Light Hearted

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Dianna Stampfler has written countless articles for many Michigan travel and culture periodicals. In August 2004, she launched Promote Michigan to help market the people, places, and products of her home state. Dianna has also been researching Michigan’s lighthouses for more than 10 years. In 2019, she published her book Michigan’s Haunted Lighthouses through the History Press.

Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state, with more than 120 dotting its expansive Great Lakes shoreline. Many of these lighthouses lay claim to haunted happenings.

Dianna is currently writing a book called Death & Lighthouses of the Great Lakes: A History of Misfortune & Murder, which is due to be published in March 2022.

Michigan’s Big Bay Point Lighthouse stands on a high bluff on the state’s Upper Peninsula, about 24 miles northwest of Marquette on Lake Superior. The light was deactivated in 1961 and the property was sold into private ownership. Later owners turned the lighthouse into a bed and breakfast inn in 1986. The owner since May 2018 is Nick Korstad.

Before he bought the property, Nick bought and restored Borden Flats Lighthouse in Fall River, Massachusetts, a project for which he was featured on several national TV shows and received a “Keeper of the Light” award from the American Lighthouse Foundation.

In the interview in this episode, Nick talks about an unusual experience at Big Bay Point Lighthouse, and he also discusses strange happenings at Borden Flats Lighthouse.

The Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, or ARLHS, was formed in 2000. The ARLHS is devoted to maritime communications, amateur radio, lighthouses, and lightships. Its members travel to lighthouses around the world where they operate amateur radio equipment at or near the light stations.

Other goals of the ARLHS include working to increase public awareness of the role ham radio and lighthouses have played in assisting and maintaining safety at sea; aiding with the preservation of lighthouses; and fostering camaraderie and fellowship among ham radio operators nationally and internationally. The ARLHS also maintains a World List of Lights.

John Huggins is an electrical engineer living in Virginia. He has experience in astronomy, aerospace, and the radio communication field, and he reviews and writes about antennas and other technical topics in various online publications. John became the president of the ARLHS in 2016.

Dan Romanchik has been an electronics engineer, a software developer, an engineering manager, a writer/blogger/editor, a teacher/trainer, and a website developer. He’s written a series of books called the “No-Nonsense Amateur Radio License Study Guides,” and he also has a popular blog on all aspects of ham radio operating. He’s been involved with the ARLHS in recent years.

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The light station on East Brother Island in Richmond, California, was established in 1874 . After nearly a century as a staffed light station, East Brother was automated and destaffed in the summer of 1969. The building deteriorated for a decade until the Coast Guard granted a license for restoration to a new nonprofit organization, East Brother Light Station, Inc.

The property was restored and eventually the doors were opened for overnight guests.  The COVID-19 pandemic forced the bed and breakfast operation to close down at the end of last June. The resident caretakers left and board member Desiree Heveroh moved in as the resident keeper.

In early April, a 30-year-old, 2000-foot-long underwater power cable, installed and owned by the Coast Guard, failed. A permanent fix to the cable will be very expensive. Funds are desperately needed so the light station won’t fall into disrepair, and so it can reopen for overnight stays.

Host Jeremy D’Entremont and co-host Cindy Johnson recently interviewed Desiree Heveroh about the current situation.

Website for East Brother Island Light Station

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The lighthouse at Sumburgh Head, established in 1821, is the oldest lighthouse in the Shetland Islands, a part of Scotland. The light station is on a dramatic promontory at the southern tip of Mainland, Shetland, the largest of the islands and the fifth largest island in the British Isles. It was designed by Robert Stevenson, one of the most prolific and celebrated lighthouse engineers in the world. The tower is 56 feet tall, and the light is about 300 feet, or 91 meters, above the sea. Because Sumburgh Head is exposed to severe weather conditions, the walls of the lighthouse were built twice as thick as usual.

The station was automated in 1991 and the former keepers’ houses and the other buildings except for the lighthouse tower are now owned by the Shetland Amenity Trust. The Trust has renovated and restored the buildings to create a world-class visitor attraction.

Brian Johnson’s connection with Sumburgh Head Lighthouse goes back many years, beginning when he took a position as Supernumerary Assistant Keeper in 1969. Most of Brian’s lighthouse career was spent as a mechanical technician. He refurbished the foghorn at Sumburgh Head, and on special occasions visitors can watch as he expertly starts the diesel engine to sound the foghorn.

Jane Outram first visited Shetland for three weeks and is still there 18 years later. She initially worked with the archaeological team of the Shetland Amenity Trust. When a position as a guide at Sumburgh Head became available in 2015, she jumped at the opportunity. Then, in 2019, she made the move to the site supervisor position.

Here is the transcript of the interview:

JEREMY

I’m speaking today with Jane Outram and Brian Johnson, who

JANE OUTRAM

Thank you, it’s great to be here.

JEREMY

First of all, can you explain where the Shetland islands

JANE

Yes, of course. So Shetland is an archipelago of around

JEREMY

So how do people get to Shetland from mainland Scotland?

JANE

So there are two options for getting to Shetland. You can

JEREMY

Okay. I was reading that the weather conditions at

JANE

Well, really, the weather here is no worse than any exposed headland in Northern Scotland. Lighthouses by their very nature and purpose tend to be situated in very exposed locations. And I’m often surprised that even on a windy day, how sheltered it can feel within the grounds of Sumburgh Head. But overall, it doesn’t rain very much in Shetland. And we have mild winters with temperatures between five to ten degrees warmer than other places on the same latitude. And this is down to the influence of the Gulf Stream.

