In the latest example of a family donation tradition, Lt. Robert Bartkowiak Jr. recently offered his Space Force uniform to the museum. It’s now alongside a Space Force flag in the museum’s Air Force Room.

Museum keeper Dave Briska said Bartkowiak’s grandfather, John Fedyszyn, is an original board member of the Lighthouse association. Fedysyzn also has his Marines uniform on display at the museum.

“He set up a lot of the military displays in here,” Briska said of Fedyszyn. “He likes to help us out when he can.” One of those efforts was asking his grandson to donate the Space Force uniform.

A third uniform in the museum belonged to John Fedyszyn’s father, who was in the U.S. Navy.

Lt. Robert Bartkowiak of the U.S. Space Force.

Fast-forwarding back to 2023, Briska said Bartkowiak’s uniform was put out in September. “It’s good that it’s there,” Briska said. “We honor all military forces, not just traditional ones, in the lighthouse.”

He added that new items spark renewed interest in the museum and the lighthouse.

The museum and the lighthouse grounds are now essentially closed for winter. They normally reopen in May. But Briska said they’ll throw open the gates April 6 for the total solar eclipse — and there are plans to rent space for skywatchers, in what will surely be a prime viewing spot.

Speaking of the skies: Bartkowiak is an officer of them, as described in a May 6 OBSERVER article (which his grandpa Fedyszyn contributed). The Space Operations Officer and Fredonia High School graduate was doing training for his job at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at the time of the story.

Bartkowiak’s “duties include overseeing space surveillance operations, space lift, space warning, and satellite command and control,” the May 6 article stated. “By assessing the effectiveness of all Space Operations and incorporating new technology as it becomes available, they develop future plans for systems, facilities, and personnel in order to defend our nation.”