Winter Camp, Heceta Lighthouse
March 18, 2016
Heceta Head Lighthouse
We arrived at our winter camp on March 2nd, which was a
day later than planned. The day before, we were at Whalers Rest
Thousand Trails campground. We were staying there for a few days, so we could be tourists for a while. When working, we find we do not get out to the
sights. Though that may, at least in part, be because we have had such gorgeous sights at our work, so after work we just need to chill out.
Being a tourist takes energy!
But anyway, when we set to leave, we had a wind warning of 60 mpr winds,
and we figured that driving even the short distance to the lighthouse might not be
wise. I think the wind has been the most challenging weather-wise,
as we had another big windstorm the other night. But so far, our trailer
has always been in a well-protected spot, and so we have not faced the
brunt of the storms. Which has been a great relief.
The site is gorgeous with incredible
views - of particular note are the occasional whale spout and sealions barking to us. We are
in sight of the Sea Lion Caves and there are at least a hundred
sealions fishing, playing or basking on the water. The drive in
either direction is filled with beauty. I had forgotten just how much, as it has
been a long time since I last visited here.
We've been here for a couple of days now. Working at the lighthouse has been
delightful. It took us a couple days to become "experts", and we now give
short talks with confidence and knowledge. History here is
interesting.
The lighthouse was opened in 1894. It
had 3 keepers who lived on site with their families. One of their homes
is still here and used as a bed-and-breakfast inn. Each day we learn
new things as people ask questions we do not know answers to, or they offer us new information. Being early March, and mostly windy and rainy,
we have mostly only had small groups, and we find them to be very appreciative for
our tours.
The first day we did not dress quite
warm enough. You spend a lot of time in the wind here, and we did not realize
the amount of energy that took till we got home and just absolutely crashed. Since
then, we have doubled (or even tripled) our layers, and we are smart enough now to
get out of the wind when it really starts to blow.
Recently I have been able to appreciate
more deeply the impact of roads and electricity. The road here was
completed in 1932, and up til that time the community here was quite
isolated. Trips to Florence were either by boat or by a long trip on a wagon on dirt tracks that
often were impassible in the rain. It is amazing to me
to imagine the process of anchoring off the bay and using boats to go
through the surf to deliver materials and essentials to the lighthouse keepers.
But then, suddenly after just a few years of hard road building, the keepers here were minutes
away from Florence. What a change that must have been!
Prior to 1934 (which was the year when electricity arrived
here), the lighthouse light was a kerosene lamp, which had to be tended to each night and
shut down during the day. This required 3 people to manage - trimming
the wick, hauling kerosene up to the lamp, keeping it all clean, and such. The arrival of electricity eventually
eliminated one keeper job, and in 1963 the lighthouse became totally automatic. And, of course, after that
the lighthouse keeper position was obsolete.
A short existence, but
very interesting, chapter in the life of Oregon.
