I have always been enthralled about the stories of light houses - the strong and resolute men who manned them [lots of men in there] but also their families that were often unspoken and unheard of ? They have become modernized in many ways now [ both] but still provide a lonely but essential function. How did you become a lighthouse man and how did you survive??
Light Houses - still going strong?
- Thread starter smiley
- Start date
MoBeans
Member
In this age of GPS navigation lighthouses are becoming less necessary, The one in our town was decommissioned and turned over to a preservation trust. That said there are still hundreds of working lighthouses in the US. I was always impressed by this photo of a lighthouse keeper in France. What an amazingly well built structure to withstand that constant pounding. That job would be a big nope for me.
Capt Lightning
Well-known Member
- Location
- Historic Buchan, Scotland
The Northern lighthouse board operates and maintains 208 lighthouses round Scotland and the Isle of Man. Many of these were designed and built by the Stevenson family.
This is Dunnet head Lighthouse which is the most northerly one on the UK mainland.
This is Dunnet head Lighthouse which is the most northerly one on the UK mainland.
jujube
SF VIP
I love lighthouses. Once, when we were in an RV park near Eastport, Maine on a bay off the Bay of Fundy, we could see three lighthouses' beams at night and hear the foghorns whenever the fog rolled in, which it did frequently.
That was the greatest sound, very eerie.
The lighthouses of Oregon are very picturesque and I loved visiting them when I'd visit my sister.
That was the greatest sound, very eerie.
The lighthouses of Oregon are very picturesque and I loved visiting them when I'd visit my sister.
Mitch86
Member
- Location
- Connecticut, USA
I believe that Radar and Sonar have made light houses obsolete!
Aunt Bea
SF VIP
- Location
- Near Mount Pilot
This mighty little working lighthouse on Lake Ontario in Oswego N.Y. makes a nice stop as part of a day trip any time of year.
Pam
Well-known Member
- Location
- Cumbria, England.
The lighthouse in my town was latterly 'manned' by a woman, Peggy Braithwaite.
Born on 9th July 1919 on Piel Island, Peggy Swarbrick moved to Walney as a small girl from Barrow.
Peggy’s father was appointed Assistant Keeper and later promoted to Principal Keeper. By the end of the war, there were 5 children, so Peggy’s sister Ella was kept on as Assistant Keeper. When her father died, Peggy’s brother in law took over and her sister remained Assistant Keeper.
Peggy took over as Assistant Keeper in 1967, having married now retired engineer Ken Braithwaite. When her brother in law died in 1975 she was promoted to Principal Keeper, becoming the only female Principal Keeper in the country. Mrs Braithwaite was awarded an MBE in 1984.
Isle of Walney Lighthouse, Cumbria - Lighthouse Accommodation
Warrigal
SF VIP
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
This is the Macquarie Lighthouse, built in the early days of the convict settlement in New South Wales. It guided ships to the entrance to Sydney Harbour. It is built on a cliff, not on some rock in the sea.
JustDave
Well-known Member
Yes, probably obsolete, and those still in existence are automated and don't require a person to be there turning the light on, but I hope they never get rid of all of them. They are splendid structures, and even with my GPS, I still would still take time to take bearings on them from my boat to triangulate my position. Unnecessary of course, but still a reassuring activity, and a way to check on my old skills, as obsolete as they were.