My name is John Coldwell. My occupation for 32 years was Lighthouse Keeper on the British Columbia Coast in Canada from 1969 to 2001. For the last twenty-five (25) years I was on McInnes Island
and worked with many good assistants. Now that I am retired I am trying to collect other lighthouse keeper's memories and put them down on "paper". Stories we have told each other. Stories we have never told anyone. Stories we would like to share. If you have any stories to contribute, please contact me 
.
If you are impatient to read the stories or see the photos please go here. If not, please listen to my short tale.
People always find lighthouse keeping romantic, adventurous, idyllic, but is it?
What is the attraction to becoming a lightkeeper? I was asked this question the other day in an email.
Well, first of all it was a job, and if you didn't have a job, it was the means to having a salary. Once working, I think the freedom of the job changed you but it was still a job. You could be promoted or fired depending how well you did, just like any other job.
You worked completely unreasonable hours at times. You had so many deprivations that you could have been living in a third world country. No mail for a month, no fresh groceries for a month, no TV, barely any radio, no telephone, lack of water, shortage of electricity, no immediate medical aid except your own knowledge, no friends to visit, no parties, no communal sports, no bars, no fast cars (no fast boats either!), no libraries . . . the list is endless.
But . . . we did have a job, peace and quiet, family with us 24 hours a day, 90% of the time very good neighbours as friends, and a feeling that we were doing something good for others. We were situated in absolutely beautiful (but rugged!) settings and had free access to the wilderness (it also had access to us as well!)
I worked my whole life in isolation except one year in Victoria, BC
in 1968. I was a weather man in Norman Wells, NWT in the sub-arctic before joining the lights. I guess I like isolation but never thought about it at all when applying for a job. Same as everybody - if the job looked interesting apply for it! If you got it, great! If not, then look for another. Not a problem. Maybe that is the attitude that makes a good lighthouse keeper - nonchalance. One never knows what is going to happen so one just accepts it as part of the job. I guess it was the same feeling that the first explorers had - no use getting excited - it just wastes energy.
We did our job and planned each day around the work requirements. We knew what we had to do and had no one looking over our shoulder checking on us each day. It was relaxed and yet always a feeling of tenseness. Check this, check that. Watch the sky. Watch the sea. Always watching. Always waiting while working. It became part of our life.
We were always prepared as far as each individual could be. A lot of the people were very independent. My car was and still is today filled with tools and material for repairs, breakdowns, tows, overnight emergencies, etc. I know there is CAA & AAA but I'd rather depend on myself. We were all like that. The old Boy Scout motto - "Be Prepared"
The people we worked for were living in a different environment. They didn't have a clue what life was like on a lighthouse. They were city people and we were names on paper. The only ones that really knew what our isolated lifestyle was like and who did not ask silly questions such as "Aren't you bored?" were the ships captains and crews, the helicopter and coastal airline pilots and the many visitors who made it to our island on their own - fishermen, tourists, mission boats, work crews, RCMP, etc. as they had experienced all or part of our lifestyle but in different circumstances.
In the early days (pre 1950's) it was really rough but by the 1960s and the end of the kerosene days and with the coming of electricity life was better. Before the advent of helicopters we hardly had any contact with the office. Maybe once a year. It was nice! Then they started taking parts of our job away and giving it to "trained" employees in town who came out to repair the stuff that we had been repairing for ages - e.g. diesel engines, foghorns, lights, water supplies, boardwalks, houses, etc. Then they started the "inspection and safety" bit; again with courses that were not available to us, so they sent people out to test for mercury, check for lead and asbestos, check for oil spills, etc. It finally got too much for me - glad I could retire.
In short, we enjoyed the peace and quiet when it was there and the challenge when it occured too!
If you have made it this far, please continue on to my "British Columbia Lighthouse Keeper Memories" page. You will find many stories and photos of lightkeeping from the 1920s to present.
Hope you enjoy it.
John
P.S. Please read the foreward to lightkeeper Don Graham's book Keepers of the Light or the same here, on the Harbour Publishing website. His prose is more eloquent; mine more descriptive, but we both say the same thing. Another author that provides more detail on this subject is Chris Mills in his book Lighthouse Legacies.
- John Coldwell (Lighthouse keeper on Pulteney, Kains, Pachena, Green and McInnes (1969 - 2001)