A bird's-eye view from the lighthouse.
Posing as a Lighthouse Keeper
By Nancy Frye Bergeron
“Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain” - unknown
Just recently I had the opportunity to stay on White Island over at the Isles of Shoals as a steward for the Lighthouse Kids organization. I learned about the Stewardship Program because my daughter, Wendy, is a new member on the Board of Directors, invited because of her expertise in historic preservation. In the year 2000, a local teacher, Sue Reynolds of Rye, decided to interest her students in helping to preserve the 82-foot tall lighthouse built in 1859. The lighthouse and its surrounding buildings, including the lighthouse keeper’s cottage, had fallen into disrepair. In 1986 the lighthouse became automated and no longer required the presence of the Coast Guard to maintain the light. So in 1992 the Coast Guard gave White Island back to the state of New Hampshire’s Department of Resources and Economic Development. The damage of New England storms and the lack of revenue left the lighthouse and the other buildings in pretty bad shape.
The Lighthouse Kids organization, with the help of a $250,000 matching grant and the generosity of many local businesses, has been able to greatly improve the condition of all the buildings, but there is much work to be done. In 2011 the Stewardship Program was formed to give volunteers an opportunity to stay on the island and offer their skills to continue the restoration project. The first stewards arrived in the summer of 2012. Specific dates are set up by the organization throughout the summer and interested stewards can elect to stay three to four days during those time periods with a maximum group size of four people. My group of four elected to stay from June 27 through June 29 this year.
Having lived near the ocean all my life I knew the minute I heard about the program that the sea was calling me. I put the word out to a group of friends and quickly found three that were more than willing to join me on this adventure. We were warned that landing on the island could be risky and the living conditions were somewhat rustic. Due to the rocky shoreline we would need to arrive at high tide plus we would need to pack light, bring sleeping bags, our own food and plenty of drinking water. I had gone with my church’s youth group to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico twice on mission trips, where we had to bring our own bedding and food, so I knew somewhat what to expect. All our necessary forms were signed and turned in to Sue Reynolds, the Stewardship Program Director, and we met to prepare the list of provisions we would need to take, which of course included wine and chocolate. We arranged our transport through a local fisherman.
Finally we arrive at the Rye Harbor dock at 2 pm on Thursday June 27th. I get excited about life and new adventures pretty easily so I was full of anticipation and so were my friends Mary, Sue and Donna. Sisters Sue and Donna had a great grandfather, Jonathan Godfrey, who had been a White Island lighthouse keeper during the Civil War. The Captain of the fishing boat helps us stow our gear on board including 10 gallons of water, battery lanterns and food for five days, just in case the weather delays our return. We climb on board and head out across the sea with the skiff to be used for our landing following behind us.
The weather isn’t the best, with a bit of fog, but all of us love the trip with the roll of the waves and the sea breeze on our skin as we scan the sea for our first glimpse of any of the islands. The first island spotted is Appledore, the largest of the islands and one of the islands residing in the great state of Maine. [With so many friends from Maine I have learned to always refer to this state as “the great state of Maine” and if you have ever had the opportunity to follow the Maine coastline you will know why.] The second largest island is Star Island of Rye, New Hampshire and this island hosts the Unitarian Universalist Association of the United Church of Christ conference center. White Island is across from Star and is also a part of Rye and before long the island comes into view.
Soon the Captain is mooring the boat on a buoy and pulling the skiff alongside to load half of our gear and two team members. The skiff arrives safely on shore, but a wave washes over the bow so bailing is needed to prepare the skiff to return for Mary and me waiting patiently for our turn. We climb in with the remaining gear and head out towards the lighthouse island excited to join our friends. We are all greeted by two female college graduates working on the island all summer for Terns LLC, an organization that studies the colonies of Terns nesting on White Island and the adjoining Seavey Island, which is connected to White Island at low tide. We are also greeted by Diesel, a Newfoundland dog, who is staying on the Island to deter the Terns from nesting too close to the lighthouse keeper’s cottage. We quickly learn not to leave the cottage without a hat or a tall stick to keep the terns from attacking our heads.
We haul our gear up to the cottage to unpack and settle in. The cottage has all new windows, but they are in need of trim work and several drop ceilings need tile replacements. There are a few walls that need patching, but none of this matter to any of us. We are here to work and we plan on getting an early start in the morning. But the rest of the day is ours and our new friends, Leah and Vanessa - the Terns LLC employees - ask if we want the key to the lighthouse so we can go exploring. Of course the answer is a resounding “Yes!” Off we go to climb the light house tower and see the Isles from a bird’s eye view. First you enter the walkway that had been replaced in 2011. It is constructed over the ledge that leads up to the lighthouse and we enter to see a sloped floor that ends with a door to the base of the tower. We exit that door and enter the lighthouse to climb the spiral staircase, pausing at the first landing to check out the view from the window in the tower wall. Finally we reach the top and see the light which is waiting to be repaired. Fortunately for us the foghorn is also in need of repair or we would have enjoyed the foghorn blast every 30 seconds during our somewhat foggy stay on the island.
