Lemuel Moreau Light Keeper Western Head Lighthouse keeper and Medway Head. Celebrating his Birthday on Saturday November 15, 2008 he will be 84 years old. This is a tribute to the many things he saw during his years as a lighthouse keeper. The Last Great Lighthouse Keeper of the South Shore.
The Writer (Chris Mills) met Western Head Lighthouse keeper Lemuel Moreau
And he took us to into the big, rambling foghorn building, Lemuel had the whole place painted up room the white ceilings, to the high-gloss,
Battleships gray floors. He explained hoe he reported the weather, and
logged the Coast Guard helicopters trips to his lighthouse for fuel.
Everything was immaculate and in its place - even the wrenches had hooks
And little outlines drawn on the wall so you'd know where they belonged. On
that day, Lemuel symbolized for me pride and attention to detail that marked
His profession, even after most of his duties had been taken away by
Automated equipment.
By 1988, even though Lemuel was still on the station, the whole kit and
kaboodle was monitored from afar. If he wanted to get into the tower, he had
to call the keepers at Cape Forchu to disable the intrusion alarm. He didn't
even have to climb the lighthouse tower to clean the lantern windows or
squeeze a little oil into the lights rotating mechanism.
Lemuel told me at the time, "I don't know what its working like now. I
haven't been up there." and he trailed off, trying to remember just when he
had been up to his lighthouse.
Today, the light is still there, lens-turning 24-7. All that's left of the
old foghorn building is a concrete pad, with no trace of the high-gloss
paint. The fog detector, the back up engines, the radios, everything is now
stuffed into the lighthouse, which stands as the only reminder that this is
indeed a light station.
No Lemuel and Geraldine Moreau, welcoming a visitor in for a cup of
coffee on a cold day. No more stories of storms, visitors, and Coast Guard
characters.
Today, I stop just past the DGPS Towers. There, among the stunted spruce
and alders, is a rotten section of picked fence. It is the only other
reminder here that Western head was once a busy, proud, and painted-up
light station.
FAREWELL
It is with sadness that we note the passing of Geraldine Moreau, on May 13,
2003. Geraldine and her husband Lemuel kept the light at Western Head until 1989, when the Coast Guard de-staffed the station. The writer for her cheerful hospitality and kindness remembers Geraldine during my visits to Western Head in the late 1980's. (Ed
He was last LightKeeper on South Shore!
The Writer (Chris Mills) met Western Head Lighthouse keeper Lemuel Moreau
And he took us to into the big, rambling foghorn building, Lemuel had the whole place painted up room the white ceilings, to the high-gloss,
Battleships gray floors. He explained hoe he reported the weather, and
logged the Coast Guard helicopters trips to his lighthouse for fuel.
Everything was immaculate and in its place - even the wrenches had hooks
And little outlines drawn on the wall so you'd know where they belonged. On
that day, Lemuel symbolized for me pride and attention to detail that marked
His profession, even after most of his duties had been taken away by
Automated equipment.
By 1988, even though Lemuel was still on the station, the whole kit and
kaboodle was monitored from afar. If he wanted to get into the tower, he had
to call the keepers at Cape Forchu to disable the intrusion alarm. He didn't
even have to climb the lighthouse tower to clean the lantern windows or
squeeze a little oil into the lights rotating mechanism.
Lemuel told me at the time, "I don't know what its working like now. I
haven't been up there." and he trailed off, trying to remember just when he
had been up to his lighthouse.
Today, the light is still there, lens-turning 24-7. All that's left of the
old foghorn building is a concrete pad, with no trace of the high-gloss
paint. The fog detector, the back up engines, the radios, everything is now
stuffed into the lighthouse, which stands as the only reminder that this is
indeed a light station.
No Lemuel and Geraldine Moreau, welcoming a visitor in for a cup of
coffee on a cold day. No more stories of storms, visitors, and Coast Guard
characters.
Today, I stop just past the DGPS Towers. There, among the stunted spruce
and alders, is a rotten section of picked fence. It is the only other
reminder here that Western head was once a busy, proud, and painted-up
light station.
FAREWELL
It is with sadness that we note the passing of Geraldine Moreau, on May 13,
2003. Geraldine and her husband Lemuel kept the light at Western Head until 1989, when the Coast Guard de-staffed the station. The writer for her cheerful hospitality and kindness remembers Geraldine during my visits to Western Head in the late 1980's. (Ed
He was last LightKeeper on South Shore!
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