none: A California Keeper's Memories

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

A California Keeper's Memories

About ten years ago, Jim Gibbs, maritime author extraordinaire, gifted me several metal file boxes and an old leather zipper briefcase of his notes and research on West Coast lighthouses. He had retired with no plans to write any more books or articles for the public. As Jim put it, he was content to write letters (and he sent many to me!) and jot down memories in his journal. He kindly commented that he knew I would do good things with his materials.

Jim and I having a laugh and conversation at his home in Yachats, Oregon about 2006.

Jim Gibbs passed away quietly in his home a few years after the photo above was taken by my daughter, Jessica. He is greatly missed by those of us who love lighthouses. As I sift through the files he gave me, I find lots of jewels. I think Jim would want me to share as much of his information as possible.

Below is a letter written to Jim Gibbs by Radford Franz Franke, a one-time lightship sailor and lighthouse keeper. Franke vividly and candidly recalled life at these assignments. Some of these recollections appeared in Jim Gibb's books.

Franke is gone now, but his memories live on, at least in this letter. There's no date on it, but I estimate it was written in the 1960s. I love that it's so conversational, as if Franke is sitting across from you telling his stories. My favorite part of his letter talks about World War II and the Franke being sent on a cutter to extinguish buoys in Los Angeles Harbor. Enjoy! click on each scanned page to make it bigger.