Lighthouse keeping around the world was often a family affair. Generations felt the call to be lighthouse keepers to keep the light bright to help preserve the safety of those at sea. Understand that being a lighthouse keeper as a full-time career is almost a thing of the past.
There are few remaining lighthouses in the world that employ full-time keepers. The U. Coast Guard can help provide information about remaining lighthouse careers, but they do not use volunteer services. Check with the National Park Service. Various states do permit volunteers to staff their lighthouses. The good Lightkeeper had or acquired the temperament so necessary for this job which involved residence close to the sea and which had much loneliness and isolation in its composition.
While primary duties were to keep watch at night, to ensure that his light flashed correctly to character, and to keep a fog watch throughout each 24 hours, so as to be ready to operate the fog signal in the event of poor visibility, a Lightkeeper must be a man of parts.
He would acquire a good working knowledge of engines; at stations with Radio Beacons and Radar Beacons he would initially be responsible for their accurate operation: he would know about Radio Telephones; from his study of the sea he would respect its immense power; he would be a handyman of varying proficiency but mostly of a high standard; he would be a useful cook and a good companion.
Some of the programs require a fee while others may be free. The light keeper program of the Tawas Point Lighthouse -- located in Lake Huron's Tawas Bay along Michigan's sunrise coast -- is one of those that's free. And it's a perfect, picturesque example of how many lighthouse keeper programs work, on the Great Lakes as well as at other historic lighthouse locations along our country's coasts. Tawas Point Lighthouse has been in operation since and is located 2.
The historic foot lighthouse -- 85 wrought iron steps up to the cupola housing the light -- sits on the acre peninsula that makes up Tawas Point State Park, dubbed the "Cape Cod of the Midwest. Those chosen to participate in the Light Keeper program are provided free lodging at the Tawas Point Lighthouse free of charge during their scheduled gig.
Individuals without a partner may apply and attempts will be made to match with another solo applicant, but partner applications are preferable as pairing strangers for four-week stints in a lighthouse can be awkward. Light note: Though those in the position are called light keepers, working the light in any form or fashion is not part of the job.
Most lighthouses today, like the Tawas Point Lighthouse, are no longer used as official navigational guides for the shipping industry, as GPS has taken over the role. The lights do, however, help aid locals and others out on the water find their way home. There are, fortunately, no bears, cougars, or wolves on Lennard Island, says Woodward -- although she has encountered such animals on other BC lightstations.
The wildlife and remarkable landscapes provide plenty of inspiration for her writing, too. Woodward recently finished a young adult dystopian novel, which she says was directly inspired by the stunning surrounds of the North Pacific Ocean.
She's also written a memoir about her life, focusing on her time on Lennard Island, called Light Years: Memoir of a Modern Lighthouse Keeper , which was published in Searching for adventure.
Woodward and George moved to Lennard Island back in Previously, Woodward worked for many years in publishing "in various capacities including 'slush pile' editor, publicist, managing editor, bookseller, publishers' sales representative, creative writing teacher. Woodward's also traveled extensively, including a solo bicycle ride through Greece and a period spent hiking through Nepal.
Woodward's always loved writing, but when she and George married and had their son, Seamus, she'd found it harder to find the time to work on her books. By the mid-noughties, Seamus was grown up, and Woodward was searching for "another way to buy myself time to write. Her own childhood, she suggests, helped pave the way for both her career as an author and her role as a lighthouse keeper.
Woodward grew up in the s and 60s on what she describes as a "homestead" in British Columbia. She was one of three children of her Dutch mother and Welsh father, who'd met during the Second World War and emigrated to Canada. We had horses for transportation until a tractor and then a car were bought while I was in elementary school," she recalls.
Woodward and her husband were inspired to turn to lighthouse life after an serendipitous meeting with a relief lightkeeper on a British Columbia ferry, back in Woodward got chatting to him, and she was immediately entranced by his stories, and intrigued by the lighthouse lifestyle.
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