What does a lighthouse keeper do all day?
What does a lighthouse keeper do all day? In addition to keeping watch and attending to the Aids to Navigation, the keepers carried out routine cleaning, polishing, maintenance work, and general house-keeping duties every day except Sunday.
How did lighthouse keepers get food?
You might have to rely on a boat to bring your supplies. You had to place orders from catalogs for things like books, clothes, and other daily items. Food was often grown in gardens and animals were kept to provide eggs, milk, and meat.
Do lighthouse keepers have a uniform?
Did lighthouse keepers stay up all night?
The care of the nation's lighthouses moved from agency to agency until 1910, when Congress created the Bureau of Lighthouses. The U.S. Coast Guard took over responsibility in 1939. A keeper's job was not quite a 24-hour job, but it could be. Typically, the keeper's day began before dawn and ended well past dusk.
Are there any female lighthouse keepers?
Today, there is just one female lighthouse keeper—Sally Snowman, a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteer who watches over Boston Light, a historic lighthouse on Massachusetts Bay.
How long is a lighthouse keepers shift?
At offshore lighthouses and headland lighthouses, the three keepers on duty kept four-hour watches in turn. These watches were from 0200 to 0600, 0600 to 1000, 1000 to 1400, 1400 to 1800, 1800 to 2200, and 2200 to 0200 hours. This meant the same keeper kept the 2am to 6am watch and the 2pm to 6pm watch.
What do lighthouse keepers do in a storm?
With advanced notice, such as with a hurricane, lighthouse keepers will board windows and block openings where water can enter. They may also move records and inventory to keep away from possible water damage.
Do lighthouses turn off during the day?
Even the ones with big Fresnels use basically a light bulb, are automated and driven by electric motors rather than clockworks so there is no need for a keeper, and electric eyes like the ones that automate street lights are used to switch the lamp on at dusk and off at dawn.