PORTLAND, Maine — Have you had to replace the windows in your home recently? Anyone who has experienced it knows it's an expensive proposition. Now imagine what it would be like to replace the windows on an island three miles out to sea that doesn't even have a dock.

That's not what volunteers with the nonprofit Friends of Seguin Island Light Station have to imagine. The group that maintains virtually everything on the uninhabited island off the mouth of the Kennebec River in Georgetown is facing massive – and costly – repairs.

Rich in history and natural beauty, Seguin has been home to a lighthouse since President George Washington established it in 1793. The island is open to the public but difficult to access, and since the Coast Guard only maintains the foghorn and light, the Friends organization takes care of everything else, including the lighthouse keeper's house.

Doing any kind of work on an island is soberingly expensive. Just getting the materials is a major undertaking. The cost is compounded by the fact that Seguin Light is on the National Register of Historic Places, so any repairs to the lighthouse keeper's building must meet certain historical and aesthetic requirements. The price of one window, for example, is about $10,000. The building has more than twenty of them, all of which must be replaced.

Not surprisingly, the Friends organization is currently running a major fundraising campaign with a goal of $3.5 million.

Board members Read Armstrong and Tip Koehler joined us on 207 to talk about why people care so much about preserving Seguin and what it will take to make it happen. Watch our conversation to learn more.

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