Bill Owens

Earlier, at Pt. Arena, upon hearing that BM1 O'Neal of the Pt. Cabrillo Station was to be transferred, Bill had put in a request for that station. In order to permit this request, the classifications of the two light stations had to be changed. Pt. Arena had been a part civilian unit, and Pt. Cabrillo all military; they reversed the classifications for the stations, and granted Bill's request. There were two other military units in the Pt. Arena area: the Loran Station and the Lifeboat Station.

On July 1, 1937, we started north again, hiring a truck to take our furniture. Since the transfer was at Bill's request, we had to pay for transportation of our household effects. We went through several small towns before arriving at San Francisco, then we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge which had been completed the year before. The road was not too bad until we passed Jenner. In 1937, the Jenner Grade hardly seemed like a highway. It was fortunate we were driving during summer; in winter it was often closed because of slides.

We arrived at Pt. Sur Light Station on March 11, 1935. At that time, our family consisted of my husband Bill, myself and our five children: Shirley-seven, Sarah-six, Dixie-three, and the year-old twins, Jean and Joan. The ride was not nearly as long as our ride from San Francisco to Pt. Conception Light Station, where Bill began his service. The road from San Luis Obispo was unfinished and we had to circle around through Monterey and south to Pt. Sur, travelling partly on Highway 1 and partly on Highway 101. We had been expected, so the station gate was unlocked.

 A keeper's wife, from 1931 until her husband's retirement in 1963, Cora Owens shares her story of life with Bill Owens, the last civilian lighthouse keeper on the west coast. The Owens family lived on four stations, growing from a small family to one which became famous, as Bill was known as the "Keeper with six daughters." The time of Bill Owens' service encompassed the Depression, a World War and the transition of the Lighthouse Service from a civilian agency to branch of a military service, the Coast Guard.