Evening star., 1935-07-28
Bv John E. Henry.

-
-HE lighthouse keepers wife and
daughter, subject of many
stirring saga Of the sea in days
Il gone by, have left their lonely
home, it would seem. For today the
U. S. Lighthouse Service in the De-
partment Of Commerce numbers only
one woman light keeper and allows
few families to share the traditional
lonely vigils Of the stations with the
attendants.
The single woman now operating q
station in the service is Mrs. Fannie
M. Salter, widow Of the former keeper,
who tends a shore station light at
Turkey Point in the upper end of
Chesapeake Bay. Located on inland
waters, the Turkey Point light is of
low candlepower, fueled with kerosene.
In addition, the station has fog bell,
operated by hand striker or by clock
weights. Upon occasion, Mrs. Salter
drafts her son-in-law into the service
to aid in operating the bell but the
woman veteran handles the other
duties of the station without difficulty.
IN CONTRAST to little Turkey Point,
however, and the simplicity of its
operation are such powerful stations
as Navesink, N. j., one of the markers
for New York harbor, with a candle
power of 100000. Hillsboro Inlet,
Fla, has 5,500,000 candlepower; Liston
Range, on the Delaware coast, throws
out 5000 900 candlepower, and Cape
Cod, an important beacon for trans
Atlantic shipping, boasts 100000
candlepower. The strongest light on
the Great Lakes is that of White Shoal,
Mich, with a candlepower of 10000
1t is not only the candlepower re-
ouirements of stations, however, that
has placed them on a level of operat-
ing compleMty far above the ability of
one man, either with or without the
assistance of his family. For the use
of radio beacons and Of various types
of long distance fog signals has trans
formed the modern lighthouse into a
complex mechanical plant, usually re-
quiring three or more men, most of
whom must be familiar with radio
engineering and possessed Of mechan-
ical skill to fit the needs of such a
plant
Appreciation of the extensive opera.
ton of the United States Lighthouse
Service may be gained from the fact
that it now maintains more than 49,
900 aids to marine navigation along
the coasts and inland waters of the
United States. The greater number
of these are lighthouses and buoys, but
there are also more than 100 radio
beacons, 35 lightship stations and
nearly $500 fog signals.
ITO MAINTAIN this system the serv-
ice administers appropriations OF
about $14,000,000 per year. In 1888
this amount was divided approx
nately as follows: For maintenance,
$e,800,000; vessels, s950,000; con-
ttruction projects, S2,910,000.
The service is one Of the oldest of
Federal agencies, the work of erecting
and maintaining lighthouses being
provided for at the first session OF
Congress in 1789 Many of the nav
igation aids still maintained, however,
we're constructed long before that
date, first of these being Boston Light
in IT'S. Starting with II such lights
that were in existence when the Fed
eral Government began to function in
Revolutionary days. the young Light
house Service directed construction Of
169 lighthouses and three lightships
during the next so years.
In the early years of lighthouse
work there were constructed many
lighthouses which became famous,
some for the engineering skill dis
played in their erection, and others
because of the extremely dangerous
points which they marked. In 1871
the old tower at Cape Henry, Va, was