Obscure Amidst Lights Aglow
Lighthouses, with their beacons aglow, still guide mariners to and fro today. Nightly, we see the steadfast gleams that make their way into the vast unknown. During these times of admiration, we feel in our hearts the noble tradition that rides upon each beam ablaze.
When a beacon fails to shine in a lighthouse today, we notice straightaway and someone calls the Coast Guard to report the discrepancy. Shortly after, the light is aglow once more, and we say, “The Coast Guard has fixed the light!”
Yet who are the professionals that respond and keep the modern “flames” burning bright?
Sure, we know the service they represent – the United States Coast Guard. But of the faces and names who tend to the lights, we largely know not. This is in stark contrast to the lighthouse keepers of old whose identities often needed no introduction within their local communities.
Regrettably, since lighthouses were automated, Coastguardsmen who have served as keepers of the lights are all but anonymous. On occasion when people do notice lighthouse techs at work, it is the uniform that the public connects with – the operation dress blues or survival suits of orange and black. The duds are the recognized presence at lighthouses today. Nameless are those who honor the uniform, and wear it well.
In part, maybe this is because we generally do not view present day history through the same lens as vintage times when the lights were staffed by keepers and their families.
For U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse technicians are not – and never will be, deemed lighthouse keepers in the traditional sense. Purists have held fast to this notion, and with good reason. The divide is simply too large to bridge between the bygone lighthouse keepers and the contemporary keepers of the lights – even if countless threads of light still bind the fabric of this gleaming tapestry of heritage.
Infrequent are visits to the lights by Coast Guard lighthouse technicians. Not because they care less than the keepers of old, but because advancing technology is exceedingly proficient – both in performance and duration.
When lighthouse techs do come a-calling at the lights, the sound of a vehicle, boat or helicopter may be heard, but little else. The techs are stealth-like – in and out of a lighthouse efficiently, and without nary a trace. Some may wonder, was the Coast Guard here of late? Often, the only answer is found in a beacon aglow and the bellow of a fog horn on demand.
Given this, there are times when I ponder lighthouses from a long view and ask myself the question, “In our zeal to preserve the time-honored legacy of lighthouses and their keepers, did we inadvertently close the door on an era of lightkeeping that evolved beyond the service of the wickies?”
Our present generation may have one answer, but fifty to one hundred years from now, future generations may have another answer altogether. For they will reach back into their recent past, which are times yet lived in our here and now, and find little acknowledgement as to who kept the lights burning bright when incandescent gave way to light emitting diodes.
Coast Guard technicians find themselves in a strange place when it comes to our lighthouse heritage. Will they ever hold a rightful place of prominence in lighthouse history? Will anyone remember and celebrate their time and place? Only time knows the answer.
One thing is for certain though – the era of the modern lighthouse technician is suddenly slipping. Yes, techs are still needed at the lights, but the day is not far off when they too will fade into history. Their fate is all but sealed due to an ever-growing emphasis on digital navigation and the natural progression towards virtual aids in a world embracing artificial intelligence with open arms.
When this present day chapter is finally closed, Coast Guard lighthouse technicians will go silently into the night, just liked they served – quietly. Into the shadows of history they will pass – the same shadows they carried out their labor of love within when time afforded them the opportunity to shine.
Contemporary “keepers of the lights” walk in the footsteps of bygone wickies at lighthouses, and in doing so, leave their own footprints in time along the way. These professionals also keep the beacons shining and the fog horns sounding, which is in keeping with the time-honored and altruistic essence of a lighthouse. Human hands have always been needed to tend to the lights, regardless of the method.
Lighthouse technicians! Never have so few done so much for lighthouses. By and large, we will never know their names and never be able to say “thank you” for their service and for a job well done.
Light will continue to reach across time – it always does. And hope burns eternal that the lights placed high atop the guardians of old will keep shining well into the future. When they do, these modern lighthouse heroes in the shadows will smile. We just won’t see their beaming faces.
Thank God for their great service. May God bless them.
Amen to Jane's comment!
Thank you for your service Lighthouse Techs!!! May you one day receive the recognition due you.