Women Who Kept the Lights: An Illustrated History of Female Lighthouse Keepers

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Summary: A unique and informative contribution to Lighthouse history
Review: Now in an updated and expanded second edition, Women Who Kept The Lights: An Illustrated History Of Female Lighthouse Keepers continues to be a unique and informative contribution to Lighthouse histories and studies. In an occupation dominated by males, Mary Louise and Candace Clifford reveal the names of 141 women who received official keeper appointments in the lighthouse service. More than twice that number received appointments as assistant keepers. Most of this number were wives, widows or daughters of former keepers, beginning with Hannah Thomas at Plymouth Light on the Massachusetts coasts in 1776 (her husband went off to fight the British), and ending with Fannie Salter, who tended the Turkey Point Light on Chesapeake Bay from her husband's death in 1925 until she retired in 1947. It was only with the introduction of automated lights by the U.S. Coast Guard in the 20th Century that the lighthouse keepers became obsolete and passed into history. "Must" reading for lighthouse history enthusiasts and women's studies groups, Women Who Kept The Lights wonderfully details the careers of 30 of these vigorous women.

Rating:
Summary: Women Who Kept the Lights
Review: Until I found this book listed by Amazon.com, I never realized women *were* lighthouse keepers. Clifford and Clifford's book will banish forever the image of the lighthouse keeper as crusty old batchelor, and will bring a renewed sense of awareness of the many accomplishments of which women are capable. The careful research done by the authors brings out a rarely publicized image of the women who tended the big lights, carefully pollishing the reflectors and the glass, keeping the lighthouses clean and functional, welcoming and educating visitors and doing their part - often heroically, to keep the vital paths of sea and lake open and safer by running these lights (often operating more than one beacon), running foghorns(either through mechanical devices or by hand), even saving lives. Through each vignette, a larger and more complete image emerges of the lives of the women who tended lighthouses, often while caring for invalid fathers and husbands, as well as bearing and raising children in these often-isolated locations. I must admit, I wish there had been more material on the west coast of America, and hope there might be a sequal. The photographs and sidebars added substance to this excellent publication. This will be a worthwhile addition to any library, especially if the reader enjoys American history and the role of women in American culture.