NAUSET LIGHT: A Personal Legacy (June 2024) Mary E. Daubenspeck Timothy H. Daubenspeck “A lighthouse without a setting; a setting without a lighthouse” – both could have become the fate of Cape Cod’s iconic* Nauset Light during the 1990s when Atlantic erosion forced the relocation of the Lighthouse, the Lightkeeper’s House and the historic Oil House, disrupting their proud composition together atop an Eastham bluff. As privately owned structures, the Keeper’s House and Oil House were not included in initial plans to save the Lighthouse, despite their National Registry status. This is the story of owner Mary Daubenspeck’s struggle as a stalwart lone advocate on behalf of the Keeper’s House, grappling with the operative powers, determined to make the “right” things happen in the face of limited options - while metered by Nature’s clock. Involved with all aspects of the Nauset Light station at that time, her personal eyewitness account of the Lighthouse relocation makes for delightful reading and brings the human dimension of that historic event to life. Honoring the broader responsibility that she felt to the historic preservation of the Keeper’s House, to Cape Cod, and to posterity, Mary followed the courage of her conviction and stepped forth at the critical moment to generously donate her beloved Keeper’s cottage (along with Oil House and remaining land) to the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1998. While a move of the house to a private lot would have sensibly maintained her financial investment and preserved her cherished home for private use into the future, Mary held the belief that within this challenge lay something greater – something in which her own personal gain was less important than the overriding responsibility she felt to preserve these structures together for posterity. Thus, she acted to permanently secure the placement of the critical structures in their historic positions with respect to one another, as they stand today on public land at the Nauset Light Station, which is visited and photographed by thousands of visitors each year. Mary passed away in 2001, leaving her family to use, maintain and preserve the Keeper’s House through a temporary limited use permit that expired in early 2024. As the Keeper’s House now transitions from private occupancy to public operation by the Nauset Light Preservation Society, this story is well-timed with current events. Today, Mary’s spirit lives on in the Keeper’s House experience of her family and friends and in her public legacy to the Cape Cod community, with the Keeper’s House and Oil House now permanently affixed in their historic positions together with Nauset Light. *Cape Cod Potato Chips Logo (also CC License Plates, and “Welcome to Cape Cod” highway signs)\t\t\t\t\t \t\t - Tim Daubenspeck