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SLIP POINT LIGHTHOUSE
CLALLAM BAY, WASHiNGTON
On
December 31, 1961, my husband and I along with our two young sons, moved into
the Slip Point Light Station at Clallam Bay, Washington. We had just come from a very active search
and rescue Coast Guard station at Hammond, Oregon and my husband was anxious to
have a less dangerous responsibility and activity level for awhile. I was expecting our third child in late
February.
We had
other friends that were at light stations and had heard that life at a light
station could be serene and pleasant, but that there were certain demands that
were required of both the Coast Guard personnel and their wives. I was told that the house was to be ready for
inspection at all times which was supposedly even more important since my
husband was the officer-in-charge.
Slip
Point did not have the traditional light house sitting on a hill or bluff as
the first one had fallen into the sea many years before our duty began. Instead, we had a walkway out onto the reef
with a light on the end that also included a fog signal. However, our house, a large duplex was in the
typical lighthouse style. Three stories,
many windows, and beautiful cherry wood furniture supposedly made years before
in the prison system.
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| 1944 image looking back at the keeper's house. (Coast Guard Museum NW) |
On a
clear and beautiful Monday afternoon on January 29, 1962, my husband was asleep
upstairs after serving on the night watch and our two boys were outside
playing. The station's Seaman knocked at
the door all excited and said we were being invaded. He had heard shells going overhead and was
able to convince me that we were in fact being shelled. I got the boys in the
house right away. The next task was to
rouse my husband and tell him.
The news
was hard to believe and he was hard to persuade, but he agreed to get up and
see what was going on. As it turned out,
yes we were being shelled, by accident of course, but by the Canadian Navy who
had sent a drone plane out over the Straits so that their ships could practice
firing two or three pound "dud" shells at the plane. Unfortunately, the plane went over our reef
and the shells followed. One hit the
Clallam Bay school yard five minutes before school was let out. A brass detonator landed a few feet from a
fellow in town who was digging in his garden.
A shell did hit one house and knocked off a few shingles. Another landed embedded in a log that someone
was able to locate. All of these items
were gathered up and ended up on my kitchen counter while we waited for our US
Naval munitions to arrive and check everything out.
Lots of
excitement and an international event was prevented, but none of us quite got
over the close call of nearly being hit with one of those practice bombs.
Our length of service lasted only 18 months as my husband
found that he really missed search and rescue.
Due to a number of incidents, I also agreed that this was not the quiet
life we had envisioned and I was glad to move on. So, in June of 1963, we moved to Cape
Disappointment station in Ilwaco, Washington and one of the busiest search and
rescue stations in the US.
Joan E. Miller
wife of CWO -4 Willis Paul MIlller
Paul passed away in 1977 after serving in the Coast Guard
for 23 years.
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| Slip Point had only a foghorn in 1904 when this photo was taken. (Courtesy of Coast Guard Museum NW) |
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| By 1916, Slip Point was a complete working light station, with a fog signal and a light tower. (Coast Guard Museum NW) |
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| By 1952, a landslide behind the lighthouse had so endangered it, the light itself was moved to a small, conical tower nearby. This is the light Joan's husband tended. (Coast Guard Museum NW) |
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| Today, nothing remains of Slip Point Lighthouse or the conical tower. If you look closely, you can see some broken remains of the suport for the plank walkway. (Elinor DeWire photo) Joan Miller attended a lightkeepers' reunion in Silverdale, Washington in 2006. I have not heard from her since that time. I searched for an obituary for her, as she would on in years by now, but did not find one. So, I assume she is still living. |
BAILEY'S GENERAL STORE
Bailey’s General Store on Sanibel recently unveiled its 2023 Christmas ornament, which showcases the iconic Sanibel Lighthouse and reflects the enduring spirit of islanders and visitors both near and far.
“This cherished tradition is just a small way for the third and fourth generations of owner-operators at Bailey’s to maintain a personal connection with customers while the fourth building iteration of Bailey’s General Store and Bailey’s Center is planned,” fourth-generation owner-operator Calli Johnson said in a prepared statement.
First lit on Aug. 20, 1884, the lighthouse — also known as the Point Ybel Light — marks the entrance to the San Carlos Bay and the historic port of Punta Rassa. The location was strategically located for Florida’s booming cattle industry and trade with locales further south. Florida Crackers driving their cattle to the port began the pilgrimage across the bay and beyond first made by the cattle, then later by visitors and residents of the islands when tourism became the reigning industry in the Florida.
