Sail_On

One of my Christmas gifts from my son and daughter-in-law was a book, "The Golden Age of American Lighthouses." Wonderful for the lighthouse and/or history buff! The black and white photos below are from this book. Lighthouse keepers tended to be very interesting people and many, past interesting, and more along the lines of "characters." They often lived lives of isolation, some with families, sometimes alone (well, not exactly alone, almost every photo in the book includes man's best friend, a trusty canine companion). And I learned that some very famous lighthouse keepers were women, even as far back as the mid-1800's! It's a bit sad to see so many photos of beautiful lighthouses that have been demolished in the name of progress. But, it's nice to know that there's a more hopeful future for the ones which remain. Let's pack a lunch and take a trip to the coast.....have a picnic in the shadow of an old lighthouse. Nancy

Sail On

Steadfast, serene, immovable,
The same year after year,
Through all the silent night,
Burns on forever more,
That quenchless flame,
Shines on that inextinguishable light!
Sail on! It says, sail on,
Ye stately ships,
And with your floating bridge,
The ocean span:
Be yours to bring man nearer unto man.
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

An early 20th century Sunday afternoon outing at a Massachusetts lighthouse.

The Fort Tompkins lighthouse overlooked New York's Verazano Narrows and its beacon guided countless thousands of freighters to the wharves of New York City. Sadly, it no longer stands.

An unidentified lighthouse keeper's family, early 1900's

One of the oldest US lighthouse photos in existence, this picture dates to about 1840.
The Cape Cod lighthouse was built in 1816.
Notice the chickens to the right; most lighthouse keepers had to be self-sufficient.

The kitchen of the White Island Station, on the outer edge of the Isle of Shoals, several miles east of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, ca 1900.

The Lighthouse Service used lightships to identify shipping lanes or mark remote navigational obstacles where it was impossible to build a lighthouse; they were floating lighthouses. Lightships were vulnerable to collisions and storms and were considered among the most dangerous duty stations for keepers.

It's BRASSWORK.....
Oh what is the bane of a lighthouse keeper's life,
That causes him worry, struggle and strife,
That even might cause him to beat his wife?

It's BRASSWORK.....
The devil himself could never invent
A material causing more worldwide lament,
And, in Uncle Sam's service, about ninety percent.

It's BRASSWORK.....
The machinery, clockwork and fog signal bell,
The coal hods, the dustpans, the pump in the well,
No, I'll leave it to you mates if it isn't, well

BRASSWORK.....
I dig, scrub and polish, and work with a might,
And just when I get it all shining and bright,
In comes the fog like a thief in the night.

Goodbye BRASSWORK.....
Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud,
In the short span of life that he is allowed,
If all the lining in every dark cloud

Is BRASSWORK.....
And when I have polished until I am old,
And have taken my oath to the heavenly fold,
Will my harp and my crown be made of pure gold?

No! BRASSWORK

Frederic Morong, Jr. was the son of a Maine lighthouse keeper and he worked for many years as a Lighthouse Service machinist. Anyone who's ever had to keep something polished will appreciate the poem he penned, BRASSWORK.

Frederic Morong, Jr.

The Ponquogue Point Lighthouse

For many years I used to sit and watch from out my window,
The flashing of a great light that set my heart aglow.
And I knew that far at sea ships that would pass by,
Could see that flashing light the same as I.

Then came the day when word went out that its job was done,
And its light would be dimmed at the rising of the sun.
They said that it was dangerous and might tumble down,
Yet it stood a mighty hurricane from its foot up to its crown.

But now the great light is no more, gone beyond recall.
We did our best to save it and with tears we watched it fall,
Good for another hundred years, that's what the debris showed,
But all we have is a memory of when the Ponquogue Lighthouse glowed.

Below left: The Ponquogue Pt. lighthouse as it falls to the ground during demolition.

LINKS:

The World's Lighthouses, Lightships and Lifesaving Stations

Legendary Lighthouses

America's Lighthouses

Lighthouses: A Photographic Journey

Florida Lighthouse Page

New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide

Haunted Lighthouses

Music: Long, Long Ago

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