Elaine Graham remains the only resident among the historical buildings at Point Atkinson Lighthouse. Photograph by: NEWS photo, Lisa King
ELAINE Graham was raised in the slums of London, far from the multi-hued green of nature.
“There was nothing on my street when I was growing up,” she recalls. “I had lots of play-friends, loads of kids to play with, but there wasn’t even a geranium on a windowsill.”
Many years later, Graham is now surrounded by 75 hectares of the largest first-growth stand of coastal-elevation trees in the Lower Mainland. Her home is nestled among the remaining structures at the base of Point Atkinson Lighthouse, which stands on a craggy promontory at the edge of Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver.
She has spent half her life here, and is eager to tell the story of her neck of the woods.
Graham moved to the Point Atkinson Lighthouse station with her husband Donald and two young sons in 1980. Donald became the last of the lighthouse keepers at the site (along with senior keeper Gerry Watson) when the lighthouse was automated in 1996.
Do you want to save a lighthouse? Do you like lighthouse Christmas ornaments? This article might appeal to you. It appeals to me because it is another way to raise money to save a lighthouse. If you look on this website, there are many more ideas too.
Reprinted with permission from Tim Croft of The Star
First published July 26, 2012 11:58 AM
Lighthouse ornament
The St. Joseph Historical Society (Port St. Joe, Florida) is encouraging folks to put a touch of lighthouse under the Christmas tree this year.
As part of a fund-raising effort in its quest to save the Cape San Blas Lighthouse from the wrath of Mother Nature, the Historical Society is selling a gorgeous brass-and-silver colored replica of the lighthouse in the form of a Christmas ornament.
Cape Blas lighthouse
Each ornament costs the Historical Society $10 – Cape San Blas Lighthouse is emblazoned across the top-front of the ornament, St Joseph Historical Society on the lower back – to produce.
I really do not know how these keep coming up, but here is a real island in the Gulf of Khambhat, India, and it is for sale! It tunrs out that it is an island full of fossil dinosaur eggs, giraffe and gigantic turtles. The owner Siddhrajsinh Raol has put the island up for sale at an undisclosed price.
June 17, 2012 – Times of India – Here is a news article on the sale with a bit more information.
Every point on this 90-acre island is riddled with fossils, some dating back 8,000 years. Fossils of two basic species of giraffes – Brahmatherium and Sivatherium – were found from the island in the 1860s. Those of the Hipparion have also been found here.
The lone lighthouse at the edge of the island only adds to its beauty. “Though the island is spread over 186 acres, the Directorate General of Lighthouse and Lightships owns the light house and its surroundings while the rest is mandatory government wasteland. I am the only private owner on the island. We have even offered the government that we could help them develop the wasteland,” says Raol.
And for the interested, here is the sales brochure. It is comically negative in its presentation, but also informative. When I was on McInnes Island lighthouse we had tides at times of twenty-two (22) feet (c, 7 meters). This gulf has tides of thirty-eight (38) feet – almost like the Bay of Funday in New Brunswick, Canada! Unbelievable!
Piram is located at 21º-35′ North and 72º-34’ East at a distance of 7.2 nautical miles south of Gogha and 4 nautical miles from the nearest part of main land. Asia’s biggest industrial belt stretching from Bharuch to Vapi is only 50 kilometres away. Diu and Daman, the famous tourist spots are only 80 nautical miles at a triangular distance, Pipavav, the major private port that is already functional is about 50 nautical miles and Mumbai, the main business centre of India is about 160 nautical miles Piram Island. – Introduction
The flow of water at the time of tide and ebb generates water current, which is the fastest in Asia, and in the world it is ranked at number two. It is like a river in spate, which reverses itself every six hours. Being part of the gulf system, the tides and ebbs at the coast of Piram are really remarkable, rising and falling by as much as 38 feet in just 6 hours which is the highest in Asia and second in the world. This is a mare natural feature in this region and makes it an exciting phenomenon. – Business Potential
Again I request, please let me know if you buy it!