That’s not to say that we don’t get our fair share of wind here. Margaret Anderson, an assistant keeper’s wife, told us that she could remember watching her husband, Leslie, on his hands and knees against the strength of the wind, trying to reach the tower. And Tommy Eunson, who was an occasional keeper at Sumburgh Head from 1968, said that his predecessor had told him he’d want seeing sea spray up within the tower, some 300 feet above sea level. Tommy said he could scarcely believe it until he saw it for himself in what he described as a flying hurricane. So yeah, I suppose the weather can get a little bit fresh at Sumburgh Head.

JEREMY

It sounds like some pretty serious wind there, I’d say.

JANE

The walls at the lighthouse were designed and built to a

JEREMY

As you just mentioned, Sumburgh Head Lighthouse was designed

JANE

It’s hard to find something to say about Robert Stevenson

JEREMY

Was there anything in particular about the keepers and

JANE

Well, I think the thing that stands out for me was their resilience. Light keepers and their families were a hardy bunch, able to weather the storm and always make the best of their situation. And there are so many great stories from former keepers. I remember reading about George Cusiter, who took a post as assistant keeper here from 1959. He arrived with his wife and his one-year-old daughter, and they lived in the cottage to the west of the tower. He described the accommodation as primitive as they had no electricity, no running water, and no proper bathroom. In fact, at the time there was an outdoor chemical toilet, the contents of which George had to tick down a way chute, basically a hole in the perimeter wall with the sea below. But George said, on a windy night, what went down the chute . . .  I’ll leave you to guess the rest.

But George also mentioned the kind of foibles and quirks of life at a lighthouse, for example, when the grocer’s van arrived, the principal keeper’s wife had first choice followed by the first assistant keeper’s wife. But as George was the second assistant keeper, his wife was always last to enter the grocer’s van and had to make do with whatever was left. And I think this kind of pecking order spilled over into other domestic chores.

JEREMY

Brian, your association with the lighthouse at Sumburgh Head,

BRIAN

Well, one of my uncles served as keeper at Sumburgh, and I

JEREMY

So what was life like for keepers at Sumburgh?

BRIAN

Well, Sumburgh Head was always considered to be a very

JEREMY

Also, Brian, I understand you spent three years as a

BRIAN

Just as a wee note – Cape Wrath is, in fact, the most

JEREMY

So you were a lighthouse technician for many years and you

BRIAN

As mechanical technicians, we repaired. The light room

JEREMY

I know that Sumburgh today has an operational foghorn and

BRIAN

It’s not operational as a marine signal anymore. It’s only

JEREMY

So are there are any other special occasions when the horn

BRIAN

Yes, we have blown it on request, if a group of some

JANE

 Well, I was just

JEREMY

Wow, I guess not. It does that very loudly, I’d say. So I

BRIAN

It’s a siren diaphragm. It’s slightly different from a

JEREMY

And I, I think there’s a YouTube video that shows – I

BRIAN

There’s been several that have been made. I’m not sure

JANE

There are quite a few, but yeah, we produced one a few

JEREMY

Wow. That’s pretty impressive. So Brian, when I was

BRIAN

Well, I believe you have been in contact with Peter of  “Follow the Lights.”

JEREMY

Yes, Peter Gellatly, yes.

BRIAN

Well, Peter was staying in the accommodation and he shadowed me going about my duties and he was also there, I believe it was the summer opening [of the] season and we did the foghorn blow. And he decided on this dance step to represent what I did. That’s really how it came about. Peter Gellatly, he wrote it.

JEREMY

Peter’s a great guy and, I’m sure he meant it as a tribute

JANE

Actually, this is a story that I’ve been following up on recently. It relates back to a ship, the Royal Victoria, that was abandoned at sea during her maiden voyage on the 19th of January 1864. The crew was forced into two wooden lifeboats with the intention of staying together, making a course for Orkney. But the two boats parted company during that first night. Four days later, the first lifeboat reached Melby, on the west side of Shetland. In the intervening days, word of the Royal Victoria’s abandonment had been picked up by the press. And there was real interest in the concern for the fate of her crew. On the sixth day, the second boat reached Scatness here in the South Mainland, although some on board had died of exposure, including the captain and six of the crew.

The local people who were out gathering driftwood at the time helped the stranded sailors, but it was noted that Captain Leslie must have perished the moment they reached the shore, because his body was still warm and his watch was still ticking away inside his pocket. A local doctor, Dr. Cowie, was sent from Lerwick to attend to the survivors. And on his way to Sumburgh, he encountered a company of 250 men carrying the coffins of Captain Leslie and his crew to nearby Dunrossness Kirk, where they were interred together. Dr. Cowie said it was the most impressive sight he’d ever witnessed.

The owners of the Royal Victoria was so grateful to the people of Shetland for the kindness they has shown their crew that they gifted a bell to Sumburgh Head to be sounded during fog. And this became the first fog warning at Sumburgh Head. By all accounts, it was never very successful, the problem being finding someone to ring the bell indefinitely during prolonged periods of foul weather and fog. Sometime before 1890 it had fallen out of use and it was agreed that the bell would be of better use at the Kirk. So it was moved to the belfry of Dunrossness where it resides to this day. The Sumburgh foghorn was operational from 1906, and a big improvement on a bell.

