Tales of Three Lighthouse Keepers
By Sue Clark on Mar 17, 2008 in Lighthouse Keeper Jobs 
Print This Post
Recent articles crossing the desk of Lighthouse News provided some good reading (and watching). Enjoy.
I Love My Lighthouse
An excerpt from a story at the Fleetwood News:
“I never thought it was possible to love a lighthouse. Then, I became a tour guide at Cape Leeuwin, right where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet, where it is beautiful, wild and remote. Surrounded by granite rocks, ocean swells and unique Australian scrub the Cape is considered by mariners to be one of the most dangerous in the world. It’s well known for its numerous shipwrecks and has a rich seafaring history of English, Dutch and French exploration.
3 days into my new job and I’m still in training to be a Guide. The wind has reached gale force today and I stagger past the old Lighthouse Keepers cottages, muttering to myself and hanging on to what’s left of my tour notes - flapping bits of ripped paper.
This is definitely a great read. Trudy Watson, whose grandfather was bosun on the ill-fated trawler the Red Falcon when she was lost off Skerryvore in December 1959, is a lighthouse guide at Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse in Western Australia. She’s one of the new generation of lighthouse keepers. Don’t miss it.
Lighthouse Is Home Sweet Home
And from the the Palos Verdes Peninsula News, a light story about a Coast Guard family living in the Lighthouse Keeper’s house at Point Vincente Lighthouse. A quick excerpt:
Says (Coast Guard Lt. Commander John) Hennigan, “When they showed me pictures [of the grounds], it looked great, but my first question was, ‘OK, how high is that fence and does it go all the way around?’”
“We have on the side of our house a gate, and [we asked the previous residents], ‘Did you ever have an issue like that with your kids?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, no.’ They never even noticed. The first day [we moved in], the little one was halfway up it. He has no fear,” Missy (Hennigan) says with a laugh.
The story tells about the “joys” of living at an isolated property with three active young boys. It’s definitely a fascinating glance into living at a Keeper’s House. Especially with the foghorn.
The Light Watchman Tends To Area Lighthouses
And finally, but definitely not least, go along with Newsday as they visit Little Gull Island, Race Rock and other AtoN with an East Coast Aids to Navigation team. A quick excerpt:
Sometimes Brian Gresham makes house calls like any other electrician, pulling up in a van packed with tools and testers to replace fuses or tweak wiring.
But since Gresham is in the Coast Guard, the houses he services have lights atop them, and his calls often involve long, cold boat rides.
Gresham, an electrician’s mate first class, is the primary maintenance person for 20 lighthouses from Huntington to the Rhode Island border. He spends about one day a week fixing lighthouses, using the rest of his time repairing boats and equipment ashore. Usually, Gresham works anonymously, though the fine points of lighthouse maintenance were much discussed last fall when the Huntington lighthouse foghorn went on the blink and howled around the clock for more than five days.
This was an excellent read all by itself, but be absolutely sure to watch the video included with the story.
Photo Credits:
- Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse from clarisworkz. Some rights reserved.
- Not Even a Hint of a Thought from noelaup. Some rights reserved.
- Little Gull Island from cshoresal. Some rights reserved.
Keep up with Lighthouse News. Get articles by 
Email or in a 
Reader.
