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Interview With A Lightkeeper

Tyler: When did you leave the lighthouse station and why?

Mr. Thornhill: I left October 19, 1986 because I had a heart attack and it was suggested that I should retire. My heart attack happened while we were on holiday in Calgary. We were supposed to be there for two weeks, but we ended up having to stay for over three months because I wasn't allowed to fly home right away.

Tyler: What did you use for transportation?

Mr. Thornhill: When I first went to work at the lighthouse we travelled to Fortune by motorized dory in the summer, or of course we could walk. After the road was built, we had a big four-wheel drive vehicle.

Tyler: Did you have any other animals at the lighthouse station besides the cows?

Mr. Thornhill: We certainly did. We had the cows for beef and milk and we bought them from your great-grandfather Mr. Harold Warren. We also got some pigs from him. We had a horse, sheep, and one year we had some chickens, but we lost the chickens to the foxes. We had a bird dog or some people would call him a water dog. He helped us get salt water birds to eat. One day my wife went into Fortune and when she came back, the pigs had dug out from under their outdoor pen and they were running all over the place. We had quite the job to catch them.

Tyler: What kinds of wildlife did you see around the lighthouse?

Mr. Thornhill: We saw foxes, moose, rabbits, lots of salt water birds and caribou were even introduced to the area. The caribou didn't last long because they were killed off. We also saw lots of seals and whales. I even used to keep logs of the number of whales for the University. We saw mostly potheads, humpbacks and sperm whales. The humpbacks were the biggest, and only two or three times did a whale get beached. There was nothing we could do and they would die on the beach.

Tyler: Did you see lots of boats from the lighthouse and what kinds of boats were they?

Mr. Thornhill: Yes, we saw lots of boats. There were schooners, draggers, coastal boats or steamers, freighters and tankers. Anytime of the night you could look out on the water and see lights from the boats. We used to use a telescope to see long distances.

Tyler: How many manned lighthouses are in Newfoundland?

Mr. Thornhill: There were 56 manned lighthouses when I started and 56 manned when I finished. That doesn't include beacons and towers. Of course, most lighthouses don't have families living at them now. They are automated. The people who look after the lighthouses now are called watchmen. They aren't allowed to touch anything as it is all computerized. Their jobs are a lot different from what mine was.

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