After the United States forcibly removed native peoples from the area in the 1800s, the Lighthouse Board requested funds from Congress to establish a light first in 1881. Approval and land disputes delayed construction to 1884, when the foundation of the light was constructed. Tragedy first struck the lighthouse when the schooner carrying the original iron skeleton from New Jersey sank merely two miles from the intended home. All but two pieces of the skeleton were salvaged by hardhat divers.
As one of the first lights on the west coast north of Key West, it is designed for its namesake as a “Sanibel Class” light and sistered by 13 remaining lights, with three sister lights residing on the west coast and panhandle. The Sanibel Lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places and now under U.S. Coast Guard operation. The original flashes were modified around 1933 to the current 10-second grouped flash. The light went unused during World War II, when even dimming the light would have still blinded lookouts at the tower just south of the light watching for enemy vessels. In 1949, the lighthouse was unmanned and the keepers quarters became the headquarters for the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Electrified in 1963, the original lens was replaced with a smaller 500 mm glass lens. The light has operated as a beacon for the islands since relighting after World War II.
After Hurricane Ian hit on Sept. 28, 2022, rumors quickly spread that the island symbol was toppled by the near-Category 5 storm. Islanders returned to find it was missing a leg, but all of the surrounding historic buildings including the Caretakers Cottages had been washed away by the 14-foot storm surge, leaving only a few bricks behind. The light was extinguished when Ian blew through, but relit by the U.S. Coast Guard on Feb. 26 — exactly six months after the islands were ravaged. Now a symbol of resilience with a “broken” leg, it represents the island community with its battered yet unbroken spirit.
“The lighthouse has been on our ‘list’ for years, but it holds even more of a special place in our hearts as we recover from the hurricane. It reminds us that we’re still standing strong,” fourth-generation owner-operator and finance manager Bailie Johnson said in the prepared statement of why it was chosen. “Our store and the lighthouse have much in common, including their history, their founding principles and their symbol of resilience. Just like the Point Ybel Light, we will continue to weather future storms for our community.”
The tradition of the ornaments began in 2009 with an idea driven by one of Bailey’s longtime staff members, Pat Kiely. Kiely’s unfailing dedication to the Bailey’s brand led to her creation of the first ornament, custom-made and gold-plated by the Charleston Mint, which featured the Bailey’s logo.
The 2023 ornament can be purchased from The Island Store on Captiva, which is also operated by the family and its staff, or by visiting Bailey’s online store at https://baileysofsanibel.myshopify.com/.
The Island Store is at 1500 Andy Rosse Lane, Captiva.
Elinor DeWire and Mary Iles at Cape Schanck Lighthouse in Victoria, Australia., November 2022.
Mary IIles is a descendent of the Chance Brothers who made so many British lenses for lighthouses. I met Mary last November at Cape Schanck Lighthouse in Australia, where she volunteers. Mary is so knowledgeable and friendly! I thoroughly enjoyed her presentation and our chat.
Below is the handout Mary gives visitors to Cape Schanck Lighthouse.
The Black Lighthouse of Queenscliff, Australia
I spent a month in Australia with the U.S. Lighthouse Society in November 2022. What an amazing trip! I invite you to learn a little about one of the South Australia lighthouses I visited. I will say, (eyes rolling) that the docent for the society tour at this sentinel was loud, obnoxious, and pushy. Since there is an Aussie army military installation around the lighthouse, I suppose he had dreams of being a drill sergeant. And it was obvious he thought Americans amusing. Anyway, let's hope if you visit, you'll have a nicer docent to take you around the site. You'll learn a lot of Aussie military history and a little about the Black Lighthouse, so named for its dark color. The basalt blocks in the tower give it the name.
Two of my photos are posted below. They are copyrighted, so don't use them.
I have reproduced the flier I was given, with all information on visiting the site and a bit of history of the lighthouse itself. Enjoy, and if you get Down Under, do visit the lighthouses. They are awesome!
A Grain of Cape Sand
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| Photo by Kraig Anderson |
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| Old Long Point Light--so sandy. Photo from Coast Guard Archives |
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| Old postcard of Nobska Lighthouse about 1900. |
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| Monomoy Lighthouse in its sandy setting. No date. Coast Guard Archives photo |
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| A sand dune creeps up on Monomoy Lighthouse. Great photo by Dennis Donohue. Please go to his website and check out his fabulous images. The Natural World Through My Lens (through-my-lens.com) |
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| Race Point Lighthouse and quarters, nestled in the sand. Photo by TripAdvisor |
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| It isn't named Sandy Neck for nothing! Photo from vrbo.com |
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