National Lighthouse Day
Lighthouses were once widely used as an aid to navigation for ship pilots through dangerous coastlines, reefs, or as beacons towards safe harbor entrances; however, due to maintenance costs and advanced navigational technology many are no longer operational.
The bill that proposed “National Lighthouse Day” – signed by President Ronald Reagan on November 5, 1988 – called for American lighthouse grounds, where feasible, to be open to the public on August 7th in order to honor the beacons of light that symbolize safety and security for boats at sea.