Memories of Langara Island

Lighthouse Memories Come Alive at Langara

By Judith Schweers

Canada's rugged West Coast houses leave an indelible impression on those who have been fortunate enough to live and work in them. This was especially true for Norma Money of Prince George, British Columbia, and her sister Willa Studiner of Oakdale, Minnesota, upon their return to Langara Point Lighthouse after a 57-year absence.

In 1943, their father, William Norman "Norm" Kinnear, joined the lightkeeping service under the auspices of the Department of Transport and was sent to Langara Island Lighthouse. Langara Island, at 54°N, is the most northerly island in the Queen Charlotte Archipelago. Willa and Norma arrived later that year with their mother via the ship Cassiar from Prince Rupert. Willa, not quite a year younger than her sister, spent her seventh birthday on the ship. Norma remembersthem sharing their wee stateroom with a huge sack of dehydrated onions, which influenced the ambience of the voyage immensely.

Upon arrival they found themselves far from alone. The Royal Canadian Air Force had established radar station and telegraph outposts on the island to protect the coastline against enemy invasion. All of the lovely red and white lighthouse buildings had been painted jungle green for camouflage during those war years. On Friday nights, their mother used to take them to the nearby outpost for movie night, a real treat for the children.

Mrs. Kinnear tried very hard to keep up the customs most families had in town, and one of the fond memories her daughters share is of when their baby teeth began to fall out. The sisters were assured that the fairy godmother lived alongside a small babbling brook that would burst to life with heavy rainfall. They would put their teeth beside the brook instead of under their pillows, and somehow Mrs. Kinnear managed to sneak the full kilometre down to the creek, find the magical teeth and turn them into shiny coins. She must have done it near dawn at times. That very special stream was still there awaiting the sister's return.

Willa and Norma left lighthouse life in October 1945 with their mother, who was then expecting another child. The Department of Transport supply ships only arrived every six months in those days, so even though their baby brother was notdue until April, they had to leave in October. It was a sad day when they left their Langara fairy groves and mystic evergreen playground. Since then, they had always hoped to go back.

The reality of that dream began to take shape two years ago when Willa saw a story in Beautiful British Columbia Magazine about Langara Point Lighthouse. There was the tower and crystal Fresnel lens they loved so many years ago. Willawas inspired to write to Langara's principal lighthouse keeper, Gorden Schweers, about her wish to return.

It took a full year of planning and scheduling, but on August 7, 2002, the two ladies were on board the regular monthly supply run to the lighthouse, bringing food and mail for the two families who live there. Instead of coming by ship as so long ago, Norma and Willa flew from Prince Rupert via Canadian Coast Guard 253, a 20-seat Sikorsky S-61 helicopter.

The helicopter ride lasted just an hour, much shorter than the two-day boat ride of 57 years ago. Yet it took these two sisters back in time. As they headed westward from Prince Rupert along Dixon Entrance, the low, forested island they knewso well came into view. Their two-story duplex home had long since been replaced by three pristine red and white houses on a beautiful green lawn. Gorden, wife Judith, and 18-year-old son, Guthrie, were there to greet Norma and Willa.

It was a wonderful opportunity for the Schweers, who have called Langara home for 10 years, to learn more about the past of this renowned lighthouse. Below today's station workshop is a bare concrete slab. The sisters remembered when it was the large foghorn building filled with enormous flywheels and belts, which their father would start manually when fog came in. Only a small, square foundation remains of the Morse code room where he would send out morning and evening weather reports. Norma was amazed how "festive" the lighthouse appeared compared to the drab colours of her childhood memories. Back then there was also less lawn and the primal forest seemed to close in on the buildings more densely. In Willa's eyes, everything looked much smaller than she remembered... the tower shorter, the foundation of their home magically shrunk. Her adult eyes provided a new perspective.