Historical Society hosts cookout, lighthouse program

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To say the Johnston Historical Society closed out the first half of 2015 in grand style would be an understatement.

In keeping with tradition, the society hosted what corresponding secretary Christopher Martin called a “mini-cookout” replete with grilled hot dogs, homemade potato salad, watermelon and different flavors of the famous, locally made Yacht Club soda.

“And we use the old charcoals,” said Joe Jamroz, the society’s master chef. “And we hold this picnic on the front lawn, too.”

Make that the front lawn of the society’s impressively expanded Museum Barn, located adjacent to the non-profit organization’s Elijah Angell House at 101 Putnam Pike (Route 44) in Johnston.

Last Thursday evening’s gathering – which also featured noted historian, speaker and one-time lighthouse keeper Fred Mikkelsen – was the society’s final event in June, and president Lou McGowan announced “we’ll take a summer hiatus in July and August then start back up again in September.”

And the first fall event – scheduled for 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13 – is the society’s annual picnic.

“It’s always a fun time,” McGowan said. “Our members and their families and our friends are invited to partake … the society will supply hamburgers, hot dogs and soda, but anything else is pot luck, so please bring a dish to share.”

McGowan added: “And there might just be badminton, people sitting around chatting, and maybe even a raffle.”

McGowan also announced that on Wednesday, Sept. 30, the speaker will be David Norton Stone, author of the “Quahog Trilogy” (“Clamcake Summer,” “Stuffie Summer” and “Chowder Summer”), who will discuss clam shack history and his humorous quest to find the best clam cakes, stuffies and chowder in the state.

Mikkelsen, meanwhile, didn’t disappoint anyone in the standing-room-only crowd that packed the Museum Barn for his long-awaited talk about when he was keeper of the Conimicut Lighthouse in Warwick.

“I’ve been looking forward to this night since we were snowed out back in January,” said Anthony Ursillo, a member of the society’s Board of Directors. “Fred’s delivery was very, very interesting.”

Frederick W. Mikkelsen Jr., an engineman third class in the U.S. Coast Guard and an accomplished blacksmith, was an assistant officer in charge at the Conimicut Light Station from June of 1958 until September 1961.

“Conimicut is an offshore station one and a half miles from either Barrington or Conimicut at a narrowing of the channel called the Providence River Approach,” Mikkelsen told the audience. “Conimicut was the last kerosene powered light apparatus in the U.S.A., and electrified in the fall of 1960.”

One of Mikkelsen’s favorite stories during last week’s presentation was of the summer when he’d “bathe in the bay.”

“I would bathe off our pier using salt water soap,” Mikkelsen said. “It smelled like Grandma’s lye soap, but it makes suds and works. The procedure was to wait until dark, jump in, climb out and soap down, jump back in and wash off the suds, lime out and pour a pail of fresh water over my head to get rid of the salt.”

He continued: “And I had to pump the fresh water from our system. Then one night, while I was at the soap-down stage, a passing powerboat with a powerful search light illuminated me as I stood in my birthday suit.”

At which time the night’s attendees broke into laughter before Mikkelsen – who had an impressive slide show of other Rhode Island lighthouses – closed out its presentation.

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