Amazon donates $25,000 to help keep Frying Pan Tower functional

SOUTHPORT, N.C. (WITN) - A big retailer is stepping up to keep an iconic symbol along the North Carolina coast functioning.

Amazon has donated $25,000 toward the restoration of the Frying Pan Tower.

The light tower, 39 miles off Southport, was built in 1964 to keep boats safe from the treacherously shallow waters. Coast Guard crews used to live on the tower until 1979 when the light was automated. It then was officially retired in 1992 after GPS became widespread.

Richard Neal purchased the tower from the government in 2010 and has been in charge of its upkeep ever since. Neal lives to restore and protect the tower that has become hotspots for ecological research ranging from offshore winds to marine life programs.

It even has become part of the ecosystem with great whites, barracudas, and some of the most diverse marine life.

Neal uses Amazon to keep himself and the tower running, buying welding equipment, wildlife support gear, and food.

Deliveries are made with a helicopter and Amazon says it is one of the most remote places in the world that it visits.

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