In 1969 when I came on my first lighthouse at Pulteney Point it was a three man station. I was the new man on shift so I got the night shift.
photo from Friar Franks website - https://becketmonk.wordpress.com/
One of the first things I noticed when I came on shift were the number of deer on the lawn, even at eleven o’clock at night! They were everywhere. Pulteney Point had quite an extensive station area, and behind was dense forest.
It never failed that the deer came every night around dusk and left at daybreak. They just seemed to appear as if by magic – then one moment they were there and the next not.
I could not really sit and watch them all the time, and as I was on night shift (12 to 8 AM) they were already there when I woke up.
In the morning, as the sun started to rise we had station duties to perform which kept us inside or preoccupied so they came and they went on their own schedule.
Tricia's smile - photo Coldwell collection
I was on Pulteney Point for three (3) years. In the second year, my wife Karen and I searched for and found a Dalmatian pup which we brought back to the lighthouse. Tricia was a riot. She had a most infectious grin! She was also very easy to train. I trained her with hand signals so that in the woods I did not have to speak and scare the animals. This was for hunting later, but also for wildlife observing. A dog can sense an animal more quickly than we humans can.
The woods behind the station - photo Coldwell collection c. 1969
So, as Tricia started to grow, my shifts also changed as we went from a three-man station to a two-man station. Unfortunately that didn’t help me too much as my shift then went from 12 midnight until 12 noon with no overtime. Part of the government’s way of saving money!
One evening, when Tricia was well trained to hand signals I decided to explore back in the woods for the deer. A few hours before sunset Tricia and I stalked back into the woods to a small hill about a quarter mile behind the station.
Tricia about one yr. old - photo Coldwell collection
We parked ourselves below the crest of the hill and off to the side of the abundant deer trails. I dug out my binoculars and waited. And waited. And waited. Tricia not uttering even a whine.
It got dark. It got darker, but not a trace or sound of the deer. Tricia never even sensed them. I waited until two hours after dark and then headed back to the station. Maybe they weren’t coming tonight.
As I emerged from the trees, there was the whole herd, probably about twenty (20) of them eating peacefully on the lawn grass we had so carefully supplied for them. One or two looked up and I almost heard them ask “Where have you been?”
One of the beaches - photo Coldwell collection
Many times I searched for their tracks, looked on the sand on the beaches, watched out the windows, but I never saw them emerge – they just appeared! It was uncanny, but because of the coastal deer’s colour, at dusk it just blended into the surroundings.
On the station we had a great big fluorescent street lamp on a lamp pole – you can see it just before the red fuel tanks in the station photo at the top. It was just like those in the city, which someone in the government had given us to see better in the dark.
It was so bright we lost all night vision, and it was sometimes mistaken by the boats for the main light as it was brighter! With this the deer showed up, but without it, they would not be seen until we stumbled over them. They never moved when I came by, and even Tricia didn’t bother them or they her as she followed me up and down the sidewalks.
Not sorry a bit!
Speaking of sidewalks, I think they thought of them as their toilet. Every morning it was my job to sweep the sidewalks of brown raisins!
The deer were great to see, but one of their most annoying habits was the eating of the flowers in the gardens near the houses. They didn’t like newly-emerging daffodil leaves or tulip leaves, but they did love the flowers. Wow! We have flowers coming in the garden. Next morning nothing! That is where the title comes from. I heard it a long time ago – Where Bambi goes, nothing grows!
On February 18, 1967 at 00:30 hours, a giant wall of water slammed into Pine Island, destroying buildings and washing away equipment and personal possessions. [B&W photo left] The following article describes it well. (If anyone knows the author, or or where this article came from, please let me know so I can give credit. It appeared with the photo on the left of the page and the page was numbered 13. Thanks.- JAC)
***************************** Fury . . . and British Columbia
Pine Island, B.C. – The worst damage in the history of British Columbia’s coastal lighthouses was inflicted here recently when a 50 foot wall of water slammed into this tiny island during a raging storm. Continue reading Another Lighthouse Destroyed by the Sea! 1967→
January 19, 2013 – As of today’s date the property has not sold!
