You know those email jokes that go around saying things like: “How Old is Grandpa?“ And Grandpa replies, “I was born before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees, and the pill. There were no credit cards, laser beams, or ball-point pens. Man had not invented pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, or clothes dryers, and man hadn’t yet walked on the moon, etc. . . .”
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Now let’s switch to an isolated lighthouse in the 1970s, 1980s, etc. . . . and a different question:
I received the email below from a Ms. C. Burke in October 2010, and she passed on the information to me that her mother had related about the early days at Chrome Island lighthouse. I am sorry I did not get it published earlier, but I was working on getting this site in operation before I added a lot of new writings.
I can vouch that 100% of the manned stations on the BC coast are still maintained in pristine condition as mentioned in the story below – the keepers are proud of their work and their stations. – JC
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My mother has dictated some memoirs to me of her summers at Hornby Island Lodge 1, which was built by her parents, R.L. (Bob) and Mary (Molly) Hunt. They purchased all of Tribune Bay in 1925 and created the resort.2 I will be publishing Mom’s memoirs to a blog. Continue reading Chrome Island c. 1930s→
Lighthouse Chronicles – Twenty Years on the B.C. Lights
These are the first-hand stories of Flo Anderson and her husband Trevor and their four children as left left the city life in 1961 for a life on the British Columbia lighthouses.
They worked as lighthouse keepers for the next twenty years at Lennard Island, Barrett Rock, McInnes Island, Green Island and Race Rocks.
The book is interesting as it is written from a woman’s point of view.
Many B&W photos give illustration to the narrative.
Paperback: 224 pages Publisher:Harbour Publishing (1998) Language: English ISBN-10: 155017181X ISBN-13: 978-1550171815 Product Dimensions: (9″ x 6″) 22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm Availability: Used (Out of Stock)
– Elizabeth Kate (Stannard) Smithman (Wife of Henry Herbert Smithman who was Senior Keeper at Sisters Island 1927 – 1929)
Ballenas and Sisters Islands
I thought you might be interested to hear about “Life On a Lighthouse”.
We lived on them for about 5 ½ to 6 years and I guess we would have stayed and made a lifetime job of it but Bert [my husband] got very sick and had to be taken off to hospital where after a lingering illness he passed away.
Well some folks think it must be very lonesome life but there’s too much to do to get lonesome and besides, it’s a wonderful, interesting life.
We were on two different lights. The first one was the best as it was a bigger island and we could have a garden and there was lots of room for the children to play, however I took sick and as we thought lighthouse life did not suit me, Bert asked to be replaced by another light keeper.
We moved to Parksville, [Vancouver island, BC, Canada] where we had been getting our mail, etc.
A friend of mine passed on to me the obituary notice of Evelyn Bruton, wife of retired Sheringham Point lighthouse keeper Jim Bruton – left, and directly below
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BRUTON, Evelyn [August 10, 1930 – September 17, 2011] Passed away on September 17 at Cowichan District Hospital. Born August 10th, 1930 in Ellerslie, Alberta to Michael and Adeline. At the age of 18 Evelyn moved to Vancouver and worked as a stenographer for a local paper. She met Jim Bruton in Vernon and a year later they were married on December 22, 1951, shortly after they moved to Bella Coola where Jim worked in the logging industry. Five years later they moved to lighthouses where Evelyn learned to help with lighthouse work, to run a boat, fishing for extra income for the family. She also became teacher to her four children, instructing them in their schooling for many years. After working on various lighthouses for 30 years Jim and Evelyn retired to enjoy traveling, gardening and visiting with family. After Jim passed away Evelyn moved to Duncan where she became active in the community, especially enjoying the many crib tournaments she participated in and her garden. She will be missed by her family and friends, 4 children, 8 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren and 2 more on the way. A memorial service to be held on Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 2 pm at First Memorial Funeral Chapel 4725 Falaise Drive Victoria, BC. In lieu of flowers please make a donation in Evelyn’s name to a charity of your choice. 637755
After writing about the Bookboats and how the Thomas Crosby V used to bring us books to read from their onboard library, I was reminded of the libraries on each lighthouse I worked on. Each keeper that worked the island would leave a few books behind, mostly pocketbooks, and they would take with them new ones from our library.
Library on McInnes Island - photo Paul Kurbis
On McInnes Island lighthouse we had a library of a few hundred pocket books of all sorts. Sometimes, when we got desperate for new reading material we boxed up a bunch of books and sent them off to another lighthouse in return for a box of theirs. We also traded off magazines and newspapers whenever a helicopter came by. Continue reading Lighthouse Libraries and Their Book Boxes→
OK, I don’t play it, but Facebook says that 35, 566,567 people play it! Anyways, for those of you included in that 35, 566,567 Farmville is releasing a new farm in the Fall called appropriately Lighthouse Cove, so get your playing fingers ready, and go for it! As for me, I have no idea how to play the game, but maybe I might get interested in this part. Anybody going to tell me how you play? Continue reading Coming Soon to Facebook!→
The lighthouse had not always been a lighthouse. Once it had been a beautiful bride but now she stood up tall and still, shimmering against the sky, her body clad in her white dress, silky smooth.
The bride stared out to sea with her one yellow eye, slowly searching for her groom. She had stood there for so long that her feet had become part of the rocks and sand that she stood on, attaching her to the ground forever.
It was a beautiful sunset. The sky was rosy pink, the wishing star was shining above and a cool breeze was gently blowing. The bride wished that her dress would swish in the breeze but she had stood there for so long waiting for her groom that her dress had become stiff and moulded to her body. Continue reading “The Bride” – A Lighthouse Story→
– Ted Smithman (Son of Henry Herbert Smithman who was Senior Keeper at Sisters Island 1927 – 1929)
I was allowed a lot of freedom there [Sisters Island ]. I would find a broad flat chunk of log and sit on it and explore the coast of the whole island. Mum worried but Dad seemed to trust us not to do anything really stupid. Continue reading Kids and Boats on Sisters Island c. 1928→
– by Jeannie Nielsen (daughter of Ed Hartt, Senior Keeper on Langara 1957 – 1963)
Glass ball on a beach
I lived on Langara between the ages of about 10 – 16. We had many adventures while we were there. My favorite thing to do was beachcombing. In those days you could find “dollar bottles”. Ocean Station Papa sent out these bottles with a message stating that if the paper inside was returned, you would receive a dollar. (They did it for the purpose of tracking ocean currents.) A dollar was a lot of money to a child in those days (late fifties, early sixties), so finding one was a source of great excitement.
Japanese glass fishing balls were another treasure, although in those days, they were pretty common. They ranged in size from Ping-Pong ball size, to sizes larger than a basketball. Their colours were mostly green, although we did find them in brown. Sometimes they still had remnants of their net on. I have since heard that any that are purple are highly coveted, as they belong to nets belonging to ancient royalty. We never found any.
Dead sea animals were always a source of great interest to our dogs and myself. They expressed their delight by rolling in the remains, no matter how long dead and stinky! One carcass I found was a mystery we never solved. It was a bedraggled bald eagle, missing its talons from the mid point of his legs down, and missing the one portion of it’s beak. We wondered if he had hooked onto a fish far too big for him to drag to shore. Often there were remnants of a boat or wharf, pieces of bamboo, and other mysterious planks. One could only wonder where they originated from, and how long they had drifted. My child’s mind imagined pirates and wild shipwrecks and lost souls . . .
