts a summer evening picnic series of musical performances. The tourists come for the Jazz and Folk Festivals, and the locals go to the Art Museum shows. The rest of the pictures are from Hazard’s Beach, where the boys spent most of their days during our week and half stay in August. My sister was visiting at the same time, so her kids – Matthew and Alex – are in some of the pictures. They live in Texas, so it’s nice for the kids to have a chance to get together in Newport. I spent my childhood summers at Hazard’s, so I think it’s great the boys get to spend some time there too.

View at Picasa Folks settling in for a performance at the Newport Art Muesum16-Aug-2007 07:22, SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa The Navy Show Band performing at the Newport Art Museum16-Aug-2007 07:43, SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 320	View at Picasa Hazard’s Beach in Newport, RI18-Aug-2007 00:13, SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 100
View at Picasa Kai and his cousin Alexandra17-Aug-2007 09:06, Canon Canon PowerShot A80, 5.6, 16.21875mm, 0.002 sec	View at Picasa Kai, with his cousins Matthew and Alex17-Aug-2007 09:26, Canon Canon PowerShot A80, 4.9, 23.40625mm, 0.002 sec	View at Picasa Alex, Matthew, and Kai17-Aug-2007 09:27, Canon Canon PowerShot A80, 4.9, 23.40625mm, 0.003 sec
View at Picasa Kai on the beach with charcoal on his nose18-Aug-2007 17:14, Canon Canon PowerShot A80, 4.9, 23.40625mm, 0.008 sec	View at Picasa Alex and Kai18-Aug-2007 17:14, Canon Canon PowerShot A80, 4.9, 23.40625mm, 0.013 sec	View at Picasa Eidan at Hazard’s Beach18-Aug-2007 17:26, Canon Canon PowerShot A80, 2.8, 7.8125mm, 0.006 sec
View at Picasa Paul pulling Kai and Eidan across the sand18-Aug-2007 17:28, Canon Canon PowerShot A80, 2.8, 7.8125mm, 0.005 sec	View at Picasa Kai (with charcoal on his face) and Alex enjoying s’mores18-Aug-2007 17:37, Canon Canon PowerShot A80, 4.5, 19.25mm, 0.017 sec