The last Coast Guard lighthouse keeper
Meet Sally Snowman -- from the
Christian Science Monitor:
Backstory: She keeps the lighthouse fantastic
On the outer rim of Boston Harbor atop a rocky three-acre island sits a tall, whitewashed beacon – the Boston Light. For 224 years it has flashed a warning to everyone from captains of tall ships to modern sailors of war, commerce, and leisure.
As a frosty winter wind whips whitecaps around the island, Sally Snowman, bundled in heavy jacket, hat, gloves, and boots, climbs the metal spiral of 76 steps in the lighthouse, maintaining the daily ritual of generations of Boston Light keepers before her.
She is the last Coast Guard lighthouse keeper in the US – at the oldest lighthouse site in the nation. And she's on her way to inspect the lens, polish the heavy glass prisms, and grease the wheels that rotate the five-ton mechanism – the very same equipment installed in 1859.
"I've had many jobs over the years, but this is absolutely the best one," says Ms. Snowman who, from here inside the lighthouse's 360-degrees of windows, can see the Weymouth shore where she grew up dreaming of working in the historic Boston Light.
As a walking encyclopedia of Boston Light trivia and the author of the book "Boston Light: A Historical Perspective," Snowman considers her job an honor. "I know the position is special, I'm not special."
A wonderful profile of a very lucky woman.
Posted by DaveH at March 15, 2007 3:23 PM