1912 · Cape North Signal Tower
Polishing the Third-Order Lens
Before sunrise, Keeper Marta Ellison logged wind speed, cleaned soot from the chimney, and hand-polished each lens panel so the beam would carry cleanly through autumn mist.
Keeper Accounts as Lived Coastal History
These narratives follow the measured rhythm of lantern rounds, weather notes, and shoreline duties, preserving how lighthouse keepers recorded ordinary days along the northern coast.
“Wind from the northeast by first light; lamp glass cleaned before breakfast; one vessel marked beyond the shoal at dusk, then only fog and the bell through the night.”
Keeper Narratives
Lives kept in light, weather, and routine.
Three brief accounts from the northern coast archives, arranged as a quiet editorial sequence of work, isolation, and endurance.
1936 · Gull Reach
Night Rounds Above the Breakers
With radio service unreliable in winter, keeper notes describe long checks along the iron walkway, listening for changes in surf and foghorn timing between squalls.
1948 · North Bar Point
Holding the Beam Through Gale Season
During a three-day coastal gale, the station ledger records relay shifts, hand-pumped fuel transfers, and brief meals taken in turns while the light remained uninterrupted.