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Life As A Lighthouse Keeper
If you are sick, you stay home from school. If there is a big snowstorm or hurricane, you usually get the
day off, too. But if you had a job as a lighthouse keeper, there were no days off. You had to work all the
time. In bad weather, you usually had to work even harder! Most of the time though, your work could be
boring. There were no days off for a lighthouse keeper. Read on to learn more about life as a lighthouse
keeper.
Lighthouses help ships stay away from dangerous shorelines or rocky cliffs. This means that lighthouse
keepers often lived in the most dangerous spots in a body of water. When storms blew in, high winds,
pounding waves and driving rain brought danger. Of course, ships leave waters when storms are coming.
Lighthouse keepers had to stay and be sure the lights were kept burning. Because the lights were at the top
of the lighthouse, winding stairs had to be climbed in terrible weather so the lights would continue to warn
anyone still out in the storm. In very early days of lighthouses, some of them did not even have a roof. It
must have been very difficult to do your job during a storm in those days! Often, the lighthouse keeper’s
family and animals lived with him. Famous stories tell how keepers and their families had to save
themselves and pets during fierce storms.
While storms brought danger and maybe even excitement to a lighthouse keeper, daily life could be
boring. Lighthouse keepers kept logbooks. These journals are full of “tales” of dusting the lighthouse,
cleaning the lens, and filling the oil lamps. These kinds of boring jobs had to be done every day. Some
tasks brought danger. Painting the lighthouse tower was a difficult task. Keepers had to climb high with
brushes and paint buckets to keep the lighthouse sparkling. Often lighthouse keepers had a sad morning
chore. They had to sweep dead birds from the deck. The birds were attracted to the light and crashed into
the lighthouse.
The lighthouses were often placed in the water or along a rocky shore so getting to them was not easy.
This meant that lighthouse keepers had a lonely life. Sometimes family members could take a trip to a
store for supplies. Sometimes a boat would arrive with food or mail. When a family or keeper could talk
with other people, this was exciting! It helped break up the lonely days and nights.
You may wonder why anyone would want to be a lighthouse keeper. Many people love the water. They
say that being a part of life on the sea is exciting. Some liked being away from other people. They enjoyed
the loneliness. Being a lighthouse keeper meant you had a place to live and you were paid for staying at
your house.
Today, electricity means that most lighthouses do not need keepers. Lights are run automatically. Workers
check the lights every so often but they are not required to be at the lighthouse twenty-four hours a day.
Improved navigation instruments on ships means fewer lighthouses are needed. But some people still long
for the days of lighthouse keepers. If you are one of those people, you can take a vacation at a lighthouse!
You can polish lamps, dust 40 the lens, or even paint stairs. And … YOU have to pay for the privilege of
doing this!
God called us to be like a lighthouse keeper. He wants us to keep the light burning with the use of oil
(Holy Spirit) so that people who live in darkness can see the light of the LORD.