Keeper

There is a tiny island, Flatholmen, which lies about a mile off the coast of Jaeren, in Southwest Norway. The nearest harbor is Tananger, and across a peninsula, in the more sheltered water of the fjords, lies the great port of Stavanger. One of many lighthouse islands, Flatholmen shows the safe channel between the mainland and the reefs which lie further west, around the larger island of Rott, bird sanctuary. A lighthouse was first built on Flatholmen in 1862; a boathouse added in 1863, an outbuilding, including a laundry, in 1894.

The lighthouse keeper has gone the way of the iceman and the blacksmith, but his story remains. Here are the unique adventures I experienced as a lighthouse keeper on a seagirt piece of real estate off Oregon's timeless shores. Since that adventure at Tillamook Rock lighthouse, more than a couple of decades have passed, during which automation, computerization and many other remarkable innovations, such as television, have become an accepted way of life.