Keepers of the Light — author documents life of lighthouse workers
Photo by Roger Werth
From inside the North Head Lighthouse, visitors get an idea of the sweeping landscape — and the solitude — that lighthouse keepers lived with for centuries
There are over 50 lighthouses in the nation where you can serve as the live-in keeper. The solitude is what you really notice. The seabirds and the wind become your music.'
— Author Elinor DeWire
During the past 50 years, lightkeepers have gone the way of blacksmiths and buffalo hunters. But while the men and women who rang the fog bells and kept the lanterns burning in America’s lighthouses have faded into the past, their history is being preserved by a new generation of keepers.
Elinor DeWire is in the forefront of those dedicated to protecting the remaining structures and safeguarding the stories of those who worked in them.
"I was mesmerized when I saw my first lighthouse," said DeWire, whose presentation, "Lighthouses Across America," drew nearly 100 people to the Maritime Museum in Astoria in late January. "It just hit me that someone had to live out there and take care of it. I was hooked from then on."
Now a resident of Seabeck on Washington's Hood Canal, DeWire has researched, photographed, and written about lighthouses since 1972. She has visited more than 800 lighthouses, authored 12 books on the subject, and helped steer legislation through Congress that protects lighthouses as historic sites.
DeWire grew up on a dairy farm in Maryland. She had never seen a lighthouse until she and her husband, Jon, a career Navy man, were stationed in Maine in the early 1970s.
"Once I married Jon, we always lived on the water," she said.
As Jon's career took the family from one coastal community to another, the DeWires made lighthouses a part of their lives. "It became more than a passion for us," Elinor DeWire said. "We started looking at them everywhere we went. Our kids grew up thinking that everybody visited lighthouses."
In 1910, the U.S. had 1,500 lighthouses. Today, fewer than 700 remain. Of those, approximately 500 still have functioning lights.
Although New England lighthouses dominate postcards and magazine covers, the Great Lakes region has the most — 201. Michigan, with 114, has more than any other state. Oregon has 11 and Washington 21. The Cape Disappointment Light, built in 1856, is Washington’s oldest.
DeWire said that during the late 1800s, a light stood on Desdemona Sands, where the Astoria-Megler Bridge is located today. "There were also post lights at many other places along the river that were tended by civilians who kept the lanterns going," she said. "When the dams came in during the 1930s, the post lights were replaced by buoys."
In 1852, Congress established the U.S. Lighthouse Board, which was charged with hiring keepers, conducting inspections, and maintaining standards. The Coast Guard assumed those duties in 1939.
Nearly all of America’s remaining lighthouses have historic protection as a result of the National Lighthouse Preservation Act, which DeWire helped move through Congress in 2000.
In cooperation with the National Park Service, the Coast Guard is in the process of turning over existing lighthouses to state and city governments and their nonprofit partners. The partners maintain the grounds and the structures, conduct tours, and sometimes display historic materials.
"Today's lighthouses are automated, and the Coast Guard has its hands full with national security," DeWire said. "It’s a good move for everyone involved."
Of her 12 books, DeWire’s favorite is "Guardians of the Lights," in part because its publication in the early '90s — along with good sales numbers and a book tour paid for by her publisher — convinced her that she should write full-time.
"When I wrote my first book about Florida lighthouses in 1987, I thought that would be it." The success of "Guardians" changed her mind. "People were beginning to get more interested in preserving lighthouses, so I figured the time was right."
"Guardians" also gave her the opportunity to tell the stories, both courageous and humorous, of lightkeepers and their families. "Keepers kept the light and bells going through terrible weather," DeWire said. "Before 1860, fog bells had to be struck by hand every few seconds. Some keepers stood there and rang the bell for hours on end." They were also expected to help rescue fishermen, maintain precise records, troubleshoot equipment, and keep the lighthouse painted.
And all for a very modest salary.
Keepers received no pay raises from 1860 to 1915. During that time, most received $1,000 a year, plus limited provisions.
"Guardians of the Lights" includes an anecdote about Aleut keeper Ted Pedersen, who worked at Cape St. Elias Light Station during the early part of the 20th century.
Pedersen hadn't seen a woman in four years. Then one day a ship pulled in with a vivacious young thing on board. She began chatting with Pedersen from the deck of the ship. Eventually, she lowered a clipboard to him and asked if he would mind signing his name.
Pedersen signed.
Months later, he discovered that he had subscribed to several dozen magazines.
DeWire is nearly finished with a book titled "The Lightkeeper's Menagerie," which tells the story of animals that are part of lighthouse history and lore. "Some animals were issued to lighthouses like equipment," DeWire said. Horses and mules packed materials. Dogs barked to provide a signal when it was foggy. Cats kept the mouse population under control.
DeWire has spent week-long stints at several lighthouses, including Washington's Dungeness Light Station near Sequim. "There are over 50 lighthouses in the nation where you can serve as the live-in keeper," she said. "The solitude is what you really notice. The seabirds and the wind become your music."
DeWire earned a Masters in Education from the University of Connecticut and taught for six years. She has used her expertise to produce educational materials and programs about lighthouses for the Children's Television Network, the National Park Service, and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.
She also writes a column for children for Lighthouse Digest and chairs the American Lighthouse Foundation's "Youth of the Beam" program. She has appeared on National Public Television and the Learning Channel and serves as the president of the Washington Lightkeepers Association, which she founded in 2005.
In addition to "The Lightkeeper's Menagerie," DeWire is also working on a series of lighthouse field guides and hopes to write a book about lighthouses in Greece.
Her "Field Guide to Lighthouses ,'" due out in March, and other titles can be ordered at Paperbacks Galore in Longview, 423-9006.