OK, it’s NOT a lighthouse, but it is a light, and it is on your own private island. Well, it could be yours if you have $75, 000, 000 to spare! We can always dream!
If you wanted you could build your own lighthouse in the middle, but why worry, it comes with a white (W) flashing (Fl) navigational light (see LL #227 above)1 off the NW point of the island. All yours with the purchase of the island.
Take a look at the photo below!
That is James Island off Sidney, British Columbia, Canada, and it is being listed by Sotheby’s International Realty Canada for the above-mentioned price. To quote the website:
Situated only a few miles off of Sidney, James Island is in close proximity to Victoria, British Columbia’s capital city, and is easily accessed by private plane or boat. A retreat like no other, James Island compares to only a handful of international properties. Improved with a magnificent 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, the island has been thoughtfully developed to seamlessly blend in with not only its surrounding environment, but also its history. A wide range of improvements complement the island including a masterpiece
owner’s residence of 5,000 square feet, 6 beautifully appointed guest cottages, private docks and airstrip, pool house, managers residence, a ‘western village’, and much more.
The place used to be a munitions factory for years, up until 1994, when it was sold for $19,000,000. In the end Canadian Industries Limited (CIL) used to make gunpowders and dynamite. I remember as a child seeing the signs on Vancouver Island that trespassing was forbidden.
America’s oldest wooden lighthouse! Built in 1831 and set on breathtaking Wickford Harbor,this iconic RI landmark is now one of it’s most admired waterfront estates. Casually elegant 4 bedroom main house,3 bedroom guest house,pool,new dock. Magical. – Residential Properties Ltd. Continue reading Lighthouse For Sale – Rhode Island, USA→
This story is not only about schooling! This is the whole family helping out to run the lighthouse while tending to daily living. Life on the lighthouse in the early days was anything but fun! – retlkpr
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– Elizabeth Kate (Stannard) Smithman (Wife of Henry Herbert Smithman who was Senior Keeper at Sisters Island 1927 – 1929)
Sisters Island
Children get their schooling by correspondence courses and lessons are supposed to be sent to Victoria every month if its possible. The parents have to be the teacher. I took on that job for we had to have a plan so all of us could get a certain amount of sleep.
We would work it like this: Bert would go to bed right after supper after he lit the light. I would call him about 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. and he would get up and watch from then ’till the light could be put out at daylight. Continue reading Schooling on the Sisters Lighthouse c. 1927→
– Elizabeth Kate (Stannard) Smithman (Wife of Henry Herbert Smithman who was Senior Keeper at Sisters Island 1927 – 1929). Story donated by her grandson Allen Smithman.
Sisters Island c. 1927 - photo Allen Smithman
A Near Miss at Sisters Island c. 1928
One evening while I was taking the night watch till 2:30 a.m. I was sitting writing a letter and all at once I heard a lot of noise like a big engine and lots of music playing. I jumped up and went outside and I was struck nearly speechless for there was a big Alaska liner so close to the lighthouse, just over the highest reef in the rocks that was there.
The music and singing sounded so close. I stood there waiting every second to hear it crash. I thought of the Titanic instantly and I was afraid to even move. My first thought was of course was that the light had gone out but just then I saw a flash go over the liner and I knew the light was OK. It gave me such a scare, I was shaking all over and I went and called Bert to look at the big liner that had just gone right over the top of the reef. He said “My God”! If those people had only known just how close they had come to disaster they wouldn’t be singing like that – of course they would have sung “Nearer My God to Thee” like the people on the Titanic did. (Strange he should think of that disaster too). It was really a pretty sight. (The liner itself I mean) for it was all lit up and it looked like a big long tall Christmas tree. Continue reading Incidents at Sisters & Ballenas Islands c. 1920s→