JEREMY

I’m sure. I’m sure it was hard to hear that bell in really

JANE

Chain Home Low was the name of the British early warning radar system operated by the Royal Air Force during World War II. But at the start of the war, the RAF had no operational air defense radars in Shetland. Instead, the Royal Navy organized their own radar stations called Admiralty Experimental Stations. And these went from the northern tip of mainland Scotland at Dunnet Head to the island of Unst in the North. There was six stations altogether, four of which were in Shetland, including Admiralty Experimental Station One, located within the grounds of Sumburgh Head. It was operational from December 1939. So this station was tasked with plotting surface u-boats attempting to go from the North Sea into the North Atlantic. And it was also capable of detecting aircraft who were transmitting and receiving radio waves.

The principal keeper at the time, William Groat, was unhappy to find his home and his place of work overtaken by war and William wrote to the Northern lighthouse board on more than one occasion because he was concerned that the military presence made Sumburgh Head an easy target, putting the men, women, and children at risk. Time would show that the keeper was right to be concerned, when in the following few years Fair Isle South suffered two fatal attacks from enemy aircraft, killing the assistant keeper’s wife and the principal keeper’s wife and daughter.

But despite William Groat’s concerns, both the Admiralty and the ministry of shipping would not budge because they knew enemy shipping and submarines used the North Sea as their preferred route into the North Atlantic, making Shetland, and in particular Sumburgh Head, an important base, for both the Navy and the Air Force. And on the 8th of April 1940 — so this was the eve of the German invasion of Denmark and Norway – Admiralty Experimental Station One detected and gave early warning of a large scale attack on the British home fleet. So that’s the Royal Navy, who were at anchor in Scapa Flow in Orkney. We actually have some details of that night. So Sub Lieutenant George Clifford Evans was in charge that night and he detected the planes around a hundred miles southeast of Sumburgh and was able to provide a 25-minute warning of this impending attack on Scapa Flow.

As the planes continued to be tracked, George stepped outside on all he said was a clear starlit night, and he looked towards Orkney and witnessed a tremendous firework display in absolute silence. This was the Scapa barrage repelling the enemy attack. Eight minutes later, the rumble and roar of the anti-aircraft guns could be heard all the way in Lerwick 125 miles away. And it was described at the time as the loudest continuous sound ever heard in the British Isles.

JEREMY

Wow. That’s quite a history. So Sumburgh has played a big

BRIAN

I look after several lights around Shetland, including Sumburgh Head. Some I visit monthly, some bi-monthly, and so on. It’s just a case of checking everything, all the equipment, and just see that everything is functioning, see that there’s no broken lamp and panes. It’s just general caretaking duties, keep it sort of tidy and make sure everything is working properly. Another part of retained light keeper or RLK, as they call this job, is checking and monitoring. There are 37 lighthouses in Shetland, all these lighthouses are monitored either by landline telephone, mobile phone, or radio. And they all connect back to the monitor station, the monitoring center, in Edinburgh. Now these monitors, as you well know, can turn faulty. Or, in effect, they can actually be working correctly and say that the light is not functioning correctly. If that be the case, I go do a virtual observation that might see that the light isn’t functioning — the character or whatever else – and then report my findings on to the monitor center.

We also have several lit navigation buoys around Shetland. And a wee note on that is that I do hate having to report an outage in one of the buoys. An outage is when a light is extinguished. We call it an outage. And the reason I hate reporting it on a buoy rather than a lighthouse, where you can approach it mainly by land, is that in the case of a buoy outage, then one of the ships has to come from wherever that may be, even the Isle of Man, all the way up to repair it. Now, if you’ve made a mistake and given them an outage where there isn’t one, it’s a very expensive mistake that you’ve made. So you have to be sure whether you’re seeing them or not.

JEREMY

So, Brian, you mentioned that you look after some Sumburgh

BRIAN

Well, as I say, the monitoring covers 37, but I have four

JEREMY

Do you remember when the automation of lighthouses in

BRIAN

Yes, I remember that well. I was involved in quite a bit

JEREMY

That was around what time? Around the year that that

JANE

’98?

BRIAN

’98, I think it was. Yes, ’98. I knew every one of the

JEREMY

So I think we have a mutual friend on Ian Duff. You know

BRIAN

Oh yes, Ian is a good friend of mine. Ian and me have had

JEREMY

I bet. Ian seems like somebody who knows how to have a

JANE

Well, we heard earlier how Brian restored the foghorn and

JEREMY

It really sounds like there’s a lot, a lot to see there.

JANE

Well, Sumburgh Head is indeed an important site for

JEREMY

Do you also have whales and marine mammals there?

JANE

We’re so fortunate to have regular sightings of a variety

JEREMY

A lot of lighthouse aficionados are lovers of birds and

JANE

Well, first and foremost, we’re giving all the lighthouse

There’s so many parts of the Sumburgh Head story. We split this year into four themes. So we’ll be looking at building the lighthouse, working at the lighthouse, living at the lighthouse, and finally picking out some of those big days and events in the 200-year history of Sumburgh Head, including stories from the war and shipwrecks. For each of these themes the curator at the Shetland museum is working with us to host a lighthouse display, and we will have a series of photo exhibitions here at Sumburgh Head. We’ll also be leading guided walks around the headland, and regular tours of our visitor center.

