Wood Island Life Saving Station in Maine Launches Essay Contest to Win Overnight Stay at Location, See the ‘Mervin F. Roberts’ Boat at Work

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Community
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August 13, 2025
A photo of Wood Island Life Saving Station in Kittery, Maine from 2021. The ‘Mervin F. Roberts’ boat now lives inside the building and travels down the now completed marine railway into the sea.

OLD LYME—Readers may recall the wonderful story we covered about the acquisition from this area of an old coast guard rescue boat named the Mervin F. Roberts by the non-profit Wood Island Life Saving Station Association (WILSSA) of Kittery, Maine. The original connection between the WILSSA and the boat was made through an article published by LymeLine about our beloved late resident Mervin Roberts.

Former First Selectman Timothy Griswold spearheaded a successful effort to raise funds to transport the boat from Essex, Conn. to Kittery, Maine.

Ben Clarkson at the helm of the ‘Mervin E. Roberts’ in 1997.

After major renovations, the boat was re-launched at Kittery Point amid quite a fanfare and a group from Old Lyme, including Griswold, attended the event.

Former local resident Catherine Frank visited the Wood Island Life Saving Station recently. She discovered the organization is running an essay contest and the winner will earn the opportunity to spend a night on Wood Island (which in her words, “looked quite cozy; has amazing history and views and a chance to visit with Merv’s boat!”) She kindly shared the information with us and, again in her words, thinks, “Someone from Old Lyme needs to enter and win this contest.”

And we agree!

Full details of the contest are at this link. The word limit for the essay is 500 words and the entry deadline has been extended to September 1.

The Wood Island Life Saving Station, a beacon of hope and heroism since the 1900s, has witnessed countless rescues and maritime events.

We’re offering a unique opportunity to win an overnight stay at this historic landmark.

To enter, share with us why you are drawn to Wood Island and what staying in this historic life saving station would mean to you.

Submission Deadline: originally July 1, 2025, now extended to September 1, 2025

Stay Dates: To be scheduled between July and September 2026.

So all you writers out there, start your essays right away—time is of the essence—and maybe win this unique prize!

Author
Olwen Logan

Olwen Logan grew up in a family of London educators but was inspired by her great grandfather, influential Daily Chronicle newspaper editor Alfred Ewen Fletcher, to pursue journalism. She built a successful career in efficiency analysis and senior audit management before launching her own PR-focused consultancy. After moving to the U.S. in 1990 and settling in Old Lyme in 1994, she became a staff writer for the now-closed Main Street News and later joined Jack Turner’s fledgling LymeLine.com, discovering the career she had always wanted—albeit in an unexpected digital form. Even after relocating to Maryland, she continued covering Lyme and Old Lyme with the same dedication, earning national recognition as a LION Publishers award finalist in 2020. After more than two decades of service, Olwen stepped away in November 2025, donating LymeLine.com to the newly formed nonprofit LymeLine Inc. and expressing her excitement for its continued growth and mission.

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