The morning sun was already bright when we awoke. I set up breakfast while Teare straightened up upstairs. After breakfast, she made a trip to pick up inventory for the shop while I took a walk. It was a beautiful morning for a walk and I ended up carrying my jacket. When I arrived back at the lighthouse, it was time to prepare for the tour day.
Bill and Gretchen Schmidt arrived soon after Teare, and we divided tour responsibilities and planned a farewell dinner together. Today, I would be in the tower. As I climbed to the tower, I did what I do continually throughout the day - make sure the light is working. I waited the requisite 26.5 seconds but for the first time I did not see the light come on. I waited longer….no light! A tour group had already been admitted and was expecting to visit the tower. After my call to the Coast Guard and Dottie, our advisor, I suspended the tower part of the tour until I could replace the light. I followed the procedures which involves cutting the 750 watt electric source and wearing cotton gloves to handle the new halogen bulb. We turned the power back on ….. and no light. This meant we had to replace the fuse. This involved a little more work and some additional tools. After cutting power once again, and getting what we needed, we had to get into the switching mechanism. It took needle nose pliers to replace the small fuse in the switch, but we made sure the contact points on the fuse cradle were lined up with the fuse and gently pushed it into place. I replaced the switch plate, then the plate over the power box. Next, I called down to Teare to turn on the breaker. Once confirmed, I switched on the power switch in the tower for the beacon light….
It came on immediately! I watched until it repeated it’s unique light signature of 3.5 seconds on followed by 26.5 seconds off. Once I confirmed this, I drew a huge sigh of relief. Now I felt like a real lighthouse keeper! I called the Coast Guard to report the light as operational then called Dottie to report same. Everyone was happy, including me, and we resumed tower tours as usual.
After the tour, we had lunch and I went to the Piland Room and was looking through the antique books. As I write I am using the antique secretary drop-down writing desk. It was built in the 1860’s and has three shelves within a glass cabinet full of antique books. Built into the writing surface is a piece of fabric with the consistency of soft burlap. The purpose of the fabric is to absorb the excess ink from the quill pens used in that era. The ink would be contained in the fabric and not discolor the wood surface. The secretary is a piece of Eastlake furniture. Charles Eastlake was an English architect and writer and considered the father of the Arts and Crafts style of furniture. Replacing the light was meaningful and reporting those events on this period furniture makes the experience complete.
I came across two books in the secretary that caught my eye. The first was a miniature bound edition of Troops in Campaign - Regulations for the Army of the United States printed in 1892. The 4 by 5 inch book outlined everything from Issue of Rations, Occupations, Prisoners of War to Movement of Troops. Here are a couple exerpts: “Section 86: Whoever intentionally kills or wounds an enemy already disabled, or who encourages others to do so, shall suffer death.” “Section 91: A prisoner of war, while attempting to escape, may be shot, but if recaptured neither death or any other punishment shall be inflicted upon him simply for his attempt to escape, which the laws of war do not consider a crime.”
The second book I read from was a portion of Presidents of the United States by John S.C. Abbot and Russell H. Conwell. Copyright H. Hallett and Co., 1881. I read the section devoted to George Washington. What was interesting was how General Washington was an advocate for prisoner rights and the humane treatment of prisoners of war. I saw a direct link to the humane treatment outlined in the Army manual over a hundred years later. Washington was not afraid of challenge and was a man of high character. I also liked his sense of punctuality. If dinner was at 4:00 PM, he was seated and in place by 3:55. To those who came late he once remarked “Gentlemen, we are punctual here. My cook never asks whether the company has arrived, but whether the hour has.”
The Piland room is full of antiques and is dedicated to Wayne Piland. Wayne was the last lighthouse keeper before the light was automated in 1953. As early as 1949, Wayne was writing letters to anyone and everyone to save the lighthouse. When Wayne left in 1953, the Historical Society of Del Norte County took it over with the Coast Guard who used it as a receiving station and had a crew come around and service the light. This lasted until 1965 when the light itself was decommissioned and the Historical Society took over completely. This makes the lighthouse lived in continuously for 160 years.
After dinner, we worked for much of the rest of the day. Teare cleaned the downstairs. I cleaned upstairs and all the tower glass.
Later, Teare was watching the sunset with a couple from Sweden, their son and his girlfriend. We ended up providing a private tour of the lighthouse. The views from the tower were beautiful tonight as we were up there just after sunset. At the conclusion of our visit and tour, they invited us to Sweden so they could show us around!
I now have fed Fred out of my hand for three days in a row. Below, is a short piece devoted to my buddy Fred, the sea gull.
Ode to Fred
There you are again.
You come and go like the tide.
When I think you’ll be there,
you fly and hide.
I know you’re a mooch,
but I can’t help but like you,
and besides,
I haven’t got a pooch!
I like it when you do unusual gull things
like walk behind me
or eat out of my hand.
The capper was when you pulled grass
and waddled over and dropped it in front of me
….like a Golden Retriever.
But nesting material means a lot to you
so I thank you for it.
Yep Fred, you are one gull with personality.
I guess that’s why I like you
and why I’ll miss you when we leave.
You'll have to break in a new keeper.
wvr 6/23/16
Closing for now with a new light and fuse.
The Battery Point Light is operational.
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