The view is spectacular in spite of the misty day. Sue and I are the most daring of the group and we go out on the ledge to get a better view. The Terns are flying around down below protecting their nests and as the waves crash against the rocks the spray is lifted up in an array of sparkling water diamonds. The panoramic vista of the nine islands is breathtaking. Reluctantly we make our way down the spiral stairs to return to the cottage.
By Nancy Frye Bergeron
“Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain” - unknown
Just recently I had the opportunity to stay on White Island over at the Isles of Shoals as a steward for the Lighthouse Kids organization. I learned about the Stewardship Program because my daughter, Wendy, is a new member on the Board of Directors, invited because of her expertise in historic preservation. In the year 2000, a local teacher, Sue Reynolds of Rye, decided to interest her students in helping to preserve the 82-foot tall lighthouse built in 1859. The lighthouse and its surrounding buildings, including the lighthouse keeper’s cottage, had fallen into disrepair. In 1986 the lighthouse became automated and no longer required the presence of the Coast Guard to maintain the light. So in 1992 the Coast Guard gave White Island back to the state of New Hampshire’s Department of Resources and Economic Development. The damage of New England storms and the lack of revenue left the lighthouse and the other buildings in pretty bad shape.
The Lighthouse Kids organization, with the help of a $250,000 matching grant and the generosity of many local businesses, has been able to greatly improve the condition of all the buildings, but there is much work to be done. In 2011 the Stewardship Program was formed to give volunteers an opportunity to stay on the island and offer their skills to continue the restoration project. The first stewards arrived in the summer of 2012. Specific dates are set up by the organization throughout the summer and interested stewards can elect to stay three to four days during those time periods with a maximum group size of four people. My group of four elected to stay from June 27 through June 29 this year.
Having lived near the ocean all my life I knew the minute I heard about the program that the sea was calling me. I put the word out to a group of friends and quickly found three that were more than willing to join me on this adventure. We were warned that landing on the island could be risky and the living conditions were somewhat rustic. Due to the rocky shoreline we would need to arrive at high tide plus we would need to pack light, bring sleeping bags, our own food and plenty of drinking water. I had gone with my church’s youth group to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico twice on mission trips, where we had to bring our own bedding and food, so I knew somewhat what to expect. All our necessary forms were signed and turned in to Sue Reynolds, the Stewardship Program Director, and we met to prepare the list of provisions we would need to take, which of course included wine and chocolate. We arranged our transport through a local fisherman.
Finally we arrive at the Rye Harbor dock at 2 pm on Thursday June 27th. I get excited about life and new adventures pretty easily so I was full of anticipation and so were my friends Mary, Sue and Donna. Sisters Sue and Donna had a great grandfather, Jonathan Godfrey, who had been a White Island lighthouse keeper during the Civil War. The Captain of the fishing boat helps us stow our gear on board including 10 gallons of water, battery lanterns and food for five days, just in case the weather delays our return. We climb on board and head out across the sea with the skiff to be used for our landing following behind us.
The weather isn’t the best, with a bit of fog, but all of us love the trip with the roll of the waves and the sea breeze on our skin as we scan the sea for our first glimpse of any of the islands. The first island spotted is Appledore, the largest of the islands and one of the islands residing in the great state of Maine. [With so many friends from Maine I have learned to always refer to this state as “the great state of Maine” and if you have ever had the opportunity to follow the Maine coastline you will know why.] The second largest island is Star Island of Rye, New Hampshire and this island hosts the Unitarian Universalist Association of the United Church of Christ conference center. White Island is across from Star and is also a part of Rye and before long the island comes into view.
Soon the Captain is mooring the boat on a buoy and pulling the skiff alongside to load half of our gear and two team members. The skiff arrives safely on shore, but a wave washes over the bow so bailing is needed to prepare the skiff to return for Mary and me waiting patiently for our turn. We climb in with the remaining gear and head out towards the lighthouse island excited to join our friends. We are all greeted by two female college graduates working on the island all summer for Terns LLC, an organization that studies the colonies of Terns nesting on White Island and the adjoining Seavey Island, which is connected to White Island at low tide. We are also greeted by Diesel, a Newfoundland dog, who is staying on the Island to deter the Terns from nesting too close to the lighthouse keeper’s cottage. We quickly learn not to leave the cottage without a hat or a tall stick to keep the terns from attacking our heads.
