In this episode, host Jeremy D’Entremont interviews Canadian author and former lighthouse keeper Chris Mills. Chris is originally from Ontario, but he has lived most of his life in Nova Scotia. He built his first lighthouse when he was six years old, and landed his first three-week job as a relief assistant on Cross Island, near Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, at the age of 24. Between 1989 and 1997, Chris worked as a light keeper at 11 different light stations in three provinces on both the east and west coasts of Canada.
(Photo courtesy of Chris Mills)
Chris was a founding member of the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society. For years, he has recorded the oral histories of light keepers and their families. Chris has authored two books: Vanishing Lights and Lighthouse Legacies: Stories of Nova Scotia’s Lightkeeping Families.
Chris lives in Ketch Harbour, Nova Scotia. He works for the Canadian Coast Guard as a deckhand on a lifeboat. He’s also had a career as a radio DJ and news announcer. His observational skills as a writer and radio commentator, combined with his experience as a light keeper and preservationist, give him a unique and very special perspective on lighthouses.
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Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is the president and historian for the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org