Keeping the lights on

The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is the tallest
lighthouse in Florida. (Photo credit:
Gerri Bauer)

Lighthouse living has never been easy. Even before I learned about daily operations at lighthouse stations, I understood how challenging life could be for keepers and their families. Especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

You can learn the details by visiting Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in Florida and second tallest in the nation. The view from the top is amazing (I climbed it years ago when much younger!) and the stories on the ground are equally interesting.

During its early years, the lighthouse needed a keeper, first assistant and second assistant to handle the workload. Some duties were requirements I'd never have imagined - such as hanging up white linen curtains in the lantern room every day to prevent damage from sunlight. Then taking them down each night. Before electricity, the five wicks in the kerosene lantern had to be trimmed during the night. The next morning, the lamp and lens had to be cleaned. All of this, every single day.

Meanwhile, down on the ground, daily chores included station maintenance, tending a vegetable garden and hunting and fishing to supplement items received by supply ships. The keeper's and assistants' wives had their hands full doing laundry, sewing, cooking, cleaning and raising children. In the1890s, those children had to travel by boat to the nearest town, New Smyrna, to attend school. 

And everyone did everything accompanied by ever persistent mosquitos. Before Ponce Inlet gained its current name, it was called Mosquito Inlet. 

Today, you can tour the keeper and first assistant's house and see many day-to-day items that residents used throughout the decades. Educational displays are set up throughout both buildings. The second assistant's house is viewed from the outside in, to get an idea of what the living arrangements were like. Keep in mind that electricity and indoor plumbing didn't arrive at the station until the 1920s.

I haven't even touched on the subject of the lights that have made the lighthouse a beacon for  seafarers since 1887. There's an entire building dedicated to lighthouse lenses. Plus, there are maritime-related exhibits. And did I mention the gift shop? 

Well,  yes, it's easy to see I'm a fan of the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse complex. Last time my husband and I visited we joined as members. Consider doing the same!

What a difference 25 years makes

July 4th festivities in 1884 DeLand. Note the flag
with 13 stars. Photo credit: Florida Memory

I tend to consider the decades of the late 19th and early 20th centuries as one lump of time: Florida's pioneer era. Yet within that era people and places grew and evolved, much as we do in modern years. To illustrate, here are comparisons between July 4 celebrations in 1884 and 1909.

This photo depicts the holiday's festivities in DeLand in 1884. The Florida Memory webpage states that the image was captured on the holiday itself - July 4. I'd never seen this photo before and I've seen a lot of vintage DeLand images. At first I was suspect. The scene doesn't look like DeLand. The downtown buildings aren't recognizable to me. But the distant trees in the middle of the road give the photo credence. Early DeLandites did, indeed, plant trees in the middle of the main boulevard.

My guess is that the scene depicts the end of a parade, one that was slim on participation. Nonetheless, it was a legit holiday observance. Note the giant, 13-star flag on display. And how people came out to watch the procession. They're all gathered in the shady spots. What else did townsfolk do that day? Can't say from the photo. Perhaps a picnic. Games and music. Surely something more than one straggly parade.

Now listen to how folks in Pensacola partied on July 4, 1909. In a giant headline on its front page, the July 6 issue of the Pensacola Journal proclaimed that a record-breaking crowd visited Palmetto Beach for the 4th of July. "Pensacola and Pensacolans turned themselves loose in this year's celebration of Independence Day," the article breathlessly proclaims.

A giant picnic hosted by the Knights of Columbus was deemed the crowning feature of hours of festivities. The leading feature was a baseball game played by teams from Pensacola and Fort Barrancas. The city team won, 12-3. "A list of sports of other kinds was also pulled off, to the delight and amusement of hundreds of people," the article says.

The day didn't end there. Dancing, vaudeville, bathing, and music by a "highly efficient orchestra" added to the celebration's luster. Things didn't wind down until the "last moon-lit night hour." The article makes particular note of the smooth, orderly transit of people to and from festivities via the city's "electric line."

I'm not sure what the electric line was; perhaps a trolley. One thing is certain, the 1884 celebration relied on horsepower and solar lighting a la sunshine, not electricity.

Which event was better?  I'd venture to say each was a success. You can't compare the two, really. They're products of their time. In 1884, electricity and the year 1909 belonged to the future. In 1909, nobody thought about a world war soon to loom on the horizon. Still, though a quarter-century apart in years and culture, the celebrants were united in their appreciation of the United States. That sentiment still stands. Happy Fourth of July.