![]() ![]() Waller as well as his wife lives in a renovated fire station. Waller stepped out onto the top deck and saw the panoramic view of Boston and the ocean, he “fell in love.” Born and raised in the area, Mr. Graves Light Station was bought at auction a decade ago after sitting neglected. Federally owned lighthouses are offered first to other federal agencies, then state and local governments, followed by nonprofits, and eventually private individuals. Under a process laid out by the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, there’s a mechanism for ownership of the historic sites to be transferred. “It’s important to ensure that our national icons are properly cared for,” she says. Snowman is quietly firm that the transfer of the lighthouse is what’s best. Snowman did every chore on the island, she says she felt no fear and as if she’d done it all before: “It was coming home.” And even those things it has not been able to withstand, such as when it was demolished by the British as they made their last escape from the harbor during the Revolutionary War. Now she buys them.Ī spiritual person, she’s touched by all the light has seen and withstood. She tried sewing a bonnet once, she says, but the pleats took too long. She sews her own Colonial-style dresses for tours. Snowman has become intricately acquainted with the history of the lighthouse and local nautical history. Over her 46 years as a Coast Guard auxiliary volunteer and keeper, Ms. But, she says, that’s based on “false nostalgia” and misperceptions. Since 2019, when the Coast Guard initiated the most recent transfer attempt, there’s been “public outcry” over the future of the light, says Ms. ![]() Snowman expected her tenure to last only two years. This isn’t the first time the Coast Guard has looked to transfer ownership of Boston Light. Though the new owner hasn’t been announced, “there will be a new, vetted steward,” says Ms. The military branch will continue to operate the aids to navigation – like the light and foghorn – but the actual upkeep of the physical structures and tours of the island are better suited to a different entity. Coast Guard’s mandate isn’t to restore or preserve historical structures like lighthouses. That’s to keep a human presence on coastlines to spot and assist people in need. In Canada, there are still about 50 keepers, says Mr. And the need is still practical for smaller crafts. While big ships today have ample navigational technology, their captains “feel welcomed” by lights at harbor mouths, says local Dave Waller, who co-owns nearby Graves Light Station in Boston Harbor. Just recently, his co-host was an 11-year-old girl from Kentucky. The appeal of lighthouses reaches far and wide, says Jeremy D’Entremont, who has a weekly podcast, “Light Hearted,” and is the historian for the United States Lighthouse Society. Snowman believes the transition will help lighthouses keep shining in the 21st century, rather than fade away. The keeper herself has little patience for a nostalgia that would hamper the future of the icon she has tended for two decades. They also hold a mystical, sentimental power to many, mariners or not, who balked at the news of the last lighthouse keeper retiring. Today, some are still active aids to navigation. Perhaps even more importantly, she says, “the light is ready.”įor centuries lighthouses played the crucial role of guiding sailors safely through hazardous waters. ![]() Now, after 20 years as keeper and even longer as a volunteer, she’s ready to retire. “I want to work as a keeper and get married here,” she recalls saying. Snowman first stepped foot on Little Brewster Island at age 10, it was love at first sight. ![]() Her retirement marks the end of 307 years of keepers of Boston Light, originally established in 1716. Snowman is the last of the lighthouse keepers in the United States. When Sally Snowman became the keeper of Boston Light in 2003, she expected the role to last only two years. ![]()
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