In 1995 I spoke to the "Literature of the Sea" course at the University of Connecticut (my Alma Mater!) as part of the "Working on the Water" seminar at Avery Point. The students also interviewed me about my work as an author and as a lighthouse historian/preservationist. More than 20 years later, much of that information is still viable and important to me. I'm sharing the interview here. I hope you enjoy it!
An Interview with Elinor
De Wire
Keynote Speaker,
"Working on the Water Seminar"
University of Connecticut at Avery Point
1995
Interview transcript from
students in “Literature & the Sea,” University of Connecticut at Avery Point
 |
| Photo by Jonathan DeWire, October 1995 |
Q: Why do you feel it's important
to preserve the stories of lighthouse keeping?
A: The occupation of lighthouse
keeper has officially ended in this country.
Except for the figurehead keepers assigned to Boston Light, there are no
more lightkeepers in the traditional sense.
There's no need for them. Lighthouses
operate automatically and need only periodic checks by maintenance crews. No one needs to turn the light or fog signal
on and off. There are all sorts of
high-tech gadgets that have replaced the hands of the lightkeeper. But they haven't replaced his heart. Lightkeeping before the electronic age
required a lot of devotion and fortitude.
The lifestyle was unique, and the people were special in many ways. I think it's important to preserve the human
history of lightkeeping before all the old keepers are gone. Only a few are left.
Q: How did you become interested
in lighthouses and their keepers?
A: My interest began in 1972 when
I lived in Maine. My husband and I were newlyweds then, with
little money for entertainment. We
beach-combed a lot, and the lighthouses were there, wherever we went. Maine
has more than sixty lighthouses. I was
intrigued and started keeping a scrapbook on those I visited. I took pictures, scribbled notes, wrote poems
and stories, jotted down the names of people I met at lighthouses. Before I knew it, the scrapbook had become a
box, and then a bureau drawer. Today, it
occupies four filing cabinets in my office, and my house is full of trinkets
and mementos from my lighthouse travels.
I think everyone ought to have a passion in life — something to care
about, to be devoted to. My passion is
lighthouses.
Q: Why do you think the public is
so fascinated with lighthouses?
A: Lighthouses symbolize things
that are important to us, and things that give us comfort — strength, safety,
guidance, salvation, a light in the darkness, the welcoming home of a weary
traveler. People have always regarded
them as emblems of humanity, and, of course, their keepers have become
legendary for their courage and sacrifice.
A lighthouse is a metaphor for human goodness. It represents the best humanity has to offer,
so naturally people are drawn to it. For
this reason, you see lots of images of lighthouses in advertising: A bank or investment company might use the
rock-solid, brightly-lit tower to sell itself, a soup company or clothing
manufacturer might choose a lighthouse to represent traditional goodness and
reliability, or a church might use the warm, comforting beam to convey divine
guidance and deliverance from evil. You
can think of lots of examples — Cape Cod Potato Chips, Snow’s Seafood Soups, Mitchell College, WNLC Radio. It's a very popular and meaningful symbol.
Q: Do you have a favorite
lighthouse?
A: I love them all, of course, no
matter how beautiful or plain. But if I
had to choose a favorite, it would probably be Nauset Lighthouse on Cape Cod. It’s so well-preserved and interpreted for
the public. It embodies everything I
think a lighthouse ought to be — tall, strong, architecturally handsome, a
beautiful daymark, a classic look, a friendly place for people to visit. The iron spiral stairs are wonderful. The acoustics and air currents inside the
tower are indescribable. The grounds are
beautiful too, with the backside beach nearby and the roar of waves. The lighthouse’s history is compelling too.
The site once had three small lighthouses lined up together, the nation’s only
set of triple lighthouses. They are now displayed in the woods nearby.
 |
| Coast Guard Historian's Office Photo |
 |
| Photo by Jonathan DeWire, 1979 |
 |
| Photo by Chris Cook |
Q: Few traditional lightkeepers
are still living, but you were able to interview some of them. Was there one you found particularly
interesting?
A: Frank Jo Raymond, who served on
Latimer Reef Light off Stonington,
Connecticut was fascinating to
talk with — very candid. He said some
surprising things and dashed a few of my long-cherished images. He couldn’t understand why people found
lighthouse life so attractive. He said
if you lived that life you wouldn’t find it so fascinating. He kept reminding me that it was “just a
job;” yet, at times he waxed sentimental about it. He talked a lot about nature, especially the
weather. He was very sensitive to wind
and the most minute changes in it. He
was on the lighthouse during the 1938 hurricane, which devastated southern New England. Frank
was also an artist and musician, and that was an interesting facet of his
life. He was painting on the day I spoke
with him.
Q: What made the lightkeeping
profession unique?
