"They are a link to our maritime past, and this country was built on maritime trade," said Jeremy D'Entremont, vice president and historian of the American Lighthouse Foundation. "Lighthouses and lighthouse keepers were responsible for the safe movement of commerce. The people who lived in the lighthouses were so completely dedicated to keeping the light lit, no matter what."
Clothing designer Wayne Keller, who traveled all the way from Colorado to see Borden Flats, put it this way: "A lighthouse is a beacon into the night. I like the ocean. I like the solitude."
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, October 26, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 23 words Type of Material: Correction
Lighthouse auctions: A caption in Section A on Oct. 19 about federal auctions of obsolete lighthouses misspelled Fall River, Mass., as Falls River.
Study lighthouse history for any length of time, however, and the challenging realities of life on the water begin to encroach on romantic visions of ivory towers in the waves. Starting with the first American lighthouse keeper, George Worthylake, who drowned along with his wife and daughter when returning to Boston Light on Little Brewster Island in 1718, those who call these buildings home have been known to lose their lives maintaining the structures that were intended to save others.
D'Entremont, who has written five books on the structures, said he worries that the potential danger and inherent difficulty of caring for a lighthouse, particularly one offshore, may pose problems for today's would-be owners.
"I am not really a fan of auctioning lighthouses to the public," he said. "I think it is a real roll of the dice.
"Even in the best-case scenario, the people buying the lighthouses are not going to be around forever, and the rest of the people in the family may not be into that," he said.
Yet despite D'Entremont's misgivings, the 21st century lighthouse keepers say they are up to the task -- and are better than the alternative.
"I think most people are just really happy to see the lighthouse being used," Cox said. "You know, at least twice a weekend we'll be out here painting something, or hammering something, and somebody will go by and say: 'Hey, how's it going? Looks great. Thank you.' "
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