Still Shining - Concord Point Lighthouse - Havre de Grace, Maryland

This says Hometown to me - Concord Point Lighthouse - Havre de Grace a photo by litlesam on Flickr.

I have seen the Eiffel Tower. I have been to Ushuaia, Argentina the southern most city in the world. I stood in the magical Incan city of Machu Pichu in the Andes. I drank Sangria in Barcelona, and ate perogies in Warsaw, Poland. But if you ask me where is my favorite place Concord Point Lighthouse in Havre de Grace, Maryland would be the answer. This lighthouse's history dates back to the War of 1812 and it still stands today as a symbol of the small town of Havre de Grace.

I was born in Havre de Grace and lived there for the first forty years of my life. I spent many hours with this lighthouse. I lived just one block away from Corcord Point when I was a child.  I played in the marshy swamps around the light house for hours. I used to go fishing behind the lighthouse with my Aunt Louise and her cousin Mary when they had their one week vacation each year from the local shoe factory. They worked very hard on the assembly line at Bata Shoe Factory and earned that week off with their sweat. So this week was always special to them and to me. My Aunt Louise was also the lady who bought me first camera.

My mother did not allow me to play down by the river when I was young. Her first husband had drowned in the river not far from this lighthouse, so her fear was honest. But it was not appreciated by this young boy. So although I wasn't allowed, I still spent many hours playing behind this lighthouse and along the water front. Today this location is very popular park with a boardwalk filled with town folks and tourists walking around daily. It was isolated when I was a kid and made for a great place to go skinny dipping. It was a different time. The town was very small. Parents were not afraid to let their children leave the house in the morning and not return until time for supper. Of course if my mother knew I was skinny dipping behind the lighthouse,she might not have felt so safe about letting me run free everyday.

I would never want to return to Havre de Grace and live in a small town again. But when I visit and see this beautiful lighthouse the magic of life in that small town returns.