A: There were aspects of
lightkeeping that were found in few other jobs, and sometimes no other
jobs. The main characteristic of the
lightkeeper was solicitude. Early on,
before the Lighthouse Service began regulating the job and assigning several
personnel or relief keepers to lighthouses, lightkeepers worked 365 days a
year, 24 hours a day. It was truly a
full time job, and it could be dangerous and exhausting. Lightkeepers were expected to accept great
personal risk during storms, wars, and other catastrophes; and they were
required to rescue, house, and care for survivors of shipwrecks, as well as
their neighbors, who also might be refugees from storms that carried away their
homes. Everyday life itself presented
its own special problems, especially if the keeper and family were isolated on
a remote island or headland. Things like
food and fresh water were often difficult to get and keep. There was loneliness and anxiety. It was hard to get mail, fetch a doctor, or
send the children to school. Living next
to the sea exacted a price in loss of life and property. There were good things, of course. Lightkeepers were witness to incredible
sights of nature, they had the sea for a playground and, when the fishing was
good, a supermarket. They were respected
government servants, venerated for their virtuous duty. And they must have experienced enormous job
satisfaction knowing they were saving lives and shining a light to guide
"those in peril on the sea."
The stories of lightkeeping are striking for their special, sea-spun
character. Think of all the joys and
challenges that faced lightkeeping families, because they lived on or by the
sea and had to keep a light through every kind of pleasure and tragedy. No one will ever live that life again,
because lightkeeping is obsolete.
Q: Guardians of the Lights is a
collection of stories about lightkeeping that exemplifies the life of the
lightkeeper in America. Is there one particular story that's your
favorite?
 |
| At the time this interview was done, Guardians of the Lights had just been published and was in its first edition. The copy above is the 2007 edition. Steve Jones, who taught "Literature of the Sea," was featured on the cover. The tiny guy next to the lighthouse is my son, then age 16. |
A: As an author, I have a special
feeling for all the stories I write. I love them all. When I give my slide talk on lighthouse
keepers, there are a few stories that always touch the audience more than
others — make them laugh or sigh or gasp in surprise. The story about the baby found in a box from
a shipwreck off Hendricks Head Lighthouse is a touching one; so is the story
about the rock garden on Mount Desert Rock Light, planted from soil brought out
from the mainland. I think people like
these stories because they show the strength of character lightkeepers had and
how they overcame adversity. The story
of the bull at Destruction
Island who thought the
lighthouse foghorn was a rival bull always brings a hearty laugh. People are amazed, too, at the bird attacks
and the storm stories and their attendant rescues. I suppose my favorite story is the one I
delight so much in telling — I call it "Buried and Married in the Same
Day." It's in the first chapter of
Guardians, and it brings both a tear and a chuckle. It's about a Massachusetts lightkeeper who takes his
fragile new bride to live at remote Egg Rock Lighthouse. She becomes ill and dies the first
winter. The keeper cannot get her ashore
for a proper funeral, so he makes a coffin, places her in it, and puts her in
the oil house to freeze. In the spring,
he takes her body ashore and has a quick funeral service. Not wanting to return alone to the dismal
isle lighthouse, he finds a willing spinster and gets married that very same
afternoon. His new wife returns with him
to the lighthouse before sunset.
Q: Was isolation, then, the most
difficult aspect of lightkeeping?
A: In most cases it was. I think it really depended on the
assignment. Some isolated lighthouses
were wonderful assignments, like Kilauea in Hawaii and Sanibel in Florida. But those that were separated from land by
difficult stretches of water had their problems. St. George Reef Light was one; so were the
lights at Farallon and Minots Ledge. If
you got sick on these stations, and the sea was too rough, you couldn't get
ashore to a hospital, and a doctor couldn't get to you. Sometimes people died. Kids couldn't get to school; delivery of
supplies was at the whim of the sea.
Loneliness made life on remote lighthouses difficult too. The Lighthouse Service eventually forbade
families to live at isolated stations.
Q: What do you think the future
holds for lighthouses now that the lightkeeping profession has ended and many
electronic advances are replacing lighthouses?
A: It's true we
don't need lighthouses anymore — traditional lighthouses, that is. The modern navigator has much more accurate
and dependable systems available, such as GPS.
But any navigator, from the small boater to the skipper of a huge
tanker, will tell you there's something very comforting about seeing a lighthouse
and using its beacon to determine position or guide a vessel to safe
harbor. No matter how sophisticated the
electronics become, we still feel more at ease when there's visual
confirmation. This is sentimentality, of
course. It's not easy to grab hold of
new technology without a pang of regret at letting go of the old, especially
when the old is as beautiful and nostalgic as a lighthouse. I think lighthouses will become obsolete
someday, maybe soon. Many of them
already are. The small boater still
needs them, but the day will come when even he or she won't. Then it will be up to the public to see that
these old relics are saved. We'll have
to decide which ones are worth saving, because it's going to be difficult, if
not impractical, to save them all. We're
experiencing that now. Many communities
are angry with the Coast Guard and their local governments because a beloved
lighthouse is deteriorating or being vandalized or slated for demolition. It's important that we decide what to save
and then do a commendable job saving it.
A retired lighthouse deserves respect.
It shouldn't have to masquerade as a gift shop, a hamburger stand, or a
decoration on a mini golf course. There
are plenty of willing souls out there who'll scrape and paint and sweep to keep
a lighthouse, even after it's been retired.
I call them the "New Keepers."
 |
| Photo by Jonathan DeWire, 1986 |
