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The Keepers Duties

 

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The duties of the keeper included all phases of maintenance and operation of the station. The following list is some of the more important ones. It is best to remember that this was a family light, with two families assigned here. The duties were primarily the same with the exception that the person in charge of the station had a small amount of paperwork and office type tasks to perform. Because of the closeness of the two families he really couldn't be a boss but he was in fact, responsible for anything that happened to the personnel or the property on the island.

1. clean and maintain the station

2. check the aids to navigation frequently to assure proper operation

3. stand duty watches. ( watches were 6 hours on and 6 hours off)

4. order supplies for station operation and maintenance (groceries and personal needs were taken care of by each family stationed there on their two days off the island per month)

 

The two men stationed there stood the 6-hour watches 24 hours a day for the 28 of 30 days a month that they were on the island. Actually the 2 days was per month and not every 30 days. These days were chosen the support station. (Boothbay Harbor Lifeboat station) had to someone send someone out to relieve one of the men for the two days that he and his wife were allowed ashore every month for groceries and other necessities like Dr. appt. and things of that nature. These days off were never on weekends.

The primary duty of the person standing the watch was to make sure that the foghorn was started if the weather changed causing the visibility to diminish. During the day if for example, a snowstorm started then the light as well as the foghorn needed to be started. Other routine duties included daily checks on the amount of water and fuel on the station as well as logging the weather every 4 hours and calling Boothbay Harbor Station so they could relay the information to the headquarters in Portland. Little work was done during the nighttime watches as the two men worked together during normal working hours much of the time and because the Cuckold's was a small station there was only about so much the men could do to keep busy. It wasn't uncommon for one of the women to go and turn the light on in the evening but the men started the foghorn, as it required closing valves and starting a couple large compressors. The emergency generator was also something that the women seldom touched. Because there were two men on the island nothing was set to start automatically, as there was always someone on watch.

The cleaning of the windows in the light tower and duties of that nature were performed, not a function of the person on watch, but as a duty that the men shared during the day.

The duties that were the sole responsibility of the Keeper, actually called the "Officer-in-Charge" were the clerical duties such as ordering supplies, etc. It was also his duty to schedule projects such as painting different parts of the station and things of that nature. Because there were only two men on the station it was understood what had to be done and it was just taken care of. There was no such thing as a boss in this type of situation.