|
We recently took a vacation trip up the "Lighthouse Route" in Nova Scotia. Beginning in Yarmouth, and travelling up toward Halifax, we stopped at every lighthouse we could find. But it wasn't until the last day of our trip, that we found Betty Sweeney and Imogene Baker.
Betty and Imogene are sisters, and they were raised at the Cape Forchu Light Station, just west of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. The day we visited, Betty and Imogene were volunteer keepers at the lighthouse museum. Their stories gave visitors a true taste of life in a lighthouse. To this day they still live on the Cape, not far from the lighthouse where they once lived.
The head keeper's house at Cape Forchu now serves as a museum, but Betty and Imogene know the house as their childhood home. The photos and memorabilia on display throughout the house bring back vivid memories for these two sisters. Their father, Herbert Lorrain Cunningham, served as Head Keeper from 1921 until his retirement in 1952. Before 1921, he served as Assistant Keeper at the Cape Sable Light Station.
It is truly remarkable to hear Betty and Imogene reminisce about growing up at a light station. The Cunningham children had plenty of company at Cape Forchu - in all 13 children were raised at the station between 1921 and 1940. Betty and Imogene had 4 siblings, and the Assistant Light Keeper, Robert Nickerson had 7 children.
"I guess it's lucky there were lots of children around the station," Betty mused. Serving the light at Forchu was a true family effort. Many times, the children would be called upon to show visitors up into the light tower. Adults would entertain the guests, leaving the children to explore the hills around the station.
Christmas at the light was memorable, Imogene recalled. The children joined together marking ornaments for the tree and decorations for the house. The Christmas tree, harvested from nearby woods, was put up and decorated after all the children were asleep on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning brought squeals of joy and delight, as the children saw the decorated tree and their gifts for the first time.
Betty remembers a terrible military plane crash very close to the light station in 1943. All servicemen on board were killed, and the wreckage was a visible reminder of this tragedy for a long time after. In 1955, Hurricane Edna hit Nova Scotia very hard. Cape Forchu was cut off from the mainland by rising waters, and piles of debris. Even though Betty and Imogene were not living at the station, they remember how the bulldozers had to be brought in to open the roads for the stranded families.
Shipwrecks were not uncommon, Imogene recalled. In the early 1930's, the ship "Linton" was wrecked on West Cape in a winter blizzard; all hands perished. In the mid 1960's, Imogene remembers the wreck of a fishing trawler. She took me to the window and showed me the rocks where the boat and its entire crew were lost in that bad winter storm.
Tragedy struck the Cunningham family in 1981. A small plane bringing George (the youngest son) his wife, and children home to Nova Scotia, crashed not far from the station. George was credited with saving the life of his son and the pilot, but sadly, Mrs. Cunningham and her daughter perished.
We've encouraged Betty and Imogene to share their stories by writing a book of their memories.
If you're looking for a new vacation experience, we would highly recommend that you explore the beauty of Nova Scotia, its many wonderful lighthouses, but most of all, the two, very special, "Lighthouse Ladies," who will gladly share some lighthearted stories.
This story appeared in the
September 1999 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
All contents copyright © 1995-2024 by Lighthouse Digest®, Inc. No story, photograph, or any other item on this website may be reprinted or reproduced without the express permission of Lighthouse Digest. For contact information, click here.
| 