Sojourn at the Lighthouse

by Elinor Dewire

What is like to be a lighthouse keeper? In 2004, the author spent a week at New Dungeness Lighthouse sequestered on a long sand spit off Sequim, Washington, serving as a lighthouse keeper with four other people. Her experience as a volunteer lightkeeper is related with honesty, passion for the work, and the romance of walking in the footsteps of a very old and bygone occupation. There are no more lighthouse keepers in the official sense, only volunteers who serve at lighthouses. The lights and foghorns operate self-sufficiently now. But a human presence remains important. After all, the word lighthouse contains the word house, suggesting someone ought to live there and take care of the place.

This story is a true experience, tempered with bits of fascinating history and lore and numerous archival and recent photographs. If you've ever served as a keeper at New Dungeness Lighthouse, or any lighthouse, or you'd like to do so, you'll find this story useful, enlightening, and entertaining. If you simply like lighthouses and salty stories, you'll enjoy the story too. Elinor DeWire has written many books and articles about lighthouses and is a popular speaker on the subject. She has won numerous awards for her work and is an avid lighthouse preservationist.

140 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2015

About the author

Elinor DeWire (born in Maryland) is an American author, freelance writer, editor, and blogger based in the Puget Sound area of Washington. She holds a B.G.S. in Liberal Arts and an M.A. in Education and teaches at Olympic College in Bremerton, Washington.

DeWire writes both fiction and nonfiction, but is best-known for her books about lighthouses and her work in lighthouse preservation and education. She has authored sixteen books on lighthouses and regularly contributes articles about lighthouses to magazines. Her author blog is about lighthouses and related nautical topics, as well as her work as a writer and speaker. She is a popular public speaker known for her entertaining programs on lighthouse history and lore. She volunteers for several nonprofit groups devoted to lighthouse preservation and education. DeWire also has a great interest in astronomy and weather and has authored numerous articles and four books on amateur astronomy and sky watching. She enjoys rural living and has written an e-book on poultry.

Two of her books have been honored with the Ben Franklin Book Award and the Coast Guard Book Award. She won a short fiction prize in 1992 from the National League of American Pen Women and has published fiction in several magazines. She has published several short videos about her books and interests on You Tube. Her newspaper and magazine columns include “Shore Almanac,” “Away from the Bay,” “Kids on the Beam,” and “Liquidized Lore.” From 1991-2000 she wrote “Lifelines” and “Whale Oil and Wicks” for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s Mariners Weather Log. Currently, she is a regular contributor to Weatherwise Magazine, The Beachcomber, Lighthouse Digest, and The Keepers Log.

Find Elinor DeWire's blog at www.elinordewire.blogspot.com