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| Owls Head Light Station, Maine |
In calm weather, being a lighthouse keeper was hard work, but generally not stressful. During storms, on the other hand, keepers frequently had to battle heroically against extreme forces to keep the light and foghorn going for any unfortunate mariners in their vicinity. It was the same for the Coast Guard keepers of the modern era as it was for the civilian keepers of prior centuries. In severe weather, everything was always reduced to the simple equation of man vs. nature.
I just received the story below in an email from Linda Davis, who was passing it along for her husband, Melvin Davis. Jr., who was the Coast Guard lightkeeper at Owls Head Light in Midcoast Maine, 1965-68. In a storm in the 1960s, Melvin displayed courage and devotion to duty that would have made lighthouse keepers of any era proud. Thank you to Melvin and Linda for sharing this.
