Mary wrote in 1995, “A tower without a setting; a setting without a tower–neither should be the fate of the Nauset Light Station. Because what draws people to the Nauset Light Station—to photograph it, to paint it, to appreciate it—is not just the Lighthouse itself. It is (as noted by a dear friend) the “proud composition” of all three historic structures, standing together atop this cliff.”
As the greater responsibility that she felt to the historic preservation of the Keeper’s House, to Cape Cod, and to posterity far exceeded concern for her own personal financial status, Mary responded to the “call” by stepping forth at the critical moment and donating her beloved Keeper’s House (and Oil House) and remaining land, while retaining a Permit that enabled continued private use for a period of 25 years. In so doing, she fulfilled her longstanding mission to seal the long-term fate of the Keeper’s House (and Oil House) in the manner she believed was morally right, thereby cementing an enduring “Personal Legacy” in the form of a permanently reunited tripartite Nauset Light Station.
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