We haul our gear up to the cottage to unpack and settle in. The cottage has all new windows, but they are in need of trim work and several drop ceilings need tile replacements. There are a few walls that need patching, but none of this matter to any of us. We are here to work and we plan on getting an early start in the morning. But the rest of the day is ours and our new friends, Leah and Vanessa - the Terns LLC employees - ask if we want the key to the lighthouse so we can go exploring. Of course the answer is a resounding “Yes!” Off we go to climb the light house tower and see the Isles from a bird’s eye view. First you enter the walkway that had been replaced in 2011. It is constructed over the ledge that leads up to the lighthouse and we enter to see a sloped floor that ends with a door to the base of the tower. We exit that door and enter the lighthouse to climb the spiral staircase, pausing at the first landing to check out the view from the window in the tower wall. Finally we reach the top and see the light which is waiting to be repaired. Fortunately for us the foghorn is also in need of repair or we would have enjoyed the foghorn blast every 30 seconds during our somewhat foggy stay on the island.
The view is spectacular in spite of the misty day. Sue and I are the most daring of the group and we go out on the ledge to get a better view. The Terns are flying around down below protecting their nests and as the waves crash against the rocks the spray is lifted up in an array of sparkling water diamonds. The panoramic vista of the nine islands is breathtaking. Reluctantly we make our way down the spiral stairs to return to the cottage.
The Lighthouse's solar powered optic light.
The next morning I’m up at 4:30 am, hoping to see a sunrise, but instead White Island is a solitary island surrounded by fog. No one else is up so I go out to visit the outhouse with its compost lavatory and return to do some journaling. Soon Vanessa is up to do her first round of inspections on the tern nests on White Island. She checks the solar electricity level, which is low due to the lack of sun, but high enough to start the drip coffee pot. The rest join us and we start our indoor painting tasks as a light rain falls outside. Mary and I decide to tackle the floor in the room attached to the lighthouse walkway building. We finish putting down a coat of paint and join the rest of the crew inside the cottage painting windows. In the afternoon the sun makes an appearance and I head outside to work on outdoor clean up projects. Sue soon joins me and we fill some trash bags full of debris and also clean up the errant rocks that seem to be everywhere, probably tossed around in stormy weather. We finally call it quits after 4 p.m. and clean up brushes to use for the next day of work.
Vanessa and Leah return from their stay over on Seavey Island where there are six blinds. They are both assigned three blinds and spend about 4 1/2 hours of observation time in the blinds each day before returning to White Island before the tide gets too high between the islands. This evening they had to swim back because the tide was too high due to the stormy weather. Vanessa shared with me a bit about the tern population on the two islands the first morning, while we waited for the rest to join us for breakfast. The Common Terns are the majority of the tern population and the ones that will use their red bills to attack your head if you step too close to one of the nests. There is a small population of Artic Terns, slighly smaller than the Common Terns, and sixty Roseate Terns, who are on the endangered species list. The Roseate Terns are similar to the Common Terns, but shorter with black bills. Neither the Artic or Roseate Terns will attack, and they both live in harmony with the Common Terns.
We all prepare our evening meals and our group plays cards and enjoys an evening of wine, chocolate and shared laughter while our neighbors watch a movie on one of their computers. Saturday morning I’m up again a 4:30 am and we are again fogged in. It is Leah’s morning to do the morning rounds and she reports that the electricity is too low for the coffee maker this morning. So Donna unpacks her perculator and we make coffee on the gas stove. There are two propane gas refrigerators, one for Terns, LLC and one for the stewards, two microwaves and a toaster. Both the kitchen sink and upstairs bathroom have sinks with no running water. Strategically placed on the counters next to the sinks are two large water containers, one is purchased drinking water and one is water from the cistern in the basement. The cistern is full from all the rain during the past several weeks, but the bacteria level is checked each day and bleach is added as needed. If you boil cistern water for twelve minutes it is safe to drink.
We receive a phone call at 7:15 am from the Director of the Stewardship Program letting us know that there is a chance we may not get off the island today and maybe not until Monday. She is concerned that we might not have enough food, but we assure her that we do and we will be fine until the boat arrives, either today, Sunday or Monday. Since we won’t be able to charge cell phones I leave a message for my boss to let her know she may not see me in the office on Monday, although I had warned her prior to my trip that this might happen. After breakfast we get back to work and the lack of electricity is hardly noticed, but the lanterns do come in handy a few times. Around noon we receive another call from the Director and one from the boat Captain letting us know that we are back on for a 2:30 pick up time. All of us agree that we are not ready to leave, but we start our clean up and get packing. The stay is too short and although we got quite a bit of work done we would have liked to have accomplished more. I go around and record the needs of each room in the cottage, along with measurements so I can send the list to Sue Reynolds.