We’ll be hosting a book launch later this summer for Donald Murray’s forthcoming publication, For the Safety of All, the story of Scotland’s lighthouses, which I believe Brian contributed to. And Brian’s volunteered to take part in a Q and A session about the lighthouse service. And through his contacts we’re hoping to reach out to as many of our former keepers as possible. I’m going to be taking a crash course in filmmaking and editing soon. So the dream is to capture conversations with our former keepers to screen was part of a film night. We’ve also been preparing family activities for the summer, and there’ll be lots of natural heritage events too. So fingers crossed. It’s going to be a busy summer for us all here at Sumburgh Head.

JEREMY

I guess so. That all sounds great, a lot of good projects.

JANE

OK, so along with all the outdoor attractions — the seabirds, the stunning views, the coastal walks, we also have a museum to celebrate all the different aspects of Sumburgh Head. For first time visitors to Shetland, our museum is like a gateway into the Isles, introducing Shetland’s incredible wildlife, its geology, archeology, history, and more. We have four different display areas within the existing buildings. So the engine room fuel store is now our gift shop and ticket office. And this leads you through into the restored engine room. And in here we look at the changing technology of the lighthouse and also the later installation of the foghorn. Next door is the blacksmith’s workshop or smiddy complete with its original forge and bellows from 1822. And here we look at what it was like to live and work at a lighthouse.

We also introduce some of our former keepers and their families in a large photo album, which visitors are welcome to thumb through. The east pavilion houses our marine life center. So downstairs we introduce Shetland’s rich and productive marine environment and the food web, and upstairs we meet our top predators with displays on orca, on minke whales, and the stars of our cliffs, the puffins. And finally, there’s the radar hut, which recreates that night back in April 1940, when they thwarted a surprise German air raid on the Royal Navy. We also have a new building at Sumburgh Head, the Stevenson Center, and this is home to our café. This circular building features a panoramic view of the south Mainland. And there can’t be too many cafés where you can watch puffins whizzing past or orca cruising by.

JEREMY

I would say not. Boy, it sounds like an amazing place to

JANE

Yes, there are. We have self-catering accommodation in the

JEREMY

So let me ask you, do you have any problems with erosion

BRIAN

Yes. There’s been, in my time — there’s been a few smallish

JEREMY

So before we wrap up here, Jane, I want to ask you

JANE

Well, you’ve really done your homework, Jeremy. Yeah, I

JEREMY

Yeah. So is there a way people can learn about that? Is

JANE

Yeah. There are patterns on Ravelry that people can look

JEREMY

Oh, I don’t know that. How do you spell that?

JANE

R A V E L R Y

JEREMY

Ravelry. OK. Ravelry.com. I probably should know about

JANE

I can honestly say that Sumburgh Head is probably the place where I feel most content in the world. I don’t know if this comes from the lighthouse and all the layers of history or the reassurance of watching the seabirds return every spring. But I often sit on the cliffs and struggle to think of anywhere else I’d rather be. And I do really enjoy meeting our visitors. It’s amazing how many people we meet that are connected to the lighthouse in one way or another. And it’s a real privilege to think that you’re adding to someone’s holiday. We get a lot of repeat visitors too. And so it’s great to welcome people back and over the years many have become good friends.

I always feel like there’s a lot of good will towards Sumburgh Head and lighthouses in general from visitors to the site and our online audience too. And I love the wildlife here, the way life changes on the cliffs throughout the summer. The moment the sea pinks come into bloom and carpet the cliffs in sugary pink, or the moment the young adult puffins return and they’re absolutely everywhere you look. One of the best things was discovering that the seabirds used the same nesting sites each year. I’ve spent enough time watching the clips to know where the different birds nest. So I know that if I’m watching a pair of adult kittiwakes rearing their chick, they’re the same kittiwakes I was watching the previous year. There’s definitely a rhythm to life at Sumburgh Head, and all happening around the steadfast reliability of Sumburgh Head Lighthouse.

JEREMY

Well, I can certainly understand. It’s no problem at all understanding

BRIAN

Well, I suppose I’ve enjoyed most of everything. The Northern Lighthouse Board, or NLB, especially from a light keeper’s view, was really like a great big family. Everybody sort of knew of everybody else or knew of everybody else. And some of that exists in the service today, but it’s not to the same extent as when keepers were [at the stations]. A lot of people made very good friendships that lasted all their lives in the service, and it was very good just having these people as your friends. And as a technician, it could be a very interesting job. Sometimes you had to dream up very innovative methods of repairing things, because when you bear in mind that the light room at [?], for example, most of it was over a hundred years old or about a hundred years old. And any spare or anything you needed had to be made specifically and identically, as absolutely nothing came off the shelf. It could be a sense of a job well done and a good bit of job satisfaction when everything fit perfectly in the machine and then worked correctly. Another thing I suppose I should add is that the NLB were excellent employers and they really looked after their staff extremely well. And that in fact, they still do. I just enjoyed the — I suppose, the freedom of the job in a way, because when you are doing maintenance on a remote lighthouse, it was up to you to decide how to get everything to work perfectly and what was wrong and fix it then. Yeah. But anyway,

JEREMY

So Jane and Brian, you summed things up pretty well there.

BRIAN

Well, thank you very much indeed. Hopefully things will

JANE

Yeah, if you’re ever in Shetland, do look us up.

BRIAN

If you give us advance warning we’ll maybe even put the coffee pot on for you.

