About Me

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After retirement, for two summers I worked as a tour guide at the Umpqua River Lighthouse in Oregon. This opportunity enabled me to learn more about that lighthouse than any of the others I've seen. Although I have personally visited and photographed over 300 lighthouses in the United States and three Provinces in Canada, the Umpqua River Lighthouse has special meaning for me. That Lighthouse inspired me to write two fictional books with the characters working, living, and enduring the challenges of lighthouse keeping. All pictures posted in this blog were taken by myself, unless noted otherwise.

Book Info.

I hope you will find time to enjoy my books. Preview the book covers below at the right side of page.

Book #1: "The Wickie and the Umpqua Lighthouse." Detail: "The Wickie and the Umpqua Lighthouse" is an 1860's story about the lighthouse keepers and their families at the Umpqua River Lighthouse. It will stir your emotions and warm your heart. Discover the challenges they met but never expected, and their determination to maintain navigational aid to mariners on the Oregon coast. (Wickie is a nickname used by the early lighthouse keepers at the Umpqua River Lighthouse in OR.)

Book #2: "Spirit of The Lighthouse" is a sequel to The Wickie. Detail: Jesse Fayette, assistant keeper at the Umpqua River Lighthouse, finds himself alone to operate and maintain an Oregon lighthouse after the accidental death of his head keeper. After notifying the Lighthouse Board and requesting help, he is surprised but must deal with an acquaintance, Red Saunders, who believes the lighthouse is haunted.

Book #3: "Unexpected Moments" has a different theme than those of Book #1 and #2. Detail: Dan and Megan, as well as their old friends Jim and Anna, experience unexpected moments of hardships and tragedies in Arizona and California. Will they survive these unexpected moments and find any hope for their futures?

All of my books are available on Amazon.

16 June 2016

One Of The Many Intriguing Stories


The Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport, OR was built in 1873. Its 93-feet tower is the tallest of any on the Oregon coast, holding the light to a height of 162-feet above sea level. The light from its first order Fresnel lens is visible from 19-miles out to sea.

Many lighthouses have an intriguing ghost story connected to them and for years The Yaquina Head lighthouse was one of those. I visited this lighthouse and would like to share its ghost story.  – The lighthouse keeper supposedly got drunk and fell down the spiral stairway and broke his neck. After that his coworker refused to go near the stairway at night in fear of again running into an image of the deceased keeper.
  
Like any ghost story about a lighthouse, the more it’s told over time, the more it may be believed. After this story circulated for many years, officials for the lighthouse were convinced the story is untrue. But do all those who have heard the story believe it to be untrue?

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