Holy Bat Light!
Adam West, the original Batman
Dan Dunn lives in Batman’s house. That is, he lives in the boyhood home of Adam West, Batman from the 1960s TV series. It’s a grand Federal Revival house in Walla, Walla Washington, and Mr. Dunn grew up across the street and bought the house as an adult. He renovated it to make it historically accurate, filled West’s old bedroom with photos of Batman and invited West over.
West did come over, and even signed the bedroom door: “Zap! Wow, the old bedroom!” Our Drake fixture in the foyer rounds out his homage. Says Mr. Dunn, “It’s on an articulated joint, and moves when you tap it. Kids love it — it’s great at Halloween.”
Dann Dunn's Bat Light, aka Drake
Justice For Bats!
When Duane and Cristene Justus bought their century-old farmhouse in Hauser Lake, Idaho, the owner assured them the bats were gone.
Fast forward several months. The Justuses are sitting in their yard with friends, counting bats as they fly out of the attic: “210, 211…they just kept coming,” says Ms. Justus. Turns out, their visitors are part of a little brown bat colony that’s come to that exact spot since the 1940s.
The couple agreed that while they didn’t really want them in the house, they didn’t want to exterminate them either. They turned to Bat Conservation International to learn how to be good hosts. “We sealed the attic and installed bat houses all around the property, but they still like to tuck up under the eaves, and near the chimney, and 50 will hang in one vent” says Mr. Justus. Their Sunset fixture serves as a sort of bat beacon, letting the bats know they’re welcome any time.
Which part of the country is spookiest?
The Bat Map
It’s no surprise that New England, home of the Headless Horseman, Salem Witch Trials, tragic shipwrecks, abandoned settlements, and haunted cemeteries, is the region where the largest number of our Drake and Sunset fixtures reside.
The popularity of our bat lights in sunny California is perhaps more surprising, though Hollywood has certainly has done its part to help Vampires everywhere feel just a little bit more popular.
But what’s the deal, Nebraska? Why no bats?
Dear Editor,
Your customers in Idaho who want to somehow manage their bat colony should be aware that little brown bats are victims of an extremely dangerous and deadly disease called white nose syndorme that has decimated little borwn bat populations on the east coast and is spreading. Not nearly enough is known about what the disease is, how it kills bats and what can be done to stop it. There is concern that little brown bats could be completely exterminated in North America. The disease does not affect humans except that bats are very beneficial to a number of important human activites, like agriculture. Bats eats a vast number of bugs, many of which are pests to agriculture. They also eat bugs that spread diseases, like mosquitos. So, although bats seem to be somewhat vllified by humans, they are very important to us as well. I imagine that if the folks in Idaho contacted Bat Conservation International they have heard this story. We have a bat colony in our attic in NJ as well and have put up bat houses, but our bats prefer to move around to various locations in the roofs in addition to using the bat houses. They are temperature sensitive and like to have options. We have not excluded them from the attic, partly because it is futile and partly because we think they need it and we want them to survive.
What a fun post! “Holly Batman” certainly takes on a new meaning at Christmas time in the first segment!
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