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This is part two of two episodes about Pater Noster Lighthouse off the west coast of Sweden. The light station is operated as a small hotel that features rooms with a sea view, a restaurant, and three boathouses for dinner and conferences. The lighthouse hotel has formed a partnership with the Göteborg (or Gothenberg) Film Festival. The festival, which began in 1979, is the largest film festival in the Nordic countries. Because of COVID restrictions, this year’s 11-day festival was held digitally, with about 70 films and premiere screenings every night.

This year the festival organizer’s created an “Isolated Cinema” event. It was announced that a winner would be selected to spend a week watching film premieres at the isolated Pater Noster Lighthouse. The winner would have to commit to living in isolation on the island, completely without contact with the outside world, and also to keep a video diary of the experience.

The contest was announced with an online video and more than 12,000 entries were received from more than 45 countries. On January 19, the festival selected Lisa Enroth, a 41-year-old emergency nurse and film enthusiast, as the winner. The CEO of the festival said it felt right to give the unique opportunity to one of the many heroes working in healthcare during the pandemic.

Lisa Enroth is interviewed in this episode. Also interviewed is Jonas Holmberg, artistic director of the Gothenberg Film Festival. Jonas is a movie critic who founded a film magazine called FLM. He joined the festival in 2012 and became the artistic director in 2014.

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Pater Noster is a small archipelago off the west coast of Sweden. The island group’s name, which means “The Lord’s Prayer,” is said to come from the tradition that mariners would recite the Lord’s Prayer as they negotiated their way around the dangerous reefs in the vicinity. The 105-foot-tall cast-iron lighthouse on one of the islands was constructed in 1868 during a period of intensive lighthouse building in Sweden. 

Since last year, Pater Noster Lighthouse has been operated as a small hotel. The facilities include rooms with a sea view, a restaurant, and three boathouses for dinner and conferences. The hotel on Pater Noster was awarded the 40th annual Gold Key Award for Excellence in Hospitality Design. 

Erik Nissen Johansen is originally from Norway. He is the founder and creative director of Stylt Trampoli, a multi-award winning hospitality design company. For more than 25 years, Stylt has helped created unique hotel and restaurant experiences for clients all over the world. He is now a partner in the hotel at the Pater Noster Lighthouse.

This is the first of two episodes about the Pater Noster Lighthouse; the second will be posted on Wednesday, April 28. Earlier this year, the nearby film festival in Gothenberg awarded a weeklong stay at the lighthouse hotel to Lisa Enroth, a nurse. Linda watched all the films in the festival while at the lighthouse. Jonas Holmberg, artistic director of the film festival, and Lisa Enroth will be the guests in episode 116.

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Pointe-au-Père is near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and about 160 miles northeast of Quebec City, Canada. For many years, river pilots helped incoming vessels to steer safely toward Quebec City. The Montreal Ocean Steamship Company established the first lighthouse and foghorn on Pointe-au-Père in 1859. The government of Canada purchased the lighthouse two years later. After the original lighthouse was destroyed by fire, a new one was built in 1867. The first and second lighthouses were both wooden dwellings with lanterns on their roofs.

Work on the extant lighthouse at Pointe-au-Père began in 1909. The octagonal tower, 92 feet tall, is made of steel-reinforced concrete. With its buttresses, the design was unusual for Canada. Today, the Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse National Historic Site offers climbs to the top of the tower and exhibits in the former keeper’s house.

Cindy Larouche is the manager of the Pointe-au-Père National Historic Site, and she also manages the Battle of the Restigouche National Historic Site. 

Here is a transcript of the interview:

JEREMY D’ENTREMONT

I’m speaking today with Cindy Larouche, who is the manager of the Pointe-au-Père National Historic Site in Quebec, Canada. We’ve covered lighthouses in Nova Scotia and British Columbia before on this podcast. This is the first time we’re focusing on one in Quebec. Thank you so much for joining me today, Cindy.

CINDY LAROUCHE

Nice to meet you.

JEREMY

Likewise. Let’s talk about the history of the lighthouse and so forth. But before we do that, I just want to ask you – I’m kind of curious to know a little bit about what led you to being the manager of two historic sites in Quebec.

CINDY LAROUCHE

Well, it was a happy coincidence that led me to become the visitor experience manager at two historic sites of Parks Canada. First of all, having a very great interest in travel, I first studied tourism and then I did a bachelor’s degree in history at the University of Quebec at Rimouski. I always been drawn to culture, education, and museum sector. And furthermore, I have worked in tourism and cultural development in various institutions in Gaspésie and the Lower St. Lawrence region. So when I saw that Parks Canada was looking to fill a position on its team, I told myself, Cindy, you must apply right away. There was a mix of my interest and it helped me to use my skills in many ways. I applied for my dream job and I got it. And I’m still here eight years later. Managing two incredible national sites and doing my best to keep employees happy at work and visitors enjoying their visit. 

JEREMY

Yeah. Well, that’s great. You know, not everybody gets to find their dream job, so I’m happy that worked out for you. That’s wonderful. 

CINDY LAROUCHE

Yeah. 

JEREMY

So besides the lighthouse site, you also manage the Battle of the Restigouche National Historic Site. Can you explain what that is?

