Digest>Archives> December 2004

Memories of Little River Light

By Albert C. Vachon

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The author, BM3 Al Vachon, making his way back to ...
Photo by: Albert C. Vachon

On March 1972, I became keeper at Little River Light in Cutler, Maine, replacing Robert Marston who transferred to West Quoddy Head Light. Bob’s presence was a welcome change after the disciplined lifestyle on the ship where I had been performing search and rescue missions. He met me at the general store in Cutler and then we boarded the station’s little wooden boat with a 9-hp Johnson outboard.

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Approaching the island from Cutler Harbor. The ...
Photo by: Albert C. Vachon

I had no idea what to expect as we headed for the parallel spruce logs that the hull then rested on as we went to the boathouse. There we got the winch cable that would bring the boat up out of the weather into the boathouse.

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Downtown Cutler, Maine at 11:30 a.m. – waiting ...
Photo by: Albert C. Vachon

Bob’s beagle met us on the boardwalk that traversed the island. After I was shown my room and where I put away my gear, there was scratching at the door. Bob opened the door and in walked a raccoon that started playing with the beagle and eventually went to the kitchen to eat some of the dog food. I knew then that I was in a pretty special place. My mates on the island were Engineman John Arrington and Seaman Gary Sill.

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On the left is EN3 John Arrington from Virginia, ...
Photo by: Albert C. Vachon

Now, for many people I’m sure lighthouse keeping conjures images of a pristine environment and a quiet peace of the kind that’s increasingly hard to find. But to a 22-year-old with lots of energy and thoughts of his friends back home having a social life, life on the island became a challenge. I walked around the 16-acre island many times, sometimes accompanied by our all-black tomcat. I spotted osprey and mink and lots of old squaw ducks.

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The walkway from the lighthouse to the boathouse. ...
Photo by: Albert C. Vachon

Our daily routine consisted of phoning in weather information to Southwest Harbor and turning on the light when the fog rolled in. It was a treat when we would see Grand Manan, New Brunswick, across the bay.

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Little River Lighthouse after a snowfall. At the ...
Photo by: Albert C. Vachon

Going to town was a big deal. We would get our food at the Naval Station Commissary down the road. Back then, Cutler consisted of about 300 people and it seemed like they would all show up every day at 11:30 a.m. to wait for a pickup truck that brought the U.S. mail. That must have had some impact on me because I later spent 31 years as a rural carrier.

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The island cats, Tom and Stubbs.
Photo by: Albert C. Vachon

I served at Little River Light until January 1973 when I was discharged from the Coast Guard at Southwest Harbor. I feel fortunate to have been a small part of Little River’s history.

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Seaman Gary Sill from Ohio on the small wooden ...
Photo by: Albert C. Vachon


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Little River Lighthouse. The yellow tank at the ...
Photo by: Albert C. Vachon

This story appeared in the December 2004 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.

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