We leave our remaining chocolate and wine with a note for Leah and Vanesa who are over at Seavey Island sitting in the blinds. We lug all our gear down to the shoreline and wait for the arrival of our transportation. Leah and Vanessa return from Seavey Island in full tern observation gear , baseball caps topped with thick socks duct taped to the caps and “tern” sticks, and we take picures of them and they generously use our cameras to take pictures of us. They go back to the cottage to get cleaned up and return to thank us for our gift. The boat arrives with our replacements and way too soon we are leaving the island. The waves are rough and it takes several skiff trips to unload the new group and get us onboard the boat to return. As we motor across the sea to the mainland we all look back sadly to see the islands disappear into the fog again.
My stay on White Island as a Lighthouse Kids steward was one of the best experiences of my life. I hope to return next year to help out once again and to see that elusive sunrise from the Isles of Shoals, weather permitting.
For more information on the White Island Stewardship Program, contact Sue Reynolds at uncleoscar@comcast.net.
Vanessa and Leah return from their stay over on Seavey Island where there are six blinds. They are both assigned three blinds and spend about 4 1/2 hours of observation time in the blinds each day before returning to White Island before the tide gets too high between the islands. This evening they had to swim back because the tide was too high due to the stormy weather. Vanessa shared with me a bit about the tern population on the two islands the first morning, while we waited for the rest to join us for breakfast. The Common Terns are the majority of the tern population and the ones that will use their red bills to attack your head if you step too close to one of the nests. There is a small population of Artic Terns, slighly smaller than the Common Terns, and sixty Roseate Terns, who are on the endangered species list. The Roseate Terns are similar to the Common Terns, but shorter with black bills. Neither the Artic or Roseate Terns will attack, and they both live in harmony with the Common Terns.
We all prepare our evening meals and our group plays cards and enjoys an evening of wine, chocolate and shared laughter while our neighbors watch a movie on one of their computers. Saturday morning I’m up again a 4:30 am and we are again fogged in. It is Leah’s morning to do the morning rounds and she reports that the electricity is too low for the coffee maker this morning. So Donna unpacks her perculator and we make coffee on the gas stove. There are two propane gas refrigerators, one for Terns, LLC and one for the stewards, two microwaves and a toaster. Both the kitchen sink and upstairs bathroom have sinks with no running water. Strategically placed on the counters next to the sinks are two large water containers, one is purchased drinking water and one is water from the cistern in the basement. The cistern is full from all the rain during the past several weeks, but the bacteria level is checked each day and bleach is added as needed. If you boil cistern water for twelve minutes it is safe to drink.
We receive a phone call at 7:15 am from the Director of the Stewardship Program letting us know that there is a chance we may not get off the island today and maybe not until Monday. She is concerned that we might not have enough food, but we assure her that we do and we will be fine until the boat arrives, either today, Sunday or Monday. Since we won’t be able to charge cell phones I leave a message for my boss to let her know she may not see me in the office on Monday, although I had warned her prior to my trip that this might happen. After breakfast we get back to work and the lack of electricity is hardly noticed, but the lanterns do come in handy a few times. Around noon we receive another call from the Director and one from the boat Captain letting us know that we are back on for a 2:30 pick up time. All of us agree that we are not ready to leave, but we start our clean up and get packing. The stay is too short and although we got quite a bit of work done we would have liked to have accomplished more. I go around and record the needs of each room in the cottage, along with measurements so I can send the list to Sue Reynolds.
We leave our remaining chocolate and wine with a note for Leah and Vanesa who are over at Seavey Island sitting in the blinds. We lug all our gear down to the shoreline and wait for the arrival of our transportation. Leah and Vanessa return from Seavey Island in full tern observation gear , baseball caps topped with thick socks duct taped to the caps and “tern” sticks, and we take picures of them and they generously use our cameras to take pictures of us. They go back to the cottage to get cleaned up and return to thank us for our gift. The boat arrives with our replacements and way too soon we are leaving the island. The waves are rough and it takes several skiff trips to unload the new group and get us onboard the boat to return. As we motor across the sea to the mainland we all look back sadly to see the islands disappear into the fog again.
My stay on White Island as a Lighthouse Kids steward was one of the best experiences of my life. I hope to return next year to help out once again and to see that elusive sunrise from the Isles of Shoals, weather permitting.
For more information on the White Island Stewardship Program, contact Sue Reynolds at uncleoscar@comcast.net.