CINDY LAROUCHE

Yeah, this national historic site highlights a very interesting but little-known event in the history of New France. It was the last naval battle that took place in the Restigouche River between the French and the British for the conquest of the North American territory. During this war in 1760, the colony of New France was forced to ask for reinforcements from France, which sent soldiers and ammunition and food to the fleet of six ships. In the end, only three ships including a frigate and two merchant ships ended up in the Restigouche River to hide. They were eventually sunk by British ships in a battle that took place and resulted in the victory of the British fleet. And for more than 200 years, the remains of the different ships remained underwater. But in the ‘70s, Parks Canada carried out archeological excavations, which brought to the surface parts of the Machault ship, such as an anchor and a stern post. Today visitors can view an exhibit about this naval history, which takes place in four rooms that have a vintage ship look, such as a boardroom, between-decks, and a cargo room. It’s a very interesting site.

JEREMY

Yeah, well, it sounds like it. I feel like I really need to get up there and visit both the lighthouse and the historic site for the battle. Yeah. And I will come one of these days. So I’d like to talk a little bit about the history of the light station. What makes Pointe-au-Père so important for navigation on the St. Lawrence?

CINDY LAROUCHE

The Pointe-au-Père site overlooks the point where internal waters meet the open sea. The very particular geographic location made it one of Canada’s main navigational aid stations for over a hundred years. The pilot station was in operation between 1905 and 1959. And it’s interesting to know that four separate lighthouses were built on the site, surrounded by a sound signal and various outbuilding like a lighthouse keeper’s house, a foghorn shed, and a pilot shelter. The site had also a Marconi telegraph office and a medical inspection service for ships traveling up river. And finally the station was also used as a testing ground for various sound navigation before use at other Canadian light stations.

JEREMY

So I was reading that the first two lighthouses there were actually keeper’s dwellings with the lanterns on the roof. Why was it decided to make the third structure, the one that’s there today – why did they make it so different than the others?

CINDY LAROUCHE

At the time, reinforced concrete had just begun to be used in engineering. Reinforced concrete was chosen mainly because of its high/low capacity and fire resistance in addition to being the most economical solution at this time.

JEREMY

I was reading about the history of the fog signals there also, which is very interesting. By my count, there were at least five different types of fog signals used there over the years. Maybe you could say a little bit about that.

CINDY LAROUCHE

Absolutely. Whenever conditions reduced visibility at sea, the lighthouse keeper has to replace the usual visual signal by a sound signal. The Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse played an important role in testing different types of sound signals, which were subsequently implemented in other Canadian lighthouses. As you said, they were five different signals used at Pointe-au-Père. The first was a fog cannon. The sound was produced by a cannon, which the keeper had to load with gunpowder and fire every half hour. The fog cannon had its failing, because its sound lasted for such a short time. Pilots would miss this if not paying attention. This gave rise to many complaints from captains and pilots since a single detonation every half hour was not enough to navigate through fog. 

And so the cannon signal was replaced by an explosive bomb signal. The signal was now using explosive firecrackers. The light keeper would light the firecrackers at 20-minute intervals to guide navigators. And the explosion took place on a crane, a long pole on top of the building sheltering the cannon. Like the cannon, the system required the use of explosives and was also dangerous to use. And by the time the navigation system opened in spring 1903, the explosive signal made way for the siren. This whistle used compressed air and went off when the air passed through a rotating cylinder. It made a high note and then a low note for two and a half seconds apart every two minutes. And after that, a little later a professor at the University of Toronto invented the diaphone by making changes to the siren. And finally, as part of Transport Canada’s effort to upgrade navigation aids, the diaphone at Pointe-au-Père was decommissioned in 1972, and the system was replaced by an electronic sound signal. It means that a visibility reader activates the audible signal as soon as there is too much mist. And the electronic sound signal was used until the Pointe-au-Père navigational aid center closed in 1997.

JEREMY

Okay. That’s quite a history there. I was in England a couple of years ago and got to hear a diaphone horn that’s still operating at the Souter Lighthouse in England, and it’s very impressive. It’s so, so loud. It’s incredible. Yeah. 

CINDY LAROUCHE

You’re lucky!

JEREMY

You can hear that online. There are YouTube videos; it’s the S O U T E R Lighthouse in England. So if we can touch on the human history a little bit, are there any particular stories of the keepers and families at Pointe-au-Père that you find especially interesting?

CINDY LAROUCHE

Yes. There are several interesting stories about lighthouse keepers at Pointe-au-Père. Several keepers have been witness to great and tragic events in the two world wars and the sinking of the Empress of Ireland. It should be mentioned that keepers’ work involved many dangers. Also, it did not happen at Pointe-au-Père, but some even lost their lives while on duty. The keeper always had to be careful, vigilant, and resourceful. From 1911 to 1936, John Cahill, John Wyatt, and his son Robert succeeded each other at Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse. After the first world war the keeper’s job had become more demanding as he became responsible for the sound signal, a very demanding job for both the keeper and his assistant. Charles Augustus Lavoie was at Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse between 1936 and 1964 and he left the world testimonies that described the complexity of the work on the light station. For example, he relates that the day started at midnight and ended up at midnight. With that system they would work by rotation, six hours at a time, because they always had to be on the job. Then there was a lot to do on the station, so the grounds, the buildings, painting, repairing a leaky roof, and replacing windows. He relates how it was. It wasn’t easy to install a window that weighed between 40 and 50 pounds, a hundred feet from the ground with the wind blowing.

JEREMY

Wow.

