Skip to content
U.S. Lighthouse Society News

U.S. Lighthouse Society News

In support of lighthouse preservation, education, history and research

  • Society Home
  • Join the Society
  • Shop

Category: Kate’s Corner

Kate's Corner

Kate’s Corner #40

June 5, 2019June 5, 2019 Keeper KateLeave a comment

Kate Walker here, keeping the light on Robbins Reef. Building lighthouses on shifting sandy shores presented special problems. In 1852 the new Light-House Board decided to discontinue the Gulf’s first coastal lighthouse at Frank’s Island, because the Northeast Pass of the Mississippi Delta was shoaling badly, in favor of a tower at the mouth of… Continue reading Kate’s Corner #40

Kate's Corner

Kate’s Corner #39

May 29, 2019July 11, 2019 Keeper Kate2 Comments

Kate Walker here, keeping the light on Robbins Reef. Lighthouse Inspector Snow told me about the resignation of W.H. Rugg, keeper of the Farallon Island Light Station in 1887. The Board replied that the resignation should not be accepted, but that Mr. Rugg should be removed, to take effect from 11 August 1887. As one… Continue reading Kate’s Corner #39

Kate's Corner

Kate’s Corner #38

May 9, 2019May 29, 2019 Keeper KateLeave a comment

Kate Walker here, keeping the light on Robbins Reef. “Spirits,” as they were called in the 19th century, caused problems at lighthouses. The second keeper at East Rigolets Lighthouse in Louisiana, built in 1833, was fired for drunkenness. The 1857 Instructions to Keepers VIII states that inspectors and superintendents are authorized and required to discharge… Continue reading Kate’s Corner #38

Kate's Corner

Kate’s Corner #36

April 17, 2019November 27, 2020 Keeper Kate2 Comments

Kate Walker here, keeping the light on Robbins Reef. When the lighthouse tender stopped at Robbins Reef with coal and oil, Inspector Snow often had interesting stories to relate. In 1907 he mentioned that Congress had appropriated $100,000 for the construction of a light-house and fog-signal station of the second order to be located at… Continue reading Kate’s Corner #36

Kate's Corner

Kate’s Corner #35

April 5, 2019May 29, 2019 Keeper Kate2 Comments

Kate Walker here, keeping the light on Robbins Reef. I know I’m isolated here, but I have all the activity of New York Harbor around me to keep me from being bored. I can’t help but wonder how keepers at really isolated stations kept their sanity. Standing on an isolated ledge near the entrance to… Continue reading Kate’s Corner #35

Kate's Corner · News

Kate’s Corner #34

March 27, 2019March 27, 2019 Keeper Kate1 Comment

Kate Walker here, keeping the light on Robbins Reef. Offshore lights, with keepers working in shifts, required an adequate number of keepers to man the light and fog signal as well as to go ashore for supplies or emergencies. On October 23, 1908, the USLHB authorized the following complement for the Rock of Ages Light… Continue reading Kate’s Corner #34

Kate's Corner · News

Kate’s Corner #33

March 13, 2019March 19, 2019 Candace Clifford1 Comment

Kate Walker here, keeping the light on Robbins Reef. I want to pay tribute to two women keepers who served longer than any other light keeper—male or female—as principal keeper at a single light station: Maria Younghans, who served at Biloxi Light Station in Mississippi from 1867 until 1918, and Catherine Murdock, who kept the… Continue reading Kate’s Corner #33

Kate's Corner · News

Kate’s Corner #32

February 28, 2019March 19, 2019 Candace CliffordLeave a comment

Kate Walker here, keeping the light on Robbins Reef. Light keepers do much more than keep the light. The water around Robbins Reef is treacherous. Over the years I rescued 50 people. One such newsworthy incident was the wreck of a three masted schooner that struck the reef and rolled onto its side. I launched… Continue reading Kate’s Corner #32

Kate's Corner · News

Kate’s Corner #31

February 13, 2019March 19, 2019 Candace CliffordLeave a comment

Kate Walker here, keeping the light on Robbins Reef. Did you know that the Lighthouse Service built a lighthouse on Navassa Island? Bet you don’t even know where Navassa Island is. I didn’t until I read about it in the newspaper. It was built in 1917, while I was still keeping the light on Robbins… Continue reading Kate’s Corner #31

Kate's Corner · News

Kate’s Corner #30

January 30, 2019March 19, 2019 Candace CliffordLeave a comment

Kate Walker here, keeping the light on Robbins Reef. Inspector Snow, when he last visited Robbins Reef, told me about the damage done to the tall masonry tower on Point Arena headland north of San Francisco in the 1906 earthquake. He said that a rare earthquake had struck Pensacola, Florida, in 1885, but earthquakes were… Continue reading Kate’s Corner #30

Posts navigation

Older posts
Newer posts
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Photo Albums
  • U.S. Lighthouse Society 2018 Calendar
  • Submissions: Technology
  • Kate’s Corner #28
  • Subscribe to Podcast

Subscribe to this blog


 

Categories

Search

Contributors

Candace CliffordCandace Clifford
Josh LillerJosh Liller
Keeper KateKeeper Kate
uslhstoursuslhstours

About Author

Candace Clifford

Candace was the US Lighthouse Society historian from 2016 until she passed away in August 2018.  She worked for 30 years with lighthouse history.  She also worked with the National Parks System, and the Council of American Maritime Museums. She was a noted historical author and the most knowledgable person on lighthouse historical information at the National Archives.  Books by Candace Clifford include: Women who Kept the Lights,  Mind the Light Katie, a History of Thirty-eight Female Lighthouse Keepers and Maine Lighthouses, Documentation of their Past.

Proudly powered by WordPress · Theme: Button by Automattic.