A lot of contacts that I have made with this website have given me permission to use some of their lighthouse photos and art to illustrate my stories. Quarter Master Design is one of these. Perusing the website today, I decided that instead of showing selected items to wet your appetite, I would print a copy of their home page for you to see. Click on the picture above to go to the website of Eric Nevatie at Quarter Master Design – beautiful!
Tag Archives: lighthouse
Triple Island – Inside the Lighthouse – 2012
In June 22, 2011 I published an article about the Triple Island 3rd order lens which has now been replaced with a flashlight (see the article).
I have never spent any work time on Triple Island, but I have landed there once or twice with the Coast Guard helicopters as a passenger. I never did have any time to explore.
There are two lighthouse keepers on Triple Island who rotate every twenty-eight (28) days with two other keepers. I always wondered what it would be like to live there in this day and age.
One of the keepers, my friend Glenn Borgens, has sent me some wonderful photos of the inside of the Triple Island lighthouse that I am going to share with you. For twenty-eight days, it looks like a comfortable place to live and work. Continue reading Triple Island – Inside the Lighthouse – 2012
Groceries and Mail on a Lighthouse
Some of you may wonder why the number of stories about re-supplying the lighthouses exceeds the others on this site by a large margin (lots more coming!). Next to the family and job, the arrival of the mail and groceries was the most important event in the life of the lightkeeping family.
Imagine no telephone, no television, no two-way radio, possibly no AM radio, and no contact with the outside world except what you saw going by your window. The post was and still is the most important contact to the real world. Continue reading Groceries and Mail on a Lighthouse
Hurricane on Langara Island – 1962
– Jeannie (Hartt) Nielsen (daughter of Ed Hartt, Senior Keeper on Langara 1957 – 1963)
I had gone by myself to the cabin for a weekend, and in the evening of the second day I was sitting in front of an open campfire watching the sun set. As the sun sank in the sky, a fast moving band of black cloud moved in.
By midnight that night, the wind was screaming, and the sound of the ocean was ferocious. I could see nothing in the black night, and shone my flashlight toward the bay. All I could see was spray and white water. I watched anxiously for any sign of water coming in under the cabin walls, as the cabin was not far from high tide mark. And from the sound of the ocean, it was wild out there. I was scared. I laid awake all night listening to the sounds of crashing branches, and just hoped that one of the giant trees around the cabin wouldn’t come down. It would have been foolhardy to try to go home in the dark, so all I could do was wait it out. Continue reading Hurricane on Langara Island – 1962
Surviving on Fiddle Reef Lighthouse c. 1950s
On January 21, 2012 I wrote about a family that lived on the lighthouses in the 1950s up to the 1960s, all in the days of no electricity – only kerosene lamps. I now have another installment from Ms. Juanita (Swanson) DuLong. She was only four years old at the time on Fiddle Reef, but memories are hard to erase – especially Lighthouse Memories!
The map above shows the location of Fiddle Reef (1898 – 1978) just off Oak Bay, Victoria, BC. The lighthouse was on the rock under the green arrow. The lighthouse is long gone and is replaced with a white cylindrical tower with a white light and a red sector. Continue reading Surviving on Fiddle Reef Lighthouse c. 1950s
Lighthouse History – 38 (1910-11-30 to 1911-06-25)
The following extracts taken from early Victoria, British Columbia (BC) newspapers are credited to Leona Taylor for her excellent work in indexing the papers. Full information can be found here: ”Index of Historical Victoria Newspapers“, 2007-09.
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After a rough passage from West Coast Vancouver Island Tees returned to port yesterday with 60 passengers from Holberg and other ports of the island coast. News was brought by Tees that the little tug bought a short time ago by Captain Milliken, of Alberni, suffered severely during a heavy gale on Sun night, her deckhouses being swept away and a deckload of lumber lost when enroute to Ucluelet from Alberni. Tees was tied up 4 times during the voyage owing to heavy weather, sheltering at Tofino during the gale of Sun night. Among passengers were Mr Britton, timber cruiser from Holberg, J Pearson, of the New Vancouver Coal Co, from Quatsino, J W Jones, who is working a copper property at Sydney Inlet, J Killeen, resident Engineer of the Marine and Fisheries dept, who has been overlooking construction work at the lighthouse being built at Nootka. The cargo included a shipment of salmon from Toquart and 54 drums of whale oil from the Kyuquot whaling station [Colonist, 1910-11-30] Continue reading Lighthouse History – 38 (1910-11-30 to 1911-06-25)
Discovery Island Lighthouse Rots in the Sun
Automated in 1977, these videos show what happens to a sadly neglected automated lighthouse. What a place for a B&B! Thanks to Discovery Island website for the information. Just for your information discoveryisland.ca does not seem to be working anymore.
The two following videos I found on Youtube were originally posted by the website discoveryisland.ca
Take a look at the tower and lantern that the keepers so meticulously maintained.
Originally the keepers at Discovery Island would manual record the wind speed and direction, air temperature, sea temperature, humidity, sea level pressure, wave height, ocean swell height and direction, visibility and sky condition and then report it back via radio about seven times a day. Now due to the automation of the lighthouse the weather reports have gone the same way.
The new weather Instrument are mounted on the top of the tower and measure the wind speed and temperature and then automaticly report it back to Environment Canada, when it is not broken.
Only twenty-seven MANNED lighthouses are remaining says the government!
Save Canada’s Lighthouses
CALLING OUR CANADIAN FRIENDS – What do the Georgian Bay lighthouses at Killarney, Bustard Rocks, Gereaux Island, Pointe au Baril, Red Rock, Snug Harbour, Jones Island and Christian Island have in common? They are all timber frame structures and the Canadian Coast Guard has ignored the spirit of the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, and declared them to be surplus. Unless they are nominated for heritage status by May 29, 2012 and stewards identified who are willing to take on the prohibitively expensive task of maintaining them in accordance with heritage standards, the Canadian Coast Guard may demolish them and replace them with skeletal galvanized towers. The Heritage Canada Foundation is organizing a petition to the Federal government to provide funds to local groups to help them save these lighthouses for future generations, If you are a Canadian, visit the following website, sign the petition, and let your voice be heard.
http://www.heartofstonephoto.com/ photos/ save-georgian-bay-lighthous es
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Day of Departure – Going on Leave c.1970s
In the days before portable radios and instant communications, we were always apprehensive about the day we headed out for holidays.
First there was the weather which as everone knows on the West Coast of Canada is always unpredictable even with modern weather forecasting. We observed the weather but rarely got any weather forecasts.
Next came the Coast Guard. Our long-awaited flight could be diverted for search and rescue, maintenance, or any of a hundred other reasons. Continue reading Day of Departure – Going on Leave c.1970s
Manual – 1875 Rules and Instructions for Lighthouse-Keepers
Published in 1875, this book laid down the rules and regulations for Lighthouse-Keepers. It was the LAW!
Download the complete book here in PDF format (13.3 MBs – right click the link for more options)
If you wish to print the book, the published size was 6.5″ x 9.25″ (16.5 x 23.25 cms.)