CINDY LAROUCHE

Yeah. An interesting fact to know is that the role of Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse keepers changed during the second world war with the introduction of a curfew in 1942, to deal with the intrusion of German submarines into the river. So the monitoring role complicated the keeper’s already overloaded schedule because he now had to conduct aerial surveillance. At the designated time at Pointe-au-Père, it was at 3, 6, and 11 in the morning, they received a code that transmitted over the radio and they had to conceal it. But after that, there were three other lighthouse keepers on the site. And the last one, Armand Lafrance, took over in 1972, and as he was close to retirement, he was not surprised when the lighthouse was placed on top of a skeleton tower about three years later. He still lived in the keeper’s house with his family until 1988.

JEREMY

I was curious – during World War II in this country, almost all the lighthouses on the East Coast were dimmed, were actually turned off, during the war so they wouldn’t help attract enemy vessels. Was that the case on the east coast of Canada as well?

CINDY LAROUCHE

Yeah, it was the case. So the lighthouse was turned down and they just had to do a job of a surveillance.

JEREMY

Right. Just keeping an eye out. So I’m wondering if there was U-boat activity, any enemy submarines, things like that, during the war.

CINDY LAROUCHE

Yeah. They came into the St.Lawrence River trying to go up river. We stopped them at the little, I don’t remember the name, I guess it’s Cloridorme in Gaspésie. They didn’t go to Pointe-au-Père.

JEREMY

People don’t know about that. People don’t realize how much of a danger that was. Okay. If we could move forward to more recent years and the present day – if somebody visits the Pointe-au-Père National Historic Site and the lighthouse – and before I complete that question, I know that things have been different recently with the pandemic, but in normal times, what can people expect when they visit there? Can they climb the lighthouse when they go there?

CINDY LAROUCHE

During a normal season, visitors can climb 128 steps in the lighthouse with a guide to a splendid 360-degree landscape. And as you said, our 2021 season should be launched in June, but we have to wait a little longer before announcing our tourism offering, which is significantly influenced by the evolution of the COVID pandemic. In 2020, visitors had access to a presentation at the foot of the lighthouse presented by our partner, the Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père, but whether visits to the lighthouse is possible or not, visitors will be able to meet a guide at the foot of the lighthouse, and take some time to read the outdoor interpretation panels, and they will also have access to a picnic area with a magnificent view of the river.

JEREMY

Sounds nice. I saw that the Onondaga submarine is also on the site. Is that also open to visitors?

CINDY LAROUCHE

Yes, it is open to visitors this year and it’s the only submarine that can be visited in Canada. 

JEREMY

Wow. So when people visit the site there, what other kinds of exhibits are there for people to see?

CINDY LAROUCHE

Oh, you can see the temporary exhibition, “Beacons Burning Bright,” presented by the Musée maritime du Québec in the light keeper’s house. This exhibit takes the visitor on a new and really original of Quebec’s coastal landscape. The visitor can explore the history of Quebec’s lighthouses through the lens of a talented photographer, Patrick Matte, known in Quebec as the Lighthouse Hunter. Yeah, Patrick Matte. I invite you to see his website. It’s very, very interesting. And this exhibit also features authentic lighthouse lenses and scale models of many St. Lawrence River lighthouses.

JEREMY

That sounds good. And I was reading on the website something about Parks Canada Xplorers, that’s spelled  X P L O R E R S. What are the Parks Canada Xplorers all about?

CINDY LAROUCHE

It’s a program designed for ages six to 12. Mainly it’s a booklet that has a range of fun activities that will take you around the different points at Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse National Historic Site and all young explorers who have completed at least three of the booklet activities will get a surprise by presenting the booklet at the reception area.

JEREMY

That’s great. I’m really happy to hear you do that there. Some lighthouses in the U.S. have educational programs like that, and it’s always great to hear. We’ve got to keep the, get the children interested, start them early, so they maybe appreciate lighthouses later on. Maybe help with the preservation and so forth. So that’s really good to hear. The lighthouse at Pointe-au-Père is part of Quebec’s lighthouse trail. Can you explain a bit about what the lighthouse trail is?

CINDY LAROUCHE

Yeah. Quebec has some 43 traditional lighthouses, the vast majority of which are located along the coastline or on one of the Quebec maritime islands. Thanks to the force of enthusiasts to transform them or their outbuildings and to museums, some 20 of these lighthouses are now enjoying a second life. The Quebec Lighthouse Trail invites people to follow the lighthouse route in order to visit them when possible or simply to admire and admire and photograph them. The trail, which includes the Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse, can take up to 14 days to complete, including a three hour’s ferry crossing from Riviere-du-Loop to Tadoussac.

JEREMY

I understand there was some restoration done on the Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse in 2017.  What exactly happened—what was done at that time?

CINDY LAROUCHE

Before that, Parks Canada started major innovation work in 1980 to strengthen the lighthouse, repair the lantern and ensure the long-term conservation of the entire site. All the loose concrete and surfaces in bad repair were removed and the whole tower encased in new metal mesh and covered in and out with a shell of sprayed concrete. In 2017, renovation work included treating metal components, replacing the lantern glass, and a lot, a lot of painting. It’s very important for us to keep these structures in good condition because it’s kind of an investment. Parks Canada is protecting and conserving national treasures while working look at economies and contributing to growth in the tourism sector. So yes, it’s very important.

JEREMY

Oh yeah. Are there any other additional restoration projects kind of in the pipeline?

CINDY LAROUCHE

Yes. We have a project to conserve the Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse National Historic Site, including a major analysis of we will adapt to climate change in order to preserve the site from shoreline erosion. The site is very close to the river and each year it is more at risk from bad water conditions. We are aware of this program and we really want to find a solution.

JEREMY

Why do you think the Pointe-au-Père light station is important? Why does it need to be preserved?

CINDY LAROUCHE

I think we must preserve the site for many reasons. First, the location was designated a national historic site by the government of Canada in 1974, owing to its historic role as the major pilot and light station for the river and Gulf navigation. I would add that the remaining buildings, which are all in good condition, bear witness to great improvements to navigation. In addition to the third lighthouse, the site also includes the light keeper’s house, the assistant light keeper’s house, a garage, and a skeleton tower with electronic foghorn. Finally, the site is also home to numerous archeological remains, mainly in relation to the first two lighthouses and their outbuildings.

JEREMY

So I have one final question for you, and this is for bonus points. All right. So what has been your favorite part of managing the Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse National Historic Site?

CINDY LAROUCHE

Good question. I guess that what I like most about managing this historic site is that the possibilities are endless. I mean, the site is stimulating, steeped in history, superbly located with a breathtaking view of the river and the coast. As we have a small team on the site, we have the opportunity to touch a little bit of everything to surpass ourselves. There are always new developments, conservation projects, or events to be organized. So the work is very dynamic and in no way routine. In short, they just follow on one and another, and are never the same.

JEREMY

Well, it sounds like a great place to live and work around there. And it sounds like a perfect fit for you. So again, congratulations on finding your dream job. I think it’s a minority of people who ever find that. So Cindy Larouche of the Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse National Historic Site and the Battle of the Restigouche Historic Site, also, I really appreciate you spending this time with me today. Thank you so much.

CINDY LAROUCHE

Thank you, too.

Both of the lighthouses featured in this episode are celebrating their 150th anniversaries in 2021.

Souter Lighthouse is on the northeast coast of England, in South Shields, Tyne and Wear. A lighthouse was much needed here because of dangerous reefs offshore. When the light went into operation on January 11, 1871, it was one of the first lighthouses in the world to be built specifically to operate using AC electric current. The 77-foot-tall brick lighthouse was designed by James Douglass for Trinity House.

Souter Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1988. Today the light station property is owned by the National Trust, an organization that promotes heritage conservation in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The lighthouse was opened to the public in 1990, and two former keepers’ cottages offer overnight accommodations for the general public. Kate Devlin, interviewed in this episode, is the National Trust’s collections and house officer at Souter Lighthouse.

Pomham Rocks Lighthouse is owned by the American Lighthouse Foundation and managed by Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, a chapter of the Foundation.

The Friends have completed extensive restoration of the exterior and interior of the lighthouse in the past 15 years. They have a variety of events planned this year for the light station’s 150th anniversary, and volunteer Judianne Point discusses the group’s plans in this episode.

The co-host of this episode with Jeremy D’Entremont is Jeff Gales, executive director of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.

Angeli Perrow was born in Rockland on the Maine coast. Her grandfather was a lobsterman and her uncle fished the Grand Banks. As a child, Angeli delighted in exploring the beach with her grandmother, collecting shells and sea glass. She also started writing poems and stories when she was a child.

Angeli taught elementary school for 30 years before retiring two years ago. Maine’s maritime history has provided material for much of her writing, including four of her children’s books, Captain’s Castaway, Lighthouse Dog to the Rescue, Sirius the Dog Star, and Love from the Sky, as well as a coloring book. The “Maine Lighthouses Coloring Book” was published in a brand new second edition in March 2021.

Her other picture books include Dogsled Dreamer and Many Hands, which was a 2010 Lupine Award winner. Angeli’s love for mystery stories inspired her to write the Key Mystery Series for children 8 to 12, starting with The Lightkeeper’s Key and The Whispering Key. There are now eight volumes in the series. She has also written a trilogy of horse adventure books for young teens, Celtic Thunder, Celtic Tide,and Celtic Legend.

Angeli lives in Hampden, Maine, with her husband and their dog Lily. She is the mother of two and grandmother of three. Her other interests include hiking, kayaking, cross-country skiing, reading, painting, gardening, Irish dancing, and Celtic music.

Angeli Perrow’s website

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Patos Island is the northernmost of the San Juan Islands in the state of Washington. The 207-acre island is in the Strait of Georgia, just two miles from the Canadian border. A light and fog signal station was established in 1893 on Alden Point, the northwestern tip of the island, and a more substantial lighthouse building was added in 1908.

In 2007, the Keepers of the Patos Light was formed to preserve the lighthouse. Edrie and Terri Vinson’s comprehensive book, Patos Island Lighthouse has been published by the History Press and will be available for purchase on March 29, 2021. Edrie is the president of the Keepers of the Patos Light, and Terri is the secretary.

Dangerous shoals around Cape Canaveral — on the east coast of Florida — were a constant threat to mariners, leading to the establishment of a lighthouse in 1849. The original brick tower wasn’t tall enough, leading to a decision to build a new tower. The second Cape Canaveral lighthouse, a 151-foot cast-iron tower, began service in 1868.

The Air Force became the owner of the automated lighthouse in 2000, with the Coast Guard continuing to maintain the light. Then, in 2002, the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation was formed. Rear Admiral Jim Underwood, U.S. Coast Guard retired, is the past president of the Foundation. Becky Zingarelli serves